Made from recycled materials and breathable faux leather, these vegan shoes will make sure your tootsies look super-stylish this Autumn. They even come with a free organic cotton, drawstring bag to keep them in pristine condition when you are not wearing them.

ABOUT BEYOND SKIN

Beyond Skin is an ethical fashion label creating beautiful handmade ladies designer vegan shoes in the most environmentally friendly manner possible. Their vegetarian footwear is made from some of the finest, recycled fabrics and they work closely with factories to ensure the reduction of carbon footprint of their ethical shoes wherever possible.

We love Burberry!  Their British style, their use of checks, cheeky flat caps and heritage tweeds and knits were all over their catwalk collection this season. Autumn/Winter ’12 looks set to get cosy and traditional. Try the look here for less, with Lowies skinny leather bow belt.

With the big designers showcasing the best of British design, it is Estethica with which Helo Eco has had its eyes firmly on. Eco fashion is set to go global and it seems that Estethica has had its biggest year yet (now in its 6th year at LFW). All designers that participate in the British Fashion Council’s ethical initiative, adhere to at least one of the key Estethica principles of fair trade and ethical practice in the production process; the inclusion of organic fibres and the use of up-cycled and recycled materials and fabrics. Labels to watch out for this year are:
Ada Zanditon
Dr Noki’s – NHS
Henrietta Ludgate
Junky Styling
Makepiece
Monsoon
North Circular
Reclaim to Wear
Victim Fashion Street

Now that the New Year is almost upon us we’ve started our sale a few days early, with not just selected items but EVERYTHING across the online shop is now half price.

About Chichia

London based, Tanzanian designer Christine Mhando is creative director of Chichia and draws inspiration from the two continents in which she was raised.

The label’s signature style transpires from the artful application of the “Khanga”, a traditional east African cotton printed fabric used by local women as wraps, table cloths, and household fabric. Mhando fell in love with the colourful print and pattern of this traditional fabric and uses it mixed in with contemporary shapes and form to create beautiful garments made for the modern woman.

Chichia has fast become one to watch on the London Fashion Week circuit showcasing in fashion events such as Untold and Fashion Diversity. Exhibiting at Swahili Fashion week in 2009 and 2010 consecutively, Chichia has been recognised as an international African designer who modernises and transforms traditional illustrative East African textiles into stylish and considered fashionable attire.

About Made by Africa

Made by Africa is a uniquely African produced concept label that produces high quality jersey fashion for men and women. Launched in 2009 the brand is quickly becoming the newest trendsetter in the Tanzanian Fashion industry.

Manufacturing in Africa is at the heart of the label’s concept. The brand’s design ethos supports local talent, creating high quality ethically produced knitted garments using a selection of locally sourced materials that rejuvenates and revives the perception of everyday basics.

Shop the Chichia collection here

Make your own Christmas cards

We Brits send an estimated 1.7 million Christmas cards each year, that’s the equivalent of 200,000 trees and around 1 million end up in the bin every year. I like to send recycled Christmas cards, or you can send e-cards – we love this site Jibjab for creating hilarious, personal animated cards. Feeling creative? You could make your own out of old Christmas cards, scraps of decorative wallpaper, recycled coloured card…the list is endless. Your family and friends will love the personal touch! Each year I recycle my Christmas cards by cutting them up to make gift tags for the next festive season and recycle any left-overs bits.

Natures own decorations

There’s a whole range of beautiful foliage growing naturally right outside your door. Instead of spending money on plastic, non-biodegradable decorations use real holly to deck your halls, collect fir cones and decorate fallen branches. Make Christmas decorations using cinnamon sticks, gingerbread men, holly, ivy, seasonal berries and evergreen to decorate your home. It will fill your home with that wonderful smell of Christmas and you can throw it all on the compost heap when you’ve finished. Use up scraps of material to make Christmas stars and angels to hang on the tree.

Buy an organic turkey

Each year 10 million turkeys are eaten at Christmas. Buying an organic turkey not only tastes better but includes many other healthy and ethical benefits too. Organic meat uses fewer chemicals, meaning a better choice for you and your family, it also means the farmers are exposed to less chemicals as well as the environment. If you can, buy locally. Many towns now host farmers markets at Christmas. Buying locally boosts rural jobs and supports local farmers, it is also much cheaper than buying organic from the supermarket too.

Choose a locally grown Christmas tree

Buy your Christmas tree from a small scale, sustainable grower/local forest and make sure it has Forest Stewardship Council accreditation. Preferably choose a tree with roots so that it can be re-planted and nurture your tree so you can use it year after year. If re-planting isn’t an option many local councils run tree recycling schemes, check with yours for more details.

Pick energy saving lights

Choose energy saving light bulbs and LEDs for your fairy lights this year. They last much longer and use 80-90% less power than conventional mini bulbs. Don’t forget to turn your lights off at the end of the night too. 100-string Christmas tree lights left on for 10 hours a day over the 12 days of Christmas produce enough carbon dioxide to inflate 60 balloons.

Gift wrapping

Cut down on the amount of wrapping paper you use each year, and save money by getting creative with what you have around the home. Wrap presents in old paper bags, grocery store bags, posters or glossy magazine pages and decorate with bows, ribbons or scraps of fabric. Cut up any unwanted jumpers or silk shirts to wrap around a bottle and finish with some ribbon. Wrap up small presents in a beautiful scarf and make it part of the gift. If you love traditional wrapping paper, buy recycled versions – most retailers now stock a recycled option.

