Clothes with a conscience

May 31 2008 by Rebecca Young, The Journal

Rebecca Young talks ethical fashion with The Journal’s own Anna Heywood, star of our fashion shoot.

IN recent years we have all started to realise just how fragile the world that we live in has become. But it seems that the majority of us don’t actually realise just how easy it can be to make a difference, even in something as simple as choosing the clothes that you wear.

Someone who has learnt how to protect the planet from an early age is The Journal’s ethical blogger, Anna Heywood, who has been nominated for the second year running for an Observer ethical award.

Mother-of-two Anna, 33, earned her nomination as Grassroots Campaigner of the Year for her work encouraging student unions to become more environmentally friendly. This is something which stemmed from her time at Northumbria University, where she studied international business management, when the student union restaurant was replaced with a pizzeria.

She explains: “I don’t think I realised how strongly I felt about these issues until I saw the amount of cardboard that would go to waste from the pizza boxes.”

Anna, who spent much of her childhood in Uxbridge, London and Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, traces her initial interest in the environment back to her childhood and the way that she was bought up.

“Mum raised us as vegetarians and taught us the importance of eating healthily and about the chemicals that could be used in various foods.”

She laughs: “Although I do remember wishing I could find a packet of Monster Munch in my lunch box at school on occasion instead of the usual beansprouts!”

Despite the lack of Monster Munch in her packed lunch, Anna has maintained her passion for the environment into her adult life. In fact she has recently completed an MSc in environmental studies at Sunderland University.

In Anna’s placement year, as part of the MSc, she worked for a North East company called Bridge Consultants as an environmental consultant. Since her graduation a year ago she has been working for them full time.

Anna adds: “I am sent out to different companies. I then help them to look at the impact their businesses have on the environment and I then have to come up with ways to help them reduce this.”

Home life for Anna is just as ethically sound. Raising her two children Lily, eight, and Toby, seven, alongside husband Nathan, 36, in Heaton has proven to be another learning curve for her, especially now they have reached school age.

“The children are both vegetarians and have embraced a more environmentally friendly way of life, just as I did,” she states proudly.

Anna goes on to say she has given talks at their school, La Sagesse in Jesmond, and adds Lily and Toby have set up an Eco Council and a carbon measuring scheme there.

She is especially proud of her children as, “this has all come from them”. Anna does not believe in pushing her way of life on to people. She knows this can often have the opposite effect to the one desired.

She says: “I have had several parents come up to me at the school gates and tell me their children are teaching them about recycling and alternative, more environmentally friendly ways of doing things at home.

“I obviously think that is fantastic!”

When it comes to fashion, however, Anna is very much aware that there is still a stigma attached to eco-friendly clothing, which is partly the reason why she agreed to do this shoot with The Journal.

Anna clearly enjoys fashion but she sees no need for it to be either bad for the people who create clothes or to have such an impact on the environment.

In fact most of her own clothes are bought second hand from charity shops in Jesmond and Gosforth, “because they are richer areas the clothes in them are often better,” she said. When she does buy new clothes it is always from an ethical supplier like People Tree.

Anna smiles: “I want to show people that just because it is ethical does not mean it has to be frumpy or unstylish.”

The initial idea behind the fashion shoot was to find an outfit for Anna to wear to the Observer Ethical Awards on June 5, but as the planning developed, we discovered how many fantastic companies there are dedicated to ethically sound clothing, shoes and accessories and really wanted to show how easy it is to be stylish as well as helping the environment.