The New Eco

The consumer needs a story behind the product rather than relying ion ubiquitous products. “The future of retail will come back to service singularity and emotional consumption.” Says a London based trend prediction company.

As a result, fair trade and ethical values are increasingly prevalent amongst retailers in order to draw a more emotional connection with the consumer. ‘Our customers have a definite interest in knowing our lines are ethically sound.’ Says Topshop’s Andrew Leahy. While the retailer hasn’t yet succeeded in selling Fairtrade cotton products in their main range, they are currently selling a baby range with every effort being made to ensure an environmentally friendly image across the board.

‘We’re committed to reducing salt faster than you can say ‘sodium chloride’ and ‘It’s not just our green dyes that won’t harm the environment’ Marks and Spencer are the first high street retailer to produce their own label of Fairtrade certified cotton products. Having already set the standard with fair trade coffee products in March they are also converting all their tea products and are ready to offer fair trade bananas, mangoes, honey, chocolate and avocadoes.

Their Fairtrade cotton range started with men and women’s t-shirts, and socks, and this summer saw the launch of their Fairtrade jeans. Working with the Djidgan Cotton Farmers Co-operative Union, in Mali, the company work with 36 local village co-operatives to provide the raw material for the jeans. Women’s jeans currently sell at £35 and men’s at £29.50, in stores nationwide.

With Gisele currently the face of Project Red, an initiative set up by Bono and his wife to help combat the spread of aids and malaria in Africa, more and more celebrities are putting their faces to a good cause. Having a conscience has never been cooler.

Ellie Rivers