EcoChic Collection

EcoChic Collection values the ‘Triple Botton Line’ business concept created by John Elkington. THis is defined as the ’simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity’ and are central to the way EcoChic Collection conducts its business.

All of our collections are carefully selected Fair Trade & ethical products sourced from organisations who have achieved external certification through BAFTs, the WFTO, or hold the SA8000 certification. We have also developed our own EcoChic accreditation framework for our partner organisations, which acts to validate the ethical & environmental position of each brand. This gives us and our customers independent assurance that our suppliers are actually implementing and living up to their stated ethical ideals in production.

We recognise that this may not be a perfect system, but we also acknowledge that the organisations who have signed up to be accredited as Ethical or Fair Trade Organisations, are bound codes of conduct in terms of workers rights and are regularly assessed as to whether they are striving to make continuous improvements.   Fair Trade signatories pay a social premium to their producers in the developing world so that communities can decide on how to pay for developments.  To date it is the best accreditation system we have available that supports the welfare of producers in the developing world through-out the supply chain of organisations.

EcoChic  recognises that there is a distinct difference between ethical and fair trade and values both in the supply chain. We promote and follow the 10 Fair Trade principles laid down by  the World Fair Trade Organisation. WFTO).

THe WFTO

The International Fair Trade Association, holds its members to account to check they are actually trading fairly with their suppliers.

What are FAIR TRADE principles?

“Fair Trade is a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to and securing rights of, marginalized producers and workers”. (IFAT). Indeed it goes far beyond the boundaries of ethical trade and seeks to work sustainably with environmental concerns and long term partnerships at the heart of the trading partnership.
IFAT (International Federation of Alternative Trade).
• Fair Trade is a partnership between producers and consumers which ensure producers receive good working conditions and fair prices throughout the supply chain.
• Paying fair prices to the producers which reflect the true cost of production - world market prices often do not cover even the cost of the raw materials
• Providing credit when needed to allow orders to be fulfilled and to pay premiums to be used to provide further benefits to producer groups.
• Supporting producer organisations in their social development projects - many provide health and education facilities through the Social Premium
• Promoting the empowerment of women
• Advising on product development to increase access to markets
• Encouraging environmental responsibility & sustainable projects
• Committing to long- term relationships and trading partnerships to provide stability and security rather than a short-term commercial advantage
• Campaigning to highlight the unequal system of world trade
• Transparency of business practice
• Mutual Respect with all our partners and producers
• Justice for all involved in the production and supply process, trade and sustainability not aid.

Find out more at: http://www.wfto.org/

BAFTS: 

The British Association for Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS) is a network of independent fair trade shops across the UK.

Find out more at: http://www.bafts.org.uk/

Fairtrade labeling (FLO)

Actually provides an independent guarantee that the farmers get a fair deal and awards the Fair Trade Mark.

Find out more at: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/

SA8000

An SA8000 certification proves that your Social Accountability System has been measured against a best practice standard and found compliant. Issued by a third party certification body/registrar, the certificate lets customers know they can trust that you have implemented the necessary internal processes to ensure basic human rights for your employees.

Find out more at: http://www.sa-intl.org/

The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is an alliance of companies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and trade union organisations. ETI exists to promote and improve the implementation of corporate codes of practice which cover supply chain working conditions. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that the working conditions of workers producing for the UK market meet or exceed international labour standards.

What is Ethical Trade?

Ethical trade or ethical sourcing, as it’s sometimes called, can mean different things to different people. Some use it as an umbrella term to include all types of business practices that promote socially and/or environmentally responsible trade. The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) use it simply to refer to the responsibility of buying companies has for the rights & welfare of workers in their supply chains.
Ethical Trading Iniative Base Code:
• Employment is freely chosen
• Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected.
• Working conditions are safe and hygienic
• Child labour shall not be used
• Living wages are paid
• Working hours are not excessive
• No discrimination is practiced
• Regular employment is provided
• No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowedEcoChic passionately believes that all of these principles are vital in any trading relationship. By each of our products we indicate the level of accreditation that our suppliers have achieved:
www.ethicaltrade.org

Organic Certifiers: Check the farming and also the flow of goods to ensure that the cotton in your product actually comes from an organic farm.

Find out more at: http://www.soilassociation.org/

IMO Organic Certification:With more than 20 year experience in organic inspection and certification in developing countries, IMO acts also as competent expert for all aspects related to organic certification and development of local organic movements.
www.imo.ch/imo_organic_certification

Control Union Certification: Control Union Certifications, f.k.a. Skal International, offers you a global one-stop-shop for a wide range of certification programs. Our certificates are accepted by authorities in nearly every country.

Textile certification: Control Union Certifications can offer you two certification programmes for your sustainable textile production. To make sure that these programmes are workable in practice they were developed them in cooperation with experts of the textile industry, consumer organisations and environmental groups.

EKO Sustainable Textile certification using GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), and Organic Exchange certification.

The “Supply of dyes and processing aids” module is not a real certification programme. Rather, it is an assessment of conformity to the Sustainable Textile programme for specific dyes and processing aids that are used in the production of textile and textile products.

The Organic Exchange certification programme allows you to claim a traceable percentage of certified organic cotton.

www.controlunion.com/certication

Recycled

Over 1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year. This is why we support fashion made from recycled clothing and fabrics. Not only does this support fabulous creativity but it cuts down the need for landfill space, reduces the pressure on virgin sources resulting in less pollution and saves energy. 

EcoChic Partnership Questionnaire 

You will see our own logo against the those organisations that are too small to hold other certification, but please be rest assured we work very hard to find out about our partners & publish all the responses to the questionnaire they complete.

For our own Fair Trade & ethical assessment please go to the following link:

http://www.ecochicfairtrade.co.uk/pages/ecochic-our-ethical-fair-trade-criteria