It's important to get started early when you're working with ideas about ethical fashion. The youth market is big on cheap and disposable clothing. Just look at your average Primark on a Saturday afternoon. Get the idea into the youngun's heads that there are alternatives, and who knows what you can spark off?
Five young people from North Yorkshire have found that spark. The teens have put together Fact Fashion, an initiative that puts hard-hitting statistics about world poverty and injustice onto a range of clothes and accessories. The clothes are colourful, and assembled with a sharp eye for bold graphic design. I'm reminded of Katherine Hamnett's t-shirts back in the eighties. It's a great way to engage a large audience on ethical issues, and it's already seen some success, winning Fact Fashion the top prize in CAFOD's "Solutions For The Planet" competition and, last week, the Ecover Ethical Kids nod at the Observer Ethical Awards.
There's a long way to go yet, of course. The kids are looking for funding, and I hope they find suppliers and manufacturers that have a decent ethical background. But it's a great first step, and here at The Pier we wish them every success.
For more, have a look at an overview written by James, one of Fact Fashion's founders, or check out a short promo video at the Guardian.
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