● Ethics-led versus demand-led
There is a difference between brands that manufacture clothes ethically because of a deep-seated commitment, and those that have adopted ethical initiatives in response to consumer demand. Brands in the ethics-led category are often social enterprises, operating to a 'triple bottom line' (performance is measured on environmental and social performance, as well as financial), and many – such as People Tree and Bishopston Trading – existed long before the current major interest in ethical clothing began. For consumer demand-led initiatives, social and environmental performance is a means to better financial results, not an end in itself.
● Mainstream and niche
Products and companies that seek to provide an alternative for the ethically- conscious consumer take a different approach to those that seek to transform the whole industry. Mainstream, transformative responses might include M&S' Plan A, Adidas’ decision to publish a full list of its supplier locations, a complete switch to organic or Fairtrade cotton, or brands' variously successful attempts to monitor and improve working conditions in supply chains through the ETI. Such responses affect consumers whether they choose to buy ethically or not: they make the more ‘ethical’ option the rule rather than the exception.
Niche responses can be subdivided into values-led and fashion-led. There are fair trade brands, which are driven by the developmental impact of their operations and there are those that that are primarily about producing fashionable clothing, but try to do it in an ethical way. We can also count in this category the niche initiatives of major fashion retailers, such as organic and Fairtrade certified cotton lines in many high street stores. With one or two exceptions, these latter lines are marketed as ‘ethical’ alternatives for customers: usually they cost more and are available in a limited number of designs, selected based on the customer profile that the brand expects to be attracted by its ethical offering.
14 There isn't space for a detailed analysis of particular products or issues here. Instead, here are a few points to help you evaluate one ethical issue: garment workers' rights.
Brands attempting to satisfy the demand for ethical consumerism can offer little or no independent, verifiable guarantee of workers' rights to the consumer, because no such consumer guarantee exists: while many source from suppliers following a fair trade model, they rely on consumers' trust; there are also many 'free-loaders' who use the term 'ethical' while sourcing conventionally.
There is little evidence that mainstream fashion is adopting the learning from the more pioneering niche brands and managing its supply chains in a more ethical way. Nor does it seem to be losing consumers to the ethical sector, because it is able to keep their custom using partially ethical solutions such as Fairtrade and organic cotton, or charity tie-ins.
Mainstream retailers stocking such partially ethical products find themselves criticised extra-heavily on workers' rights. This goes for retailers selling products made with organic and Fairtrade cotton, which do not guarantee working conditions in the manufacture of the garments. It also applied to Sainsbury's “I'm not a Plastic Bag” line in 2007, a limited edition cotton bag, designed by Anya Hindmarsh, marketed as a means to reduce consumers' use of plastic bags. Campaigners and media soon picked up that the bag was made conventionally in China using conventional cotton, meaning that its environmental footprint as well as the working conditions in which it was produced was far from 'ethical'. (Mendick 2007)