Before you give your flexible friend free rein on-line, check out the companies we stock in-store. 20 companies in all - count them. We have worked hard to find companies who share our ethics and produce clothing you will love to wear. If you want an item which you can't find, why don't you contact us? We have far more in store than we can put on the web - plus it's much more fun to chat!
Adbusters
I just love these guys - no really. I wait for their missives to fill my inbox. They have a great take on life - and boots to die for. Each pair of sneakers and boots come with a share certificate and a booklet on how to UnSwoosh your current brand of trainers. That being, of course, a short term issue as these will be bound to become your favourite pair. Check them out at www.adbusters.org.
Art Kem
Ceri and I are crazy about these guys - Jewellery designed in Paris and made by artisans in the Tuareg region of Niger. These beautiful designs are contemporary, but based on traditional Tuareg designs. They are all sterling silver with inlaid ebony or semi-precious stones. The necklaces demand attention!
Ascension
New kids on the block, Ascension have focussed on producing the perfect cut of jeans. This company have received a very high rating by the Ethical Consumer, and the price is only 50 quid. Bargain. One more thing for those of you who hate hipsters - the rise is just right reducing that lovely tendency for your backside to reveal itself when cycling (a perennial gripe of mine in case you haven't noticed.)
Boondoogle
Based in Carmarthen, these two art students, not content with knocking out their degrees, are taking on the crowded t-shirt market as well. With real aplomb (we think) they are using the luscious fabric made from bamboo to create eco friendly tees with images to make you smile. When the t-shirt wears out, you can always build a house out of the swing tag(!)
Braintree Hemp
Let's be honest. If you visit their website you could be forgotten for moving on fairly swiftly. Seeing these clothes in the flesh is something else entirely. Sublimely comfortable, tough and the ultimate in easy care at a price that even skint students (!) can afford. One item just isn't enough.
Chandni Chowk
The reason I was inspired to open Oyster. Ceri, not so sure initially, now out does me at every turn by buying the more exotic pieces to constant praise by all who see her. Chandni Chowk have been producing ethical clothing since the late 70s - no jumping on the band wagon for them then.
To those used to mass produced high street fare, the price tag can seem a little steep (tho' only around Jigsaw prices). We love to show these doubters the hand spun and woven cotton, the hand embroidery, the block printing, the seams etc., etc. Those who buy come back for more, and more, and...
And for those of you who think Chandni Chowk is for weddings - put your favourite top over a pair of (ethical) jeans and see how wrong you are!
English Retreads
These are a real find for us and we are really excited to be the first to import them into the UK. These bags and belts are handcrafted in the USA from 100% discarded truck and tractor inner tubes rescued from landfills. The bags still have the inherent markings of the inner tubes - blue stripes, white print and most commonly, black patterns in the rubber. These give the bags real texture and character and make each one unique.
Epona
Looking for a basic hoody that looks great and is as snug as staying in bed all day? These Epona tops fit the bill and are certified Fairtrade as well. From next year the cotton will be from farms converting to organic production methods as well. As well as using certified cotton, Epona are also committed to non-exploitation of those involved in the production process.
Gossypium
Providers of the wondrous Pants to Poverty, this fully Fairtrade certified and organic company also produce comfortable clothing for yoga, slouching around reading the Sunday papers, just being really!
howies
Wales is full of howies nuts. We know that because we count a fair few among our regular customers. We understand - because we're addicts too! Not a fair trade company howies, but still streets ahead of mainstream companies on other ethical issues. These clothes are made well, last well and are destined to become the old friends in your wardrobe. Pioneers of organic clothing, howies also created a rubber 'golf' ball designed to replace washing with natural pumice. These are also the guys to take on the Helly Hanson base layer and produce a natural, non-smelly, super-warm alternative - in top quality merino wool.
Mutterings have reached our ears following the sale of a large part of the company to Timberland. We're nervous too, but we're keen to stick it out. howies are committed to their ethical way of doing business, and reckon Timberland will help them to improve - particularly in the area of independent factory assessments which as a tiny company has proved really difficult. That's got to be a good thing!
Kuyichi
Kuyichi brings Ceri and I out into a cold sweat! Not with us yet, but due to land in August for autumn 07. Kuyichi are to the fair trade movement what howies do for the environment. Created by the Max Havelaar foundation (the first to make Fairtrade coffee) and Solidaridad, this Dutch company make clothing which is as cool as any designer brand. Each item comes with it's own unique code as well, so you can log on to their website and check it's exact provenance. Have a sneak preview at www.kuyichi.com.
