HOW MUCH DOES ETHICS MATTER IN FASHION - A LESSON LEARNED

Those of you who receive our newsletter will know that we did our first real public, 'in-the-flesh' appearance for Boutique de Noel earlier this month. Organised by the Junior League of London, Boutique de Noel is (basically) a 1 1/2 day xmas fair made up of independant, exclusive retailers, the proceeds from which go to charity projects in the UK. Always one to throw itself at good cause (and shopping to support children and families is a pretty amazing cause), DeviDoll was honoured to included.

Happy to report that it all went swimmingly. But even more interested in reporting the lesson learned: to an un-preselected audience, in an ethical fashion colletion it's the fashion part that speaks the loudest. This may not come as a huge surprise but to see it in action was instructive. Part of the problem seems to be simple lack of knowledge -- "clothes can be made from bamboo? really?!"; but there is definitely an element of apathy -- "cashlama, huh? fairtrade? Uh...that's, uh....interesting, I guess....erm...anyway, its so soft and cheaper really than regular cashmere. I love that!"

In my mind there is no doubt that if something looks good and then it has done good en route to you, it wins over stuff that only has the former going for it. But I realize some people don't really care about the latter....it's as if its not their problem to worry about. It will take a lot more public awareness for the message to sink in that, ethically made and delivered fashion, is something we all need to think about.

Listen, I'm not complaining because DeviDoll has many customers that are not fussed about ethical but the effect of their shopping is the same as those who are -- DeviDoll is better able to support ethical fashion designers, spread the message and move forward in its aim of making a difference. I am just noting that, having stuck my head out of the eco/green/ethical fashion bubble, I realized how much is still not obvious to shoppers.

Guess we have our work cut out.