Tips for an eco-fashion conscience

Eco fashion has moved from a trend to a full scale movement; key voices within the industry are starting to call for a rethink on our extraordinary levels of clothes consumption. Lets be honest, we're all guilty of side stepping our eco-fashion conscience sometimes; it doesn't seem easy to be an eco goddess 100% of the time. But Hannah Eichler explains how you can do your bit and be an eco-angel!

Re-think your relationship with clothes

1. Although women's clothing prices have fallen by a third in 10 years, the level of clothes we purchase is also up by a third. As clothes get cheaper the market for cheap, fast, disposable fashion is fueled. Jane Shepherdson, the woman behind Top Shop, believes we have become a nation that's gone crazy for throwaway clothes: "People are addicted to shopping and consuming and having new things all the time. Things are so accessible, you can look like a celebrity immediately and for a fiver," she says. Develop a new relationship with your clothes and think about your own style – customizing and exchanging clothes can be far more fulfilling and is more eco-friendly.

Go slow

2. So you've heard of fast fashion, but these days it's all about slow fashion, which promotes making responsible consumer choices by purchasing fewer; better quality clothes. The head of the London College of Fashion, Dr Frances Corner says: "We have to think more carefully before we buy, we have to buy fewer clothes anyway, and pay more for them - and not subsidise people who're living sometimes on 15p a week so we can change our image all the time." To join green brigade members such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett check The Soil Association.

Stop supporting sweatshop fashion

3. It's no secret that those made to pay the price for our fast fashion fixes are at the bottom of the clothing supply chain; a report by War on Want found workers in Bangladesh working 80 hours a week for 5p an hour. Follow the advice of eco designer Kate Fletcher, and make more ecological choices when it comes to fast fashion: "Fast isn't free - someone somewhere is paying. Fast fashion is disconnected from everything, from poverty wages to climate change. Slow fashion is not time based; it's about producing, designing and consuming better." Make a bid to stop sweatshop fashion at marieclaire.co.uk/stopsweatshopfashion.

Buy classic pieces that last

4. According to the Ecologist, the average woman spends £13,000 over a lifetime on clothes she doesn't wear. Martin Hearson from Labour Behind the Label says: "We don't want you to stop buying clothes, but if you buy them cheaply on the high street you are buying clothes made by workers whose rights are not respected. You are a stakeholder in the companies you buy from, and you should challenge them to do more to protect workers rights." Buy classic pieces that last and you'll provide less support for the sub-standard working conditions.

Choose eco-brands

5. Proving that eco fashion can be as chic as it is green, Marie Claire has compiled a list of their 10 best Eco fashion brands at London Fashion Week, where they offer an environmental choice to fashion conscience women.

Recycle

6. As much as two million tonnes of consumer clothing waste is generated in the UK each year; two thirds of that is sent to landfill sites whilst a mere 16% is recovered and recycled. By becoming more aware and educating others of our throwaway culture we can make an effort to reduce waste and send unwanted clothes to well receiving charities.

Upcycle

7. With The 'Primark Effect' having a huge impact on the world of consumerism, we now recycle only a fraction of our wardrobes. Go one step further than recycling an old T-shirt into a dust rag, by following new initiative 'upcycling' which promotes transforming disposable items into things of greater use and value. Make use of your unwanted pieces and refashion them into other garment.

It's cool to care

8. By pushing the boundaries of conventional fashion and proving that it's cool to care, eco-pioneer Katherine Hamnett was in 2007 named as one of Drapers great British Fashion Icons. According to the magazine: "Hamnetts impact extends beyond slogans into her utility-based, youth driven designs that are now helping to gentrify the fashion credentials of organic cotton, and she remains outspoken and hugely active in her campaigning for a greener world." We heart eco-chic!

Choose companies who care

9. There has been a surge in concern for fair-trade and ethically aware products - The Ecologist reported recently that the market for organic textiles in the UK is growing at 50% a year. Benefit people and planet by making informed choices about your purchases. Buy your basics from companies that care - Marks and Spencer was amongst the first retailers to introduce organic cotton ranges and policies against particular materials and treating. According to Oliver Horton at Drapers: "Consumers will become more knowledgeable and more interested in what they are buying. Easy access to information via the internet will give shoppers a greater insight into the products they buy, including their production process and history."

Paint the world with eco-love!

10. Don't let your eco-conscience stop at clothing. If you've given your home a makeover but been left with excess paint, don't leave it to gather dust in the garage and instead donate it to someone else's living space or community walls. Visit Community RePaint to find out more.

Go for eco designers

11. Eco-friendly products and materials were previously considered to be unfashionable but today, eco-friendly fashion has entered the mainstream with big fanfare, and even celebrities are advocating the use of eco-friendly fabrics and materials. Clear you conscience and look to contemporary labels such as Gary Harvey, People Tree, Shyam Narayan Prasad, Orsola de Castro, Mark Liu and Nitin bal Chauhan for your eco-fashion fix.

Talk about it

12. The future of fashion lies in the hands of the next generation of industry players. Influence the habits of others by talking about ethical choices with your children and friends – introduce them to concepts such as using lower temperatures when washing clothes, air drying instead of tumble drying, recycling and re-using will ensure that the future of fashion is an ecological one.

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