No longer should the words ‘ethical clothing’ bring to mind a hippy in an itchy looking kaftan; fair-trade and environmentally friendly fashion has changed. You wouldn’t believe what they can do with natural materials these days; the top below is 95% hemp!

Green Fashion has been picking up speed over the last few years, and the Estethica eco sustainable initiative exhibition at London Fashion Week is now in its 7th season. All Estethica designers have to adhere to at least one of the three Esthetica principles; fair trade and ethical practices, organic and recycled materials or ethical credentials. The focus is not only on the source of the materials, but the sustainability of the materials. Clothes that will last longer reduce consumption in the long run and therefore benefit the environment.

Recycled clothing offers you a whole new level of ethical brownie points, because you are making something new out of something that would be otherwise be thrown out or never used. The brilliant website Threadbanger offers tutorials on how to make a pair of old man trousers into a ‘slack dress’ and even how to turn an unwanted pillow case into a new top. Even big corporate players Nike have jumped on the recycling bandwagon; their ‘ReUse a Shoe’ programme recycles all makes of trainers and uses them to make running tracks and basketball courts.

Stella McCartney has been an advocate for green clothing for years and she wants to prove that fashion can be fair without sacrificing style. She doesn’t use any leather or furs in her collections and she is currently integrating organic materials into her designs. Ethical clothing is not just about the saving the environment and protecting animals, it is about people. Fair trade clothing makes sure that people are not being exploited for fashion.

Eco Clothing is infiltrating all areas of fashion, and you can even find it on the high street. There are many benefits to investing in some ‘green’ clothes as they are designed to last longer, and they really do make a difference by helping the fashion world to become fairer and less exploitative.

Every girl has one: That old sports t-shirt that you sleep in at night, probably hijacked from your boyfriend’s closet. Luckily for us, there’s a new ethical clothing brand out there that’s listened to our cries for fashionable comfort and is transforming these unloved textiles into innovative, covetable and well-designed apparel.

Truly vintage, My Only One will launch at London’s Oxford Street Topshop with a colourful Spring/Summer 2009 collection. From dresses to tops, the collection sees men’s sports t-shirts from the 70’s and 80’s transformed into the Batwing Top above and Tennis Skirt below and a vintage dress transformed into an all in one jumpsuit (below below!).

I have been trying to get my personal green initiative going for a while, so if these are as cute and comfortable as they look, I’m sold already. I emailed Pamela Daniels, Creative Director and Cofounder of My Only One who subsequently invited me to: ‘Towards a sustainable future for fashion’. We’ll be celebrating the launch of the Ethical Fashion Online Network and I’ll get a chance to view My Only One’s debut collection. Be sure to come back and see my photos and opinions in the follow up post on Friday!