All you need for ethical fashion and interiors

It has been said that ethical fashion is something of an oxymoron. Nevertheless, it hasn’t stopped ethics from becoming a major concern for many textile designers. Ethics is now high on the agenda both in business, and at educational institutions. This season’s Estethica, London Fashion Week’s showcase of the best in ethical fashion design, featured 15 new designers. Now in its ninth season, the globally renowned Estethica exhibition has grown from including 13 designers in its first run, to now showing 37.

The problem, however, facing many designers is where are these ethical fabrics? Where are the best places to source from? How do I know if it’s truly ethical? These were the questions Charlie Ross asked herself when she was a post graduate design student at the Royal College of Art, London. Finding herself increasingly frustrated by the lack of resources, products and information available to her whilst producing her own ethical menswear collection, the idea for the Offset Warehouse was born, as Charlie explains, “If they buy from Offset Warehouse, they can be reassured that everything they purchase is ethical, without having to ask the questions themselves. We do all the hard work for them.”

The Offset Warehouse is an online space which brings together all of the elements to make ethical textile design easy. It is the first online business of its kind, focusing on ethical fabrics and haberdashery for the interiors and clothing market. Tracking down ethical materials is time consuming and confusing for many designers. Offset Warehouse eliminates the hassle by providing a one-stop shop for ethical fabrics and haberdashery, as well as an essential resource for designers, students and hobbyists. The easy to use site features everything you need to know and more.

There are four main sections to the newly launched site:

● The fabric shop and haberdashery – the broadest range of ethical materials and trims available to buy on the web. Choose from a treasure trove of organic, recycled, reclaimed, fair trade and sustainable fabrics in a wealth of colours. They also offer textiles which have been printed ethically. They will also be selling fabric remnants in the future.

● The ethical database – if you require the assistance of an ethical expert look no further than the ethical database. Includes contacts for consultants, designers, printers, writers and more and access to the database is free.

Fabrics and fashion from the ethical boutique

● The boutique – an ethical fashion shop that will be launching in the near future. Offset Warehouse aims to support fresh new talent by stocking and selling their ethical clothing and accessory designs. A must-visit for conscious savvy consumers.

● The resource area – the educational arena. Here you can download papers and e-books concerned with sustainable design and fair trade. Particularly helpful for students or businesses interested in a specific concern such as certification.

The mission of the Offset Warehouse is to make all non-ethical fabrics redundant by providing ethical equivalents that look and cost the same. There are no more excuses! The site is supported by leading industry bodies such as the Ethical Fashion Forum and the Organic Exchange. The Offset Warehouse is a timely response to the growing demand for fashion with a conscience and will no doubt become an invaluable resource for textile designers and students.

Find out more on the Offset Warehouse website. You can also follow on Twitter @OffsetWarehouse and find out the latest news on the Offset Warehouse blog.