The show took place at 5:30pm on the ground floor of the JG building and about 40 people showed up to view a handful of shirts, skirts and leggings from the two fairtrade certified labels: "Gossypium" and "Annie Greenabelle" who were exhibiting.
There was also a swapshop where punters could exchange their old rags with each other.
There was also a swapshop where punters could exchange their old rags with each other.
The show was organised by Hannah Smith of the Sustainability Hub, a new section of the the Sustainability department at Kingston University.
The "Sustainability Hub" is one of the leading university initiatives in it's field in the the UK and was launched last year in an effort to help reduce the University's carbon footprint. They are responsible for the trash bins which encourage students to separate their trash into plastics, paper and card, and landfill waste.
"Fairtrade is not a brand" Hannah Smith opened. 'The idea was pioneered by a dutch company in the early 90s and in 1997 FLOW was established in Bonne to set a world-wide standard for fair-trade goods. Companies can then apply to get their products certified, and if they satisfy certain criteria vis-a-vis human rights, child-labour etc. they can put the Fairtrade label on their product, Sainsbury's bananas for example, are all Fairtrade labelled."
The hub, which was started in 2006 has managed to succeed in getting the cafe to stock Fairtrade products such as tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
There is still a university ban on Nestle products, however, Smith said that it would only take one student to submit a motion at the termly student's meeting to lift the Nestle ban at the Uni, provided enough people supported the motion. Kit-Kat is currently the only chocolate bar made by Nestle to carry the Fairtrade label.
There is still a university ban on Nestle products, however, Smith said that it would only take one student to submit a motion at the termly student's meeting to lift the Nestle ban at the Uni, provided enough people supported the motion. Kit-Kat is currently the only chocolate bar made by Nestle to carry the Fairtrade label.
In order to get Fairtrade approved status, the University had to make a pledge to appoint a Fairtrade steering group, and it is assessed annually to renew it's status. They must also pledge to raise awareness amongst the student population of Fairtrade and human rights. "This year we're doing it alongside the 'Human Rights Week' which FASS is running, that is intended to support human rights" she stated.
"I wanted to run this show so that people could see how lovely the clothes are. There are a lot of misconceptions about Fairtrade clothes, that they're not good quality or that they're too expensive for example, but those myths are going out of fashion. These are no longer seen as luxury items, in fact they're very competitive". Natalie Scott, one of the show's models said: "I was quite shocked because I wouldn't normally wear these kind of clothes, but I really liked them, they were very comfortable and I would definitely buy them now!
Abisola and Dara from KUSU volunteering society were there to spread the word about "Gossypium" - one of the clothing brands on show that advertises itself as 'The Ethical Eco-Cotton Store' and sells a large range of yoga wear which they promote as 'fair to the people and pure to the planet".
Lauren, an art student said: "The show was really interesting to see. I really liked the look of lots of the clothes. I wouldn't usually consider buying fair-trade clothes but these look just like everyday fashion".
Nor Aziz from the Sustainability Hub said that the hub is trying to divert trash from going into the landfill, hence the idea of a clothes-swap. They will weigh the clothes from the clothes swap and send the results back to HFCE to assess how much they are helping to reduce the University's carbon footprint.
Rosalind from the Disability and Dyslexia department of the University said: "We went to one last year at the Rose theatre, but this one was better because the swap shop is so big!"
Emerald, her friend from the Research department said "We always buy ethical if we can, provided that it's not too expensive."
Kingston University T-Shirts carry the fair-trade mark also and are available to buy from the student shop.
Emerald, her friend from the Research department said "We always buy ethical if we can, provided that it's not too expensive."
Kingston University T-Shirts carry the fair-trade mark also and are available to buy from the student shop.
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