In Dubai, there has been an upsurge of interest in organic clothing. Many retailers have begun to carry substantial lines of organic cotton clothing – right across the United Arab Emirates you can see fashion outlets piling their shelves with T-shirts and jeans made from organically grown cotton so shoppers can opt for an ethical wardrobe. Who are the big retailers in UAE selling organic clothes? Well it’s the usual suspects: Topshop, Marks and Spencers, New Look, Gap and Vera Moda, all of whom have large organic cotton lines as part of their offering.
One reason this is so popular in the region is that soil fertility is already low, meaning that the UAE and Dubai in particular, have to import much of their food, so there’s a great deal of support for cotton growing on the organic basis as it uses production systems that replenish and maintain soil fertility and create and sustain biologically diverse agriculture.
The market in the UAE is fast-evolving - customers are conscious of what they buy and the environment they live in, but they are also concerned about quality and appreciate the extra softness and durability of organic cotton products. Interestingly, while only 0.3% of cotton is grown organically at present, the World Agricultural Commission predicts that in the next 25 years it will rise to 30% - a massive cultural and environmental change. The reason is that many of us are now deliberately choosing organic, whether for ethical or environmental reasons: more than one in four women now describe themselves as ethical shoppers when it comes to clothes, according to market analysts Mintel.
Shopping in Dubai courtesy of Shahram Sharif
September 3rd, 2008
In France it’s called la rentree, here it’s ‘back-to-school’ but whatever we call it, it’s the soul- and wallet-sapping process of getting a child ready for September term. And if you’re an organic parent, it’s always been doubly, no trebly, difficult. First, your kid doesn’t want to be buying school stuff, second, you don’t want to be doing it either and third, trying to find the green option has always been like hunting for gold on the pavements of London.
But no longer …
Most supermarkets are offering at least a small range of basic school uniform clothing: polo-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts at least, in organic options and school uniform colours, and online retailers can kit out your kid in green style for a very reasonable price. There are even lunchboxes and backpacks made from recycled plastic water bottles and lots and lots of recycled paper and notepads.
To save more money, and the planet, think about organising a clothing swap. British parents are expected to spend more than £1 million on back-to-school items this year, so swapping clothes and equipment could save a fortune. On offer in a swap-bank local to me are quarter size violins and scientific calculators, tennis racquets and many items of school uniform ranging across eight schools and for ages from tots to teens.
August 27th, 2008
With the recession on one hand, and the rising awareness of environmental costs when planning big events on the other, green and organic weddings are an increasingly growing business.
You can minimise your effects on the environment and keep your bank manager happy to with some of the following steps:
- Have a green stag and/or hen do – get in touch with environmental charities who’ll let you plant trees, clear out ponds or even build log cabins!
- Travel to the church in a horse drawn carriage rather than a big limo
- Buy invitations made from recycled paper – and invite people by email whenever possible
- Choose a wedding venue that uses green energy or have an outdoor wedding. Make sure your wedding and reception are close to each other to reduce travelling and if possible, use the same building or outdoor site for both
- Plan natural table decorations such as seasonal local leaves, pinecones, dried flowers etc rather than plastic or imported floral arrangements
- Ask your guests to bring biodegradable confetti or blow bubbles instead
- For a formal wedding buy or rent suits made from natural organic fibres like hemp, silk, or cotton and ask about the cleaning policy the hire company uses – there are ‘green’ dry cleaning systems you know! Brides can reuse a family wedding dress as their something borrowed or buy an organic fabric dress in a light colour that can then by organically dyed a darker one to serve as an evening dress for formal events
- Choose an eco-friendly honeymoon – a local festival where you can stay in a tent, a holiday in Cornwall or the Scottish Highlands to which you can travel by train or even a fruit-picking holiday by bicycle
Walking to church courtesy of Salemek
August 20th, 2008
The next RITE group conference takes place from 7 October 2008, at Central Hall, Westminster, London and reservations are being taken now. The conference, which focuses on Sustainable Textiles and Clothing will feature global industry speakers, senior UK politicians, and journalists.
The aim of RITE is to provide advice and fact based information to reduce/minimise the negative environmental effects of the production, use and disposal of textiles and to drive the sustainable and ethical production of textiles and apparel throughout the global supply chain.
