Media Spotlight - The Importance of Ethical & Sustainable Bed Fashion
Organic Bed Threads Interviewed by Trusted Clothes
Tell us about yourself - family/personal story, education, and prior work.
Originally hailing from England, Australia has been my home for the past 36 years. A creative and adventurer at heart, I have always been drawn to textiles and ethnic designs from cultures stepped in rich history. I have been incredibly fortunate to have an eclectic study and working life in Sydney, Auckland, Florence, London, Istanbul and India.
My initial trades are as a textile designer in the soft furnishing industry, producing for leading textile houses; and as a public relations consultant, working on various large national campaigns within the environmental and art sectors. I have been frequently career restless, I can't always put my finger on the reasons why. Yet one purposeful knowing deep within my core was I needed to make my own conscious mark on the world, and so in the last few years I have combined my skills and experiences and have entered into a significant R&D phase to establish my own ethical textile label.
What is the importance of ethical fashion to you?
It means not sacrificing people and planet for the sake of making another product, rather taking a very considered approach in all the creation processes, such as building ethical practices into every part of my business. Encouraging healthy and fair work practices to ensure my product is safe to handle for the cotton farmer through to the studio artisans. I have no desire to pollute the environment nor endanger workers lives with chemicals nor treat them unjustly for the sake of profit or quick turnaround. I trade fairly with all those involved in my production supply chain in my chosen production country of India. While I apply social and ethical standards to my product with organic and fair trade accreditations (Global Organic Textile Standard and International Labour Organisation respectively), I am often encouraged by outsiders to make life simpler to cut on cost, even by the 'ethical' manufacturers. The importance of ethical fashion is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching, not only does this view resonate with my own personal values but I have to live with my thoughts and actions each day, which I hope to encourage within my target market.
Continue reading below or visit the interview on the Trusted Clothes website.
We have our eyes set on brand expansion in the more ethical 
It all sounds rather exciting to design and produce ethically. And it is. With any business venture though, there are hurdles at many a junction, but non-more-so if you want to touch the process at grass roots level. There was so much I needed to witness first hand, and still do, in my chosen production country of India, to ensure that all manufacturing processes for my ethical bed linen range, were free of child and forced labour, that 'fair' and/or 'living' wages were paid, and that no chemicals were used in the growing or manufacturing of the materials.