Magazine


Ethically chic

Conrad Astley
28/ 4/2006

THE words "ethical" and "organic" may conjure up images of worthy causes and political correctness, but most people would be unlikely to associate them with style and glamour.

But two Manchester-based fashion gurus say this is a perception they want to change.

Chantelle Scott and Vik Banks opened Arkadash two months ago, determined to prove that wearing right-on clothing does not mean you have to forget about looking good or following fashion trends.

Chantelle, who lives in Moss Side, said: "I don't want to look like I'm wearing a sack, and I don't want ethical clothing to mean tie-died yoga trousers.

"I want it to get to the point where we can ask people to produce really stylish, sexy clothing, and it's definitely getting that way.

"A lot of the clothing that's coming out is still in quite safe territory, because this has traditionally been a small market and nobody wanted to take any risks, but it's expanding all the time.

"There are new lines of jeans coming out with really fashionable cuts, and there are lots of lovely dresses coming out at the moment as well. We want our stuff to look quite glamorous, we don't want to look like dodgy hippies."

The entrepreneur claims Arkadash, in Chorlton, is Manchester's first ethical clothing shop, committed to environmentally and socially-conscious clothing.

As well as ensuring the clothes they stock are not produced in third world sweatshops, they also try to make sure the clothes are not made from cotton grown using pesticides - an issue Chantelle says many consumers are unaware of.

"A lot of people raise their eyebrows when you start talking about organic clothing," she said. "But the production of cotton is a huge problem.

"In third world countries farmers are sold the crop by the same people who sell them the chemicals to spray it with.

"They're not given the proper protection, they just walk around spraying the crops. But western companies recommend you should wear full biohazard suits."

She adds that over 99 per cent of the world's cotton is grown using toxic pesticides. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 3m people suffer physical side effects from agricultural pesticides every year - including reproductive problems - and 20,000 die from pesticide poisoning.

Many of these pesticides have been banned in Europe and America, and one chemical being sold to Peruvian farmers was found to contain huge amounts of arsenic.

Cotton is also the world's most intensely sprayed crop. Although it only takes up 2.5 per cent of the planet's agricultural land, at least 10 per cent of the world's pesticides and 22.5 per cent of the world's insecticides are used on the crop.

While these may be good enough arguments to choose organic cotton, Chantelle said there was another reason.

"People come into the shop and can't believe how soft it is," she said. "There's one T-shirt in particular that I tell everyone to feel whenever they come in - you just have to touch it because it feels so nice. The quality of these products is really high."

Arkadash - taken from the Turkish word for friend - sells fair trade clothing by established labels such as Gossypium, Hug, Howies, SeaSalt, and THTC.

The shop also sells customised clothing, made by emerging brands such as Chatelle's own Kitnkabu label. These include adapted T-shirts and hoodies, which feature designs by local artists.

There are also clothes made by Chorlton-based designer Andrea Zapp, who recycles clothing and material found in charity shops and jumble sales.

The shop also sells No Sweat trainers - an organisation which campaigns against sweatshops - as well as shoes made from hemp and recycled tyres.

Arkadash has also organised its first import - a series of bags made by Ugandan workers from cotton that had been grown and weaved in the country.

Chantelle said that in an industry where cotton can be grown in Africa, weaved in India and eventually cut and stitched in China, this was a rare achievement.

But when shoppers can buy T-shirts for under £5 from many high street stores, will they be prepared to pay the extra price for a clean conscience?

"There's a myth that these products are a lot more expensive," she said. "We do have T-shirts for £13, which isn't an unrealistic price.

"This will become a big thing, because people are starting to become aware of what they're buying. It's not that people don't want to buy ethical clothing, it's just that until recently they didn't had the choice."


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