WWD featured an article today on ethical fashion. The piece centers largely on Paris's recent Ethical Fashion Show and brings up some good points and exciting statistics.

growth in the industry...

Sales of ethically sourced clothing, which includes organic cotton, fair-trade clothes and recycled items, grew 30 percent in the U.K. to 43 million pounds, or $81 million at current exchange, in 2004, according to the Co-operative Bank's Ethical Consumerism report. Meanwhile, ethically motivated secondhand clothing purchases increased 42 percent to 383 million pounds, or $718 million.

While more recent statistics are not yet available, this year's Ethical Fashion Show, which took place in Paris from Oct. 13 to 16, suggests that growth isn't likely to slow anytime soon. More than 4,000 visitors, including scores of international media, attended the four-day event, a 54 percent jump over 2005.

design still needs to be primary...

"Brands need to tell a compelling story," said Holt Renfrew's Atkin. "But consumers have to love it and be drawn it to first. Then when they find out that by buying [a brand] they are making a difference, they feel great."

we need increasing corporate transparency across the board...

As ethical brands multiply both in number and in style, not to mention marketing savvy, so do calls for greater transparency across the entire supply chain. Participants at this year's Ethical Fashion Show had to answer a nine-page questionnaire covering environmental issues and workers' rights, as well as social and business objectives. Each brand's ethical claims were then identified for buyers, either fair trade, traditional skills, recycling, organic or social projects.

you say "eco", I say "sustainable"...

Show organizer Isabelle Quéhé said deciding on a definition of what is in fact ethical is problematic.

trend vs. future...

WWD and other industry press, such as NYLON, have been continually covering eco-fashion. These publications can help increase consumer and industry awareness which will hopefully feed the demand for ethical and environmentally friendly products. However, there clearly is still a lot to be done in the apparel industry as WWD also reported last week. According to an independent advocacy group, a Bangladesh factory used by Wal-Mart and Hanes had several labor violations. We cannot count on every company to have a Yvon Chouinard or a Ray Anderson steering the ship. Some companies are driven more by profit than morals and have not yet realized the two are not mutually exclusive.

If consumer demand increases, surely there will be people scrambling to fill the supply. Let's hope this leads to some true change and not a load of greenwashing. In the future, I don't want to have to write a shoe company for assurance that their workers are adults making a living wage. I want to be able to pull up their website and see it. It doesn't have to be in their marketing. It doesn't have to be obvious, but the information should be there. Why isn't it? Well, my unanswered email leaves me to believe it is because some kid working for pennies might have made those shoes I was eyeing. It would be nice if all companies had to fill out that nine-page Ethical Fashion questionnaire.