Maggies Organic Socks
There can't be an Oyster customer around who doesn't possess at least three pairs of Maggies organic socks (we sell them in tri-packs see?!) Apart from being comfortable and seriously colourful (unless you buy black) they are also manufactured in the world's first worker owned free trade zone. See what the workers say for themselves...
A WOMEN'S SEWING COOPERATIVE
In Nicaragua there are many free trade zones where mainly women work in "sweat shops", producing clothing under unacceptable labor conditions, long hours and low pay. In a cooperative, the workers are the owners. We are working together to create sustainable employment in the community so that we can support ourselves and our families.As of July 1, 2005,
the cooperative began operating as a free trade zone. Now we are
officially the first worker-owned free trade zone in the World!
- Co-op worker-owners have raised wages again and on average earn double the average salary in the traditional free trade zones.
- The cooperative is now giving full-time employment to 53 heads of household from our community.
- Sales for 2005 were up by 40% over sales for 2004, and all co-op members will share in those profits.
- Production for 2005 has doubled over production in 2004.
No Sweat shoes
These guys set out to show us how all trading should be done - with total transparency. Let them speak for themselves.
The apparel industry has traditionally operated on a closed source model, source here meaning clothing source, the actual (almost always outsourced) site of production. You hid your source from competitors because you didn't want them flocking to your favorite cut-rate factories. With the advent of the anti-sweatshop movement, you especially hid your sources from consumers: you didn't want them finding out their t-shirts come from sweatshops in Indonesia, Bangladesh, or even the USA. Inhuman working conditions, fear, mandatory underpaid overtime -- these kinds of things can and do piss off enough consumers these days to permanently damage a brand.
We hereby announce a break with all that.
We are the first-- we think, the first of many -- apparel maker to go
open source. We will tell you about our sources, highlight them, show
them off. The workers who make our clothes will have living wages and
decent working conditions; they will have unions. Will that lead our
competition to the same shops? Excellent. We want our sources to
thrive. That's the whole point. Or a good part of it, anyway. The other
part of open source apparel making is a challenge to our competitors:
let them, too, reveal their sources. Let them suffer shame and loss of
revenue for favoring sweatshops. Let them reap the rewards of choosing
union shops and respecting workers rights.
We'll drink to that! Go to www.nosweatapparel.com to find out more. They have all their manufacturers under their Sources section (PT Sepatu Bata TBK for the shoes) with enough info for the biggest info junkies among you. And they look great!!!
People Tree
"Oyster's great for the weekend, but I want to be ethical at work too". See? Ceri and I do listen to our customers. We think People Tree fit the bill. They do other stuff too, but no-one comes near when it comes to classic chinos, work shirts and women's suits.
Sativa Hemp Bags
Silverchilli
Three Mexicans and a Brit are playing the high street jewellers on their own terms - and winning. Taking traditional mexican craftsmenship, these guys are producing jewellery which is funky and modern - all at an everyday price.
Tonic
There is no shortage of companies selling ethical tees these days, but few grab our attention like these guys. Recently moved to Wales from London (sensible people) these designs are witty and sharp. Tonic manufacture their t-shirts in the UK which is really exciting. Shortly to be using certified Fairtrade cotton, the factory they use meets standards laid out by the International Labour Organisation, and has been audited by Oxfam and Friends of the Earth. We wanted them all, but don't have the space in the shop. Happily they will all be available on-line well in time for Christmas.
The Hemp Trading Company (THTC)
Urban Eco Wear. What can we say? These guys make the coolest t-shirts on the planet. Loved by bands and probably worn at a gig near you. The cotton and hemp is grown in China (all hemp is) and the factory is scrutinised to ensure it meets international standards. If that's not enough, they actively encourage new artists (grafitti or otherwise) to get in touch.
The White T-Shirt Company
These t-shirts are quite simply the most beautifully cut, fine cotton garments you can buy. Ceri and I are often to be found wearing one.
They are made from Green Cotton which is a label given to those products which are ethically produced doing the least possible harm to nature from cultivation of the cotton through to the lifetime of the garment. All this leads to a hard wearing, classic staple which will be destined to remain part of your wardrobe for years to come. Well worth 33 quid then!
Worn Again
Making shoes is one of the most toxic, polluting, resource intensive industries. Worn Again use 99% recycled materials which is not only the environmental solution, but also produces really distinctive shoes.
We love the reaction we get from customers when we tell them the shoes are made out of prison blankets and old parachutes. We reckon it would be a bit of a talking point in the pub too!
For more information on their environmental, labour and transparency practices, click on the link below:
http://www.antiapathy.org/wornagain/home.html