Fair Trade Fortnight - Day 7

Navy fair trade clerical shirt from Butler & Butler, navy linen skirt and turquoise fish ear-rings from Traidcraft, and my new, very comfortable, Vivobarefoot navy and turquoise shoes. A real bargain in the sale, even if people were surprised to see me in flat shoes!

But let's talk about knickers! I have been wearing ethical ones all week - but haven't mentioned them since Day 1 when I introduced you to my new find of Kerala Crafts. All the profits from their sale of fair trade knickers (and colourful men's boxers) are ploughed back into supporting projects for rescued girls and marginalised women.
Today's are a pair by Peau Ethique which only just come second place (to Pants to Poverty) in the Ethical Consumer guide to underwear. Based in France (so their own website is in French) they make bras, nightwear and knickers as well as pants for men too. They can be purchased in England from By Nature, who also stock men's and women's items available from German company Living Crafts. All of those I have purchased from these three manufacturers are made of far better quality cotton jersey than the current standard from the 'usual go-to high street supplier'. The most recent purchase from Living Crafts does have a loopy edge to the elastic that I think might catch, but a previous pair is lasting extremely well. Keep an eye open for sales from suppliers, which makes the purchase price more reasonable. Natural Collection also stock underwear by Braintree, but I cannot comment on that having never tried it.
The really beautiful knicker manufacturers sadly folded last year having not been able to sustain the business. 'Who Made Your Pants' was based in Southampton and provided training and jobs for refugee and asylum seeking women, utilising waste from the high-end lingerie industry. You can still read about them online (see for example this Oxfam blog), and ended by donating their remaining pants to women incarcerated in Yarlswood detention centre. The founder, Becky, is still keen to find a way to make this work - fair trade has got to work in ways that are not only about people in lower income countries manufacturing (however well paid and safely) for rich people elsewhere.

Fair Trade Fortnight - Day 1

Yoday's outfit includes plum cord skinny jeans from my favourite Monkee Genes and a floral cotton overtop from Nomads.
The boots are from Vivobarefoot's 'Soul of Africa' range which helps to create employment in Ethiopia - and they go down to my size of 2.5! Just checking out the website for the address, I have had to order a pair of blue loafers in the sale!
Necklace and earrings are from Traidcraft, a number of years ago, but they still have pretty things.
The handwoven bag, dyed with natural vegetable dyestuffs, was purchased in 2010 when I visited a project in Pokhara, Nepal. You can see a video about the Women's Skills Development Project but I am concerned as to whether they have subsequently survived the earthquake. Their own website does not seem to be accessible, but there are reviews on trip advisor late last year.
Knickers are from my most recent exciting discovery Kerala Crafts, found online when my suitcase took a longer holiday and I needed to deal with a  distant shortage of underwear!
Don't mention the socks - I realise not having those in fair trade versions is a gap in my wardrobe - but the ones I have will last a good while yet, so better for sustainability to make them last than replace them!