Cheap or Chic

It's been a while since I managed a blog entry and this one is long over due. We have recently been through a period of re-organisation at Terramar Organics, and this on top of a move of house both for Peter and myself (still within Aberdeen). Onywho, things are beginning to settle into place and I'm getting stuck into my new role at Terramar Organics.

Downtime

As you may be aware the terramar.co.uk website experienced two periods of downtime, one on the 28th of August and the second, more recently, on the 5th September. See http://www.terramar.co.uk/page/blog/server-outage/.

On both occasions the fault lay solely with 1and1 internet. The second period of downtime was a mismanaged attempt by 1and1 to fix the first problem. The terramar.co.uk site is once again fully operational.

We are currently examining the logistics of changing service provider as 1and1's level of technical support for it's business customers leaves a great deal to be desired.

Lowri Turner - a cheap chic?

Our house seems to collect magazines, between Hello, Grazia, Private Eye, The Ecologist, New Consumer, and a host of random others there is a constant supply of written materials for the bathroom. Which is where I came across a debate between Telegraph columnist Sarah Mower, and semi-coherent polli-filler (file under 'Writer and Broadcaster') Lowri Turner in the pages of an old Grazia (issue 129).

While Sarah Mower made a short and cohesive argument against ultra cheap fashion, Lowri "please take me seriously" Turner suggests that cheap "is a necessity" and that cut-priced clothing equates to "guilt free shopping".

Lowri Turner suggests that because "many modestly priced shops source from the same factories as 'quality barnds'" that it is OK to buy cheap. She goes on to say that Peacocks have introduced organic cotton bags instead of plastic ones. Finally she announces that "[t]he bottom line is not all of us can afford to spend £400 on a skirt [from Prada]".

All of this is somewhat disingenuous, and I am sure that the fragrant Ms Turner is aware of the extent of her disingenuousness; on second thoughts, perhaps not.

With regards to cheap and not so cheap items being made in the same factory; it has been clear for many years now that designer clothing is more often than not made under the same working conditions as "cheap chic" clothing. That Peacocks is making available organic cotton bags is good, but they could do better by supplying sustainable textile bags (bags made from organic cotton, to organic standards, produced under ethical labour conditions.)

Lowri's last (and first) point that not everyone can afford more expensive clothing is totally undermined by her declaration earlier on that cheap chic is here to stay because "we've got used to carrying great armfuls of cut-price garments to the Primark checkout". Oh, and the small matter that those of us advocating sustainable living have never suggested that everyone should spend their hard earned cash on Prada.

No Lowri! The point is this, consumers don't pay the true cost of production for cheap chic. The subsidy for this over consumption is paid by the abysmal working conditions of the workers in the factories which produce the garments which Lowri is so very keen to buy and - probably - only wear once.

Paying more for an ethically produced, more durable product may be painful for the likes of Lowri Turner, but is the only way for a sustainable future. Then again it must be hard to subsist on an over inflated sense of self worth.

This all brings me very nicely to Lucy Siegel writing in last weekends Observer magazine.

What difference organic

UPDATED

Under the title "What difference do organic t-shirts make" she manages to make and miss in equal measure as many points about organic production and fair trade as can be crammed into two columns.

So while she picks up on the ecological benefits of organic cotton farming, she fails to mention anything about the production of cotton into a wearable garment. She goes on to confuse the Fairtrade foundation for the fair trade movement.

So here's Tom's quick guide to sustainability:

  • Organic cotton = cotton grown to organic standards using organic farming methods.
  • Fairtrade = the word Fairtrade (one word, initial letter capitalised) is a trademark of the Fairtrade Foundation, an organisation set up to promote fair trade (mostly food increasing other consumer items such as clothing).
  • Fair trade = a movement composed of affiliated and unaffiliated individuals, groups, organisations and businesses who share one common aim, the promotion of the equitable exchange of goods and services. The operative function being "equitable exchange".
  • Sustainable textiles = clothing and other textiles made from any raw material grown to organic standards (farmed organically) AND produced to organic standards within an ethically sound environment.

At Terramar Organics we only sell clothing that is Sustainable. That is, clothing that is produced with an ecological and social conscience. Ethically and Environmentally sound. Fair trade and organic.

The original article by Lucy Siegle can be found here:
What difference do organic T-shirts make?

Channel four dumped

No surprise at this one, but here goes anyway. The contestants on the Channel Four reality "Dumped" aren't spending their time foraging on a real dump but rather on a specially constructed tip. Not having had any time recently to watch TV, I really couldn't say whether or not the show raises environmental awareness or not as the programmers make claim it will.

If you fancy a proper analysis of the current zero-carbon debate you could have a gander at Leo Hickman's piece "Is a zero-carbon Britain possible?" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/30/climatechange.ethicalliving)

Also the BBC pages
Assessing the UK's 'wind rush' -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6970209.stm
Wind farms 'not in windy places' -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6969865.stm

Let your garden go

Over manicured gardens are proving to be the death knell of several species of wildlife in the UK. As reported in "One Square Metre" on this blog}, letting just a small area of your garden grow wild can greatly enhance local bio-diversity.

According to the UK Biodiversity Action Plan 2007 the following animals have been added for the first time since the plan was started in 1997: hedgehogs, house sparrows, the grass snake and the garden tiger moth. The BAP lists over 1000 species and 65 habitats in need of protection and greater conservation.

There is also good news, several species have shown a marked improvement in fortune since appearing on the BAP.

Tomorrow I hope to make an appearance at Offshore Europe, hopefully I'll have something interesting to report on Monday.


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