ethical clothes shopping-help!

[greenfingers]

i fancy a couple of nice pieces and a decent pair of jeans (mystyle is something like hippy/surfer) .but am getting completely confused
i get the whole -second hand equals good- thing, but in cornwall charity shops are very exspencive and have barely any decent stock.
so that leaves me with the ethical clothing company option.
ive had a look and am having alot of traouble a) finding ethical clothing companies and b)finding one with a tshirt i would acually buy.
the only decent one ive found is howies, which i have now been told isnt realy a good option
im getting a little lost here.
does any one have any recomendations

[Green Aura]

No idea how old you are, but have you had a look at howies clothes - don't have a link but google it. Their supposed to be eco-friendly and are aimed at surfer/skateboarders.

Edited -

http://www.howies.co.uk/

40% off at the moment

[greenfingers]

ah yer, should have mentioned that. 22

[fruitcake]

Been trawling 'tinterweb' on a similar cause over the last wee whiles.....

http://www.naturalcollection.com/ - generally have good sales - if your quick otherwise they run out of popular sizes and non sale are pretty expensive.

I bought a couple of bamboo tops recently - I'm really lucky cos a local shop stocks that kind of stuff - the brand is 'braintree' http://www.braintreehemp.co.uk - v comfy and i love the feel of the bamboo. They also stock this stuff http://www.peopletree.co.uk

'Life is good' stuff is pretty funky - ran a quick google and found some on sale here http://www.rawoutdoors.co.uk/Brands.aspx?BrandID=34 - more info on the company here http://www.lifeisgood.com/

And of course there's patagucci http://www.patagonia.com and lots of places stock it.

Also...

M&S do some fairtrade t shirts

And fleabay is always good for the 2nd hand thing - got all my neices clothes for her birthday there recently - ok some of the stuff prob came from A$d*s etc but at least it wasn't brand new. Swings and roundabouts really innit?

Happy shopping (not a very ish thing to say I s'pose really but hey ho - if ya gotta do it ya might as well enjoy it! )

[becks77]

There are some great ideas here

http://www.gossypium.co.uk/

http://www.seasaltcornwall.co.uk/index.php

[Clara]

There are some great ideas here

http://www.gossypium.co.uk/

http://www.seasaltcornwall.co.uk/index.php

I have to say that everything I have bought from Gossypium has been rubbish - badly designed, badly fitted, not very durable.

[greenfingers]

cheers for the help every one, much apreciated.

just wish wehad better 2ndhand shops down here

[Urban Ayisha]

what about e-bay? im the same age as you and after having a baby had to go up a clothing size (or two!) and really lamented as my clothes were a collection of items from festivals, travelling, second-had finds etc. but as i didnt have time to source something a bit more ethical i had to get a load of nasty high-street clobber. thankfully im back into my old clothes again!

however, with time on your hands, have a look on e-bay! i suppose its a bit of a jumble sale but you're likely to get unusual stuff, and a damn sight cheaper then some of these ethical organic companies!
saying that, if you can get it on sale, komodo do some really gorgeous hemp stuff.

[rune]

I'd recommend ebay too -- I feel that if I manage to buy something 2nd hand from someone for the minimum bid of 99p (sometimes less!) then I have saved it from being tossed in the landfill. I've gained some nice Next and Gap shirts and tops this way.

You do need to be patient though, and not overly impulsive, if you want something you'll actually wear. There's also always a risk of discovering that the nice subdued blue top in the picture is a horribly violent shade in real life, or that the shape is quite peculiar. It's also sensible to keep an eye on the postage -- that can sometimes take a 99p shirt up to a total cost of £6.

[MuddyWitch]

I just wish most 'ethical catalogues' realised that us 'fat birds' want to be green (still!) too, even though we're no longer a size 10/12/14.

MW

[liskeardjane]

hi - i'm in cornwall and my kids 24 and 17 get most of their stuff of the internet and charity shops - we're in liskeard and have 3 charity shops and you have to be determined and keep going and having a look - if you fancy a day out on the train - go to Totnes market on a Friday where they sell second had clothes and any thing else you might need for your home - there isn't much in our house that hasn't come from that market - and then go to Willow the very best veggie restaurant in the world!

[Milims]

Have you tried Nomads? Just type it into google andit will come up. Beautiful stuff at reasonable prices

[fairymoonstone]

i love nomads stuff too and uttam. i recently went into a job where i no longer had to a nurses uniform and had to wear smart clothes. Iwas a little stuck as i didnt own anything suitable. Ebay was great i got 2nd hand stuff for really reasonable prices and the clothes all found a new home!