Features
Features
Future Of Fashion EMMA BIGG discovers the exciting business development in the world of ethical fashion - carbon offsetting
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Mik sani A/W10
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hile the fact that more and more fashion labels are jumping on the ethical bandwagon is certainly no bad thing, it is increasingly difficult to decipher whether brands are as ethical as they claim to be. After all, how ethical is ethical? “Ethical should encompass how both people and the environment are treated in the production process,” says Katie Weightman, ethical fashion designer and founder of Mik sani. Mik sani is a luxury womenswear label which uses organic and fairtrade materials in its modern and quirky designs. “Perhaps there should be more stringent rules and investigations
into this,” Weightman muses when asked what she think s of companies who use fair-trade materials but produce their garments in sweatshops, 'I think the public are very confused by all the fair-trade certifications – there should be more transparency.” It is clear from the rise in ethical fashion that consumers’ attitudes towards how and where their clothing is made are changing. In a recent survey by market research leaders Mintel, found that it is important to 60% of people that a company acts ethically and almost a fifth only buy products from a company whose ethics they agree with.
As one of these companies, Mik sani certainly should be proud of itself. Its collections are all made from sustainable materials such as organic silk s and banana fibres and it only uses FLO and WFTO certified manufacturers in India and Nepal.
a sustainable way. It is difficult to believe that this visionary designer who is taking the lead in making fashion truly ethical almost gave up on fashion completely. Weightman graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins with a degree in Fashion Design and Marketing but had become disillusioned with fashion, “I didn’t really feel like I fitted in there, I suppose it did make me realise that I needed to approach fashion from a more ethical perspective. I realised there was a way to combine my love for environmental issues with fashion design and it was Lucy Tammam (of House of Tammam) who inspired me to set up my own ethical brand.” Ethical fashion appears to be firmly entrenched in the minds of consumers in 2010. We are increasingly concerned about where our clothes come from and what effect their production will have on the environment and the people who make them. With all of this in mind, Weightman is
Almost a fifth of consumers only buy products from a company whose ethics they agree with. In addition to this, Weightman has recently teamed up with carbon offsetting company Piqqo, meaning Mik sani is at the very forefront of truly ethical fashion. Although it is a fledgling company, Piqqo has already made a huge impression on the expanding voluntary carbonoffsetting world. “I had always wanted to make the whole business carbon neutral. I know the implications of the carbon created from the production of the clothes we sell. I was honoured to be the first fashion brand to use the Piqqo labels and I hope we’ve inspired more to do the same,’ explains Weightman. Mik sani cotton garments feature the innovative Piqqo labelling system whereby each label features a unique serial number. This serial number can then be used via the Piqqo website to trace the offset back to the Scolel Té project in Mexico, which helps local land owners manage their forests and land in
Mik sani S/S10
“I know the implications of the carbon created from the production of the clothes we sell” hopeful for the future of ethical fashion, “I think more and more brands will re-evaluate their practices and I also think that many more exciting sustainable fibres and fabrics will be introduced”
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22/04/2011 20:52