IMAGE Business Club members on the small habits that have improved their productivity
IMAGE Business Club members on the small habits that have improved their productivity

Sarah Finnan

Tried & Tested: IMAGE staff shares their favourite hydration hero
Tried & Tested: IMAGE staff shares their favourite hydration hero

IMAGE

Weekend Guide: 9 of the best events happening across Ireland
Weekend Guide: 9 of the best events happening across Ireland

Sarah Gill

Co-founder of the Hygiene Hub Ciára Dalton: ‘I wanted to make a tangible difference’
Co-founder of the Hygiene Hub Ciára Dalton: ‘I wanted to make a tangible difference’

Sarah Finnan

Winter wreaths you can use year after year
Winter wreaths you can use year after year

Megan Burns

There’s a new hydration mist on the market, and it didn’t come to play
There’s a new hydration mist on the market, and it didn’t come to play

IMAGE

Long live Irish shopping: inside Irish boutiques
Long live Irish shopping: inside Irish boutiques

Sarah Finnan

Dr Caroline West’s guide to talking to your teenagers about consent
Dr Caroline West’s guide to talking to your teenagers about consent

Megan Burns

This Art Deco Donnybrook house has been adapted for multi-generational living
This Art Deco Donnybrook house has been adapted for multi-generational living

Megan Burns

Havana Boutique owner Nikki Creedon on subversive monochrome
Havana Boutique owner Nikki Creedon on subversive monochrome

Suzie Coen

Image / Fashion

4 Ethical Fashion Brands To Check Out


By Jeanne Sutton
26th Apr 2015
4 Ethical Fashion Brands To Check Out

Two years ago this week the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh sent a wake-up call to the world. Over 1,100 people perished in the disaster, and international retailers came under intense scrutiny over how they source their clothes. While the media claimed outrage, many wonder just how much has changed in practice.

The Guardian says the fund for the families of Rana Plaza has seen a lot of major brands not paying pledged amounts. Campaigns such as Fashion Revolution are asking consumers to question clothes companies about how they source their labour across social media in a bid to effect change in how manufacturing is carried out.

While we wait for corporates catch up with the demands of people who only want workers to be treated fairly and humanely, we look at four ethical brands you can start supporting now.

Braintree calls itself ?feel good fashion? and it’s relaxed look is reflected in the materials it uses. Only sustainable fabrics are used, and we love our super soft bamboo socks. Check out their bamboo wellie socks for any festival hijinks you have plotted. This is Ireland, not Coachella.

Who Made Your Pants is a lingerie brand based in Southhampton in the UK and makes amazing sustainable knickers. The fabrics are from factory shipments bigger companies have sold on and the women who make the pants all come from backgrounds that have made finding employment difficult. What a great ethos! We love these smug panties.

People Tree products make us feel very Pacific Crest Trail. There’s just a sound vibe emanating from every collection. Which makes sense when you read about the company philosophy. People Tree is one of the pioneers of Fair Trade and is all about environmentally sustainable fashion. Forget about those carbon footprint dyes that are poisoning the planet, People Tree works with artisans throughout the developing world to deliver very chill, and very ethical items. We love this hand knitted jumper.

Stella McCartney is one of the biggest fashion names to embrace sustainability as an everlasting trend, with an eco-friendly collection available on her site. Her commitment to asking the fashion world to rethink how it does business has drawn her praise from Liva Firth, Colin Firth’s campaigning wife. Stella’s lingerie uses organic materials and recycled metal for all those sexy clasps.

Follow Jeanne Sutton on Twitter @jeannedesutun

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