The eco-bandwagon

There are so many products spouting 'eco-friendly' or 'recycled' these days that it's hard to know who's legitimately and passionately trying to make a difference, and who's using it as a marketing ploy. Perhaps I'm being cynical, but I'm not interested in supporting a brand like Sportsgirl, despite their small range of organic garments. If they were really passionate about environmental ethics, they would design for longevity, rather than fad trends. "The motivation was to give our customer the opportunity to buy 'on trend' fashion while understanding her concerns about the environment. The collection delivers on that," said Sportsgirl's buying manager (source). To me, this is a blatant contradiction.

No one seems to be saying 'buy less'. If you want to help the environment, that's the best way to do it. An organic cotton tee, while it doesn't poison the earth with pesticides, still uses up massive amounts of water and resources through production and distribution. Unless you really need it, is it all necessary?


I do think it's great that awareness is increasing, and Sportsgirl is taking a step in the right direction. However, I question their motives, and would much rather support a brand that is passionate about change and shows it in all aspects of their business.

Sometimes the ethical options aren't there or aren't evident or are out of our price range. No one can fix all of the environmental imperfections in their life, I certainly have a long way to go, but I do think it's important that we try.