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“It is up to the next generation to be the change<br />
that we want to see in the world.”<br />
What is your opinion on how important<br />
sustainability is in the fashion industry today?<br />
I think ethical fashion has reached tipping point,<br />
I was at London fashion week in February and<br />
all of the window displays in Selfridges were<br />
communicating ethical fashion. This is a clear<br />
sign that the fashion industry is starting to take<br />
sustainable fashion more seriously.<br />
Do you think that the consumer is becoming<br />
more aware of the fashion industry?<br />
Yes, 76% of UK adults pay attention to ethical<br />
credentials that brands are using today. The<br />
attitudes of consumers are changing a lot. When<br />
they are out shopping and if the choice of an<br />
ethical item is there they will tend to choose<br />
this option. This is where brand transparency<br />
is important, for instance H&M now do a green<br />
label, So they are offering the products for the<br />
consumers albeit in a smaller way.<br />
How have you seen the sustainable fashion<br />
industry change/develop in the past five years?<br />
It has changed by growth, I think there is an<br />
array of fabulous brands that you can actually<br />
go and buy from now, whereas 7 years ago when<br />
I first started out on my journey with ethical<br />
fashion and my lifestyle change, I’d made a<br />
commitment to myself that I wasn’t going to buy<br />
from the high street anymore, So I was looking<br />
all the time and It was quite hard. Now I just<br />
want to put all the brands in one place and tell<br />
everyone where to find them.<br />
Where do you see the sustainable fashion<br />
industry heading in the future?<br />
I think it will become the norm, it wont be a<br />
separate niche thing. Everyones going to have to<br />
be more transparent with there practices, their<br />
employment, how they treat their employees<br />
because consumers know the truth so they cant<br />
hide any more.<br />
I believe it is up to the next generation of<br />
designers to clean up fashion. New designers<br />
are taught about ethics and sustainability within<br />
fashion yet there is still that influence of how<br />
fashion is today. Do you believe that young<br />
people currently have enough role models ?<br />
It is up to the next generation to be the change<br />
that we want to see in the world. They are getting<br />
the education now about ethical practices<br />
within businesses and the planet and ecology,<br />
that wasn’t in the national curriculum when I<br />
was at school. So they are growing up with the<br />
awareness and they are going to be making that<br />
change. The response we get from young people<br />
is fantastic. I work with them through the Miss<br />
Dorset competition to find positive role models<br />
for young people. We put them through award<br />
rounds which test them on their knowledge<br />
of fair trade for instance, They also modelled<br />
clothes from Peopletree on the catwalk which is a<br />
certified fair trade brand.<br />
What are your views on using animal products<br />
within fashion, leather, fur and wool for<br />
instance?<br />
It doesn’t need to be done. There are other<br />
things that we can use. There are technological<br />
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