By: Roberto Priolo, Freelance Writer & Journalist.
It would be a mistake to think an award only exists to celebrate excellence. It can be a very powerful tool, able to turn a small matter few are considering into an important subject everybody wants to know more about. It can change the future of a person, a company or an association, and it can do it very quickly. It can grant visibility to theories and promote ideas.
We all know how any form of help is welcome when trying to spread the word on a subject as relatively neglected as sustainability, and events like the Observer Ethical Awards happen to be one of those occasions when the environment and social thinking take centre stage. Organised by one of the most respected Sunday papers in Britain, they are an occasion to identify best practice and hopefully promote its expansion towards new, even greener horizons.
If you need any further proof of the fact that ethical living is increasingly of interest for people in the UK, just take a look at the short-listed companies and individuals for this year’s Awards: all of them are extraordinary, encouraging examples of how a more responsible attitude towards the world around us can benefit us all.
This year the “green Oscars” reach their sixth edition, and without a doubt they will attract a lot of attention on themselves, like they did last year, when winners were announced during a ceremony hosted by actor Colin Firth at the V&A in London.
Entries have increased by the thousand since 2005, and even in the way these are presented the Awards are extremely “ethical”: everybody has a real say in the selection of winners or candidates. There are four reader-voted categories (Local Retailer, Online Retailer, Campaigner of the Year, Global Campaigner of the Year) and seven judged categories for which readers were invited to send proposals for entries (Big Idea, Grassroots Project, Ethical Kids, Fashion and Accessories, Conservation, Ethical Business and Ethical Blog).
Short-listed entries were published last month, while winners will be announced on June 9th 2011. Among the finalists are some interesting names related to fashion that made it to the top three. In addition to the one category dedicated to fashion, in 4 more general categories ethical fashion personalities and organisations made it into the short-list.
Greg Valerio from CRED, for example, is one of the finalists in the Global Campaigner category: a fair trade jeweller and loud advocate of responsible mining, Greg has been described in many ways, ranging from “pain in the arse” to “social entrepreneur”. There is no doubt he’s an important voice when it comes to ethical fashion, and seeing him as a finalist at the Awards demonstrates how far the sustainable approach to fashion can go.
In the Online Retailer category, Offset Warehouse is a finalist. The company is an recently founded online shop for ethical clothing and interiors. Its website, however, isn’t only used as a selling platform for responsible clothing and accessories: it also offers access to the Ethical Directory, which gathers the names and details of designers, students, manufacturers and, in general, people who are interested in ethical fashion.
Also, this very blog I am writing for (and I am very happy to say this) has been shortlisted in the Ethical Blog category. Shirahime will compete against YouGen and Well Seasoned (the is about renewable energy, the second on seasonal eating).
The fashion brand category
The finalists for the Fashion and Accessories category, sponsored by vogue.com, are Pachacuti, Christopher Raeburn and Veja.
In the Quechua language, Pachacuti means “world upside down”, which is exactly the goal this brand wants to achieve within the fashion industry: it hopes to use Fair Trade to right the wrongs in the system, by supporting the sustainable production of gorgeous Panama hats by marginalised women in the Andes. Pachacuti sets an example for anybody interested in embracing Slow Fashion and responsible clothing, both from the manufacturer’s and the end customer’s points of view.
Christopher Raeburn has chosen a different approach, but with an equally successful outcome. He produces “Remade in England” outerwear using reworked military fabrics. His creations have been showcased at Fashion Weeks, Design Weeks and have won several awards, and with good reason. Christopher is one of Britain’s most promising young designers.
Finally, Veja is a great example of ethical thinking put into practice from the sourcing of materials all the way to the shop. The brand produces footwear using organic cotton, Amazonian rubber and eco-tanned leather, and is committed to respecting the dignity of its Brazilian workers. Packaging is made of recycled or recyclable cardboard, and trainers are transported to Europe by boat. From Le Havre, they reach Paris through canals.
In this category, the 2010 winner was From Somewhere, a brand whi has made upcycling and the use of waste fabrics its leitmotifs. This year’s shortlisted brands are just as remarkable: they are unique expressions of some of the best ideas in ethical fashion.
We can only hope that whoever wins the Award inspires other companies in the fashion industry to come through, imagining new ways to make the world a better place while keeping on giving us beautiful, high-quality garments.
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Roberto Priolo is a London-based freelance writer. He specialises in lifestyle and travel, but has also written about business and culture. He contributed amongst others to the Sunday Times, Food and Travel, in-flight magazine Ling, trade magazine The Manufacturer and a local weekly newspaper in rural California.