Preliminary speakers include:
- John Frazier, Nike (USA)
- Abi Rushton, Tesco Clothing (UK)
- Doug Rushing, Monsanto (USA)
- Matthew Parris, The Times, TV broadcaster (UK)
- Karen Ho, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (Hong Kong)
Only 400 places are available and bookings probably need to be made by 12 September to guarantee a place. You can contact the conference organiser by email at info@ritegroup.org or post at RITE Group, 80 Featherstone Lane, Featherstone, Pontefract, WF7 6LR, UK and their website with full details of speakers, events and the exhibition is at www.ritegroup.org
Rubbish dump courtesy of Polandeze
August 13th, 2008
Once upon a time, everything was holistic: solutions, lifestyles, holidays, therapies … and then the ‘h’ word disappeared. It’s a shame, because the holistic approach to a sustainable lifestyle was one that not only helped the planet, it helped the individual to feel better about their contribution and to understand the impact of their behaviour.
So why did holistic fall out of favour? Partly because it became a requirement rather than an option, (and so we felt nagged into doing ‘everything’ rather that empowered to do ‘more’) and partly because a recognition of the global nature of environmental and social problems made ‘holistic’ seem a more than a bit wussy as a response.
It’s a shame: the days when you pulled on your organic T-shirt, took the bus to work, ate your lunch at Pret-a-Manger and then worked on the community garden for a couple of hours before going home for your organic veg-box dinner may seem idealistic in this time of credit crunch and global rece
ssion, but the idea that all our actions and choices were interdependent was a useful way to look at how much we, each one of us, matter. Even more important, trying to bring all our decisions and behaviours into harmony with our beliefs was a brilliant device that taught many of us just how much of our lives was out of our control and working against our hopes and wishes.
So let’s bring holistic back! The Soil Association is making a good start with its Organic Fortnight (6-21 September): a nationwide campaign bringing together communities, retailers, schools and organic farms for the UK’s biggest celebration of all things organic. Supporters will be hosting events all over the country from organic breakfasts at work and farm open days to organic cookery lessons in schools and organic fashion shows. The theme this year is ‘Love Your Planet, Choose Organic’ – that’s a pretty holistic message and with all our fears about oil reserves, climate change and food security, Organic Fortnight is a great chance to explore why organic production - fashion, beauty, food and farming - is better for the planet.
The fortnight kicks off with the Soil Association Organic Food Festival, 6-7 September 2008, at Bristol Harbourside and to find out what else is happening, or even to put on your own event visit www.soilassocation.org/organicfortnight and see how holistic you can become …
August 7th, 2008
There’s a debate about whether fast fashion can contribute to global well-being, or not: can manufacturers and retailers turn our desire to get a new outfit in our lunch-breaks into a carbon-neutral, fair-trade-positive purchase at a price we’re willing to pay. The answer is probably going to be – no, they can’t.Why not?
Because people who can find the money for designer clothes, shoes and handbags simply won’t wear them once similar items appear in the high street, so a new fashion cycle instantly begins, and the copycat, rather than similar, items that are made illegally are produced and sold so cheaply that they don’t last more than a couple of months, so designers produce new lines, knockoff merchants copy them, and both the rich buying public and the poor buying public buy and dispose of them at about the same rateThe answer may be to invest in more expensive garments that will have a more classic style and a longer life in the washing and wearing processes – this means that we buy less frequently and wear clothes more, and so the fashion cycle slows down and some of the illegal producers actually go out of business because their market begins to recognise that better clothing, well produced and less fashion-vulnerable, will last several seasons and still look great.
Organic cotton T-shirts are an ideal example of this kind of trend – the cotton looks better, lasts longer and even feels nicer, than standard cotton.
July 30th, 2008
The use DDT to fight malaria has highlighted the problems faced by growers of organic cotton in countries like Uganda where spraying the pesticide has spoiled organic crops. More than ten thousand farmers in certain regions of Uganda have had their cotton rejected by buyers from the Dutch firm BoWeevil after DDT spraying in the area. Government officials started the DDT programme in April, but it has been stopped by the Kampala High Court after a petition, filed by farmers, traders and conservationists.
DDT is a highly toxic and non-specific pesticide whose unintended side effects were brought to public attention by Rachel Carson’s book ‘Silent Spring’ which in 1962, showed the terrible impact of DDT use in the USA. Since then, DDT has been given a global ban for agricultural use but it remains in limited use for disease control, a controversial subject. The MD of BoWeevil say that if spraying DDT continues, his company will close down their businesses because, ‘DDT is a problem in any … commodity to the Western world. There is a zero tolerance there for DDT products.’
The use of DDT has now affected general cotton prices in the region, not just organic ones. It has dropped from sh750 per kilo to sh500 which means Uganda has lost around US$20 million in organic cotton trades. Other organic cotton projects in different regions of Uganda remain unaffected.
Ugandan street seller courtesy of jhallig
