Ethical Clothing

[Milims]

Normally I buy all my clothes from the charity shop. I hate clothes shopping and I hate going into the "regular" clothes shops - you know the ones! I think that I have a slightly "cooky" dress sense and so I can never find what I want and I hate wearing the latest fashions! And as one of my colleagues pointed out recently - I always end up wearing black! Anyway, we are lucky enough to have a shop in town that sells fare trade and organic clothes and at fairly reasonable prices. They have a sale on at the moment and I picked up 3 lovely brightly coloured dresses. They look good, they feel good to wear, they are adaptable and they fit in with my ethical puchasing needs - and they've brought me several compliments!
I've looked up the web site: www.nomadsclothing.com and the stuff is lovely - and the sale stuff is fairly reasonably priced. So I was wondering - has anyone else found any similar sites for clothing?

[gigglybug]

I love nomads clothes!!

Gringo clothes are also fairtrade.
It is also good to have a look on Ebay for clothes.

[snapdragon]

currently e bay searching for second hand sarees to make something to wear for No2 Son's wedding party
I did look in some shops but saree material is usually two co-ordinating colours or matching patterns and my own choice of what to make out of it
There was a lovely Nomads coat for sale before Yule not my size though

[Flo]

I've looked. No use for on the allotment and most of it is too small for me. Sad but I have never found fairtrade clothes that I could buy much as I would like to do so.

Also it's a tad on the expensive side for my budget.

So - much as it grieves me to say so - I shall have to stick with the second hand or middle of road cheaper new shops.

[tiggy]

As most of my clothes are given or found I cant see me wearing Ethical clothing anytime soon.Some of the stuff is lovely but to expensive for my budget so I will be sticking to recycled stuff.Year on year my clothes budget has been getting smaller.New purchases are underwear socks and occasionally shoes but my big feet just got lucky this year with some smart black suede slip ons my mates OH was fed up of.He also has a pair of sturdy boots set aside for next time I call. All Hail the Gods of Recycling .

[LBR]

I shop at thrift shops mostly. Swap when I can. Once every couple of years, I'll go to one of those discount outlets. I wouldn't buy clothes I couldn't try on first. My preference would be to swap with people I know. Thrift stores make profits for what fits their purposes. Defining ethical gets quite involved.

[Uller]

naturalcollection.com have some nice clothes - usually organic or fairtrade. Bishopston Trading do fairtrade cotton shirts etc. Even some of the mainstream shops have fairtrade or organic clothing now - I like M&S fairtrade cotton Tshirts and Monsoon fairtrade cotton jeans. I've even seen them in New Look!

[Green Aura]

I love most of these clothes - but they only make them for stick insects. If any of them did clothes for big gals they'd get my (limited) clothing money.

[AnnaD]

I really like Nomads. Another good website to try, which has a larger selection is http://www.wizzardoreaswardrobe.co.uk/ I've bought from them and they seem very good and always have good offers.

[Graye]

I like that site! I see several things in the sale which my grand-daughter will be getting shortly. I didn't know this store existed so thanks for the link, also the others ones given in the later posts.

With regard to thrift stores in the US, they are slightly different to the ones in the UK, as I remember. UK ones are usually very specific about where their profits are going, Cancer Reearch, British Heart Foundation, PDSA, local hospices, etc. and they make sure you know what you will be supporting before you even go in. I like shopping in them - lots of choice, often some bargains AND I'm supporting a good cause. I know there is the argument that certain ones take advantage by selling new goods even though they manage to not pay business rates etc. Rather a difficult one, that...

[Rosendula]

Having run my own Fair Trade web-shop in the past, I do know of a few. Some have already been mentioned, but I'll just list what I can off the top of my head:

These people have their own brands and sell retail and wholesale (so you'll find other people selling the same stuff)

http://www.nomadsclothing.com
http://www.namaste-uk.com
http://www.hug.co.uk
http://www.blackyak.co.uk (the kids stuff is really tough-wearing)
http://www.peopletree.co.uk
http://www.tshirtandsons.co.uk/


Gringo don't sell retail, only wholesale so you need to find a stockist.

These people are retailers who sell the above brands

http://www.wizzardoreaswardrobe.co.uk
Pagan and Fair Trade Products

There's more, but I can't think of them right now.

Also, you might like to check out these directories:
http://www.thegreenshoppingguide.co.uk/
http://www.livingethically.co.uk/
http://www.allthingseco.co.uk/

[mrsflibble]

sainsbury's do fair trade cotton long sleeve t shirts for £3.50 each and they're fan-bloody-tastic. i like them for layering, or just wearing on their own over jeans.

[Shabba]

I love naturalcollection.com for clothes. Yes, they do tend to be on the expensive side but I have learned to delay satisfaction and wait until the new season's catalogue arrives. It's usually only about 5 or 6 months later and as soon as it comes it means that all the stuff i loved in the last catalogue has been reduced to half price!! Also they're very wearable clothes. I've looked at places like Bishopston Trading before and although they're are great quality they're often quite "hippy-ish" (I hope no-one takes offence to that description. Its just that patchwork loonpants aren't quite my style!). But I love having a rummage in the charity shops more than anything else and although you don't find something every time, some of my favourite things have come from Oxfam.There is a much more palpable sense of excitement in hunting through the racks and not knowing if you might just come across a real bargain that's perfect for you!

[the.fee.fairy]

I like a lot of the ethical clothing, but it is miles more than my budget!
I've also got stupidly long legs, so they never ever make trousers or skirts that are long enough,

I tend t o buy my clothing on Ebay - second hand so its being recycled. That way, i can get the trousers from the shops that do my length and i'm also keeping them from being thrown away.

[Penny Lane]

I love all the ethical clothing mentioned above & there's a gorgeous online store that does mainly t-shirts but oh you've got to see them to know why they're so fab! http://www.soul-flower.com/

Me and my little sister have very similar clothing tastes and as I have no money to spend on luxuries like nice clothes I get her cast offs

I try to find kooky clothes in charity shops or make them.