Candles and table decorating

There’s nothing like the scent of cranberry, cinnamon and cloves at Christmas and opting for candles is a great way to fill your room with those scents. Turn out the lights and conserve energy too by lighting candles, but opt for the natural kind made of beeswax, vegetable or soy wax instead of paraffin which are petroleum based. To decorate your table at Christmas use recycled card for name place settings, and make place mats from old pieces of fabric cut into rectangular pieces and finished with brightly coloured ribbon. I like to decorate my table with pieces of real holly, dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks and home made candles

Gift giving

Essentially one of the most exciting (and expensive) parts of Christmas, but with a little thought and creativity gift giving doesn’t have to be outlandishly expensive or wasteful. Around three quarters of people in the UK admit to wasting £50 on unwanted presents each year. Do the peeps on your list really need more Christmas tat? Why not cook them a nice meal instead, offer a free night of babysitting or you could donate to a charity in their name. What cuter present to receive then adopting a polar bear or penguin for Christmas? You can do this through WWF and you’ll receive a cuddly toy, gift pack and regular updates on your adopted animal. Oxfam also offers packages that include buying enough safe water for 10 people in developing countries. Give longer lasting, quality made gifts like our fair trade, merino wool hand made socks, or bamboo and organic cotton t-shirts that last longer than conventional ones.

Parties

Instead of buying through-away cutlery, plastic plates and cups use actual crockery and real glasses, especially if you have an energy saving dishwasher. If you are using disposable plates pick recyclable paper not plastic or Styrofoam. Use tablecloths instead of throwaway ones and wash them in cool water to save energy, using an eco friendly detergent. If you’re dressing up for the Christmas party check out our range of glam party shoes, all eco friendly and vegan made, using recycled faux suede and leather. Then kick back and enjoy the party with a glass of (organic) champagne!

Recycle

From wrapping paper to unwanted gifts, bottles, paper plates and trees, we throw away so much waste after Christmas. Pretty much everything can be recycled nowadays. Take a trip down to your local recycling bank and take any unwanted bottles, paper, trees and wood, and although these items are widely recognised as being recyclable, we don’t often know what to do with electrical goods. Every year, the amount of electrical waste created in the UK is enough to fill Wembley Stadium six times over. Quantities of e-waste are greater at Christmas and with much of these ending up in landfill we should be concerned about these electrical components being buried under ground. Try Recycle Now for how and where to take your unwanted electricals.

Ethical fashion refers to a moral outlook on the preparation, production and distribution of clothing and simultaneously creating a minimal impact on the environment.

It can refer to the treatment of those physically producing the clothing, and it can also refer to the environmental impacts and possible health implications surrounding the fabrics. It also refers to the way in which the clothing is produced and how it has reached the consumer.

Generally speaking, we would expect an item of ethical clothing to have been produced lawfully, non-exploitative towards those who made it, and with minimal environmental impacts with regards to production and transportation.

Be it clothing classed as fair trade, sustainable, non-exploitative, non-toxic, vegan, recycled, upcycled…all these keywords adhere to a common goal or belief: the production of fashion with a direction towards less harmful and exploitative practises, and contributing to a healthier and more harmonious world.

Read more here

At the beginning of October, Programme Coordinator Andy Taylor will be running a tour of information desks and lectures about the programme around Scotland and Northern Ireland and to promote the unique and valuable business skills that can be gained from the business-cultural hub that is China.

At Helo Eco we’re firm believers in the development and education of young people, developing their skills to prosper and fulfil their unique business ideas. So we were delighted when the Study China Programme approached us to design a t-shirt exclusively for the programme.

The SCP does a great job of encouraging peace, friendship and progress for individuals, with concerted efforts in team building, acquiring outstanding business acumen, learning and development. Which is what inspired us to design this fair trade panda t-shirt. The panda in its entity represents China, in addition to strength, agility and kindness. We think it’s pretty cute too!

Find out more about The Study China Programme

Buy it here

What the lens saw…..

The inspirational mood board-wall in the NEWGEN tent on the Southbank. The retro glitter trend encapsulates the 70′s fever sweeping the current season, and looks set to continue into next Spring/summer.

Textures, wool, shape and formation inspire SS12.

Metallics, sequins and fluid forms take over.

Felicity Brown

Felicity Brown – pretty as a piece of art!

We had ordered 50 pink cupcakes for the day, but found on their arrival that they were actually lemon and beige!!! Er… not quite the pink party we had planned but never mind, we still had pink sparkling wine to treat our guests to, which obvs went down a treat!!

We were so delighted at the positive response to the collection and the online store, and it was a great way to see our customers face to face to gain some feedback. And what feedback it was! We sold out of the popular 3 button nautical boat stripe top (although we’ve just received a delivery of a couple of Small/Medium’s so snap ‘em up quick!) and the stripy socks flew off the table. Unfortunately our supplier is no longer able to provide us with them, but fear not folks as we plan to launch our very own Helo Eco range of socks, woolies and other knitted goodies in time for Autumn/Winter. So watch this space!

Here are some lovely ladies who made a couple of hot purchases on the day!!

Sarah bought the Bibico Lita Tunic.

Kay and Sarah ready for a night on the tiles! Kay bought the Beyond Skin Saskia Wedges in gold/black.