Whether the thought of another World Cup gets you hiding behind the sofa, rampantly flicking through your Radio Times or bouncing up and down with excitement, there’s no denying that this year’s World Cup in South Africa is set to be the most watched sports event of the year. With many fans wanting to show their allegiance on their chests, Nike’s decision to use environmentally considerate materials is a great step for promoting knowledge about garment production to an international audience.

But just how green are these kits? Mega sports brands haven’t always been known for their environmental or ethical credentials – and that includes Nike.

Just one jersey from the new range of international kits uses up to eight plastic bottles. According to Nike, the whole launch will use up nearly 13 million plastic bottles and if all those bottles used were laid end-to-end they would cover more than 3,000 kilometres, which is more than the entire coastline of South Africa.

Charlie Denson, President of Nike, said: “This summer in South Africa, Nike will give footballers an edge by providing the newest and most innovative product for the game’s greatest players. With today’s announcement, we are equipping athletes with newly designed uniforms that not only look great and deliver performance benefits, but are also made with recycled materials, creating less impact on our environment.”

Here at Greenmystyle.com we were interested in how Nike is planning to operate a more ethical image for the brand, so we asked a few questions to satisfy our curiosity. First we asked what other sustainable materials Nike is looking into for other lines. A spokesperson told us: “We use a variety of environmentally preferred materials such as PET, organic cotton, ‘green’ rubber, and many of our inputs into our shoes are recycled materials from factory production.”

So the kit fabric is improving, but what about the production of the kits? Although Nike does not own its own factories, a spokesperson for the brand said that it ‘rigorously audits factories’ to make sure they comply with legal requirements and Nike’s own Code of Conduct in terms of pay and working hours. For more information as to how campaigners think Nike needs to improve, visit The Play Fair campaign, a coalition of labour rights groups that seek to push sportswear brands that produce products to abolish sweatshop conditions in their supply chains and to respect labour rights.

Nike was quite frank about its desire to develop more suitable working conditions for employees: “Nike increasingly sees the need for further regional and global discussions among suppliers, governments, NGOs and – importantly – workers, about the degree to which wages across the industry are meeting workers’ needs.” Furthermore, Nike said it is  now starting to collaborate with stakeholders,one of the key steps to progress within the fashion industry. Although Nike admitted its work to make the company more ethical and environmental is ongoing, this work does seem to be a reality.

So, if you’re planning on heading to the pub (or even South Africa) to cheer along your chosen team this year, have a thought about your kit of choice. To paraphrase the song: “We’re football crazy, we’re eco mad, is Nike truly going green? We would be truly glad!”

National team home kits will be available from May 1 globally at local Nike store locations and at Nikefootball.com. Away national team kits will be available from February 25 2010. Nike’s environmental planning strategies website gives more information on the brand’s plans for the future, and check out the Clean Clothes Campaign.

Sometimes I have to admit to being a little disappointed at the amount of stylish men’s ethical fashion. There are certainly some labels that hit the mark (Edun, Lu Flux and People Tree to name but a few), but – as is usually the case in the fashion world- we gents get left behind a bit when it comes to new and stylish designs. Luckily, while we wait for more ethical fashion labels to deck us out in fashionable garb, we can rely on the constant flow of ethical collections for men on the high street.

The limited edition range of Fairtrade Topman t-shirts is certainly a winner for me. I particularly like the NYC cream t-shirt (above), which has a lovely edge of vintage bohemian style. The t-shirt ticks the trend box with that big monochrome screen-print, but the print avoids clichéd skull and tattoo prints which I think we’ve all become a bit bored with. Instead, the cityscape and the scrawl of French lettering gives this t-shirt the look of a Robert Rauschenberg painting or Robert Frank’s famous mix-media pictures of New York. I have just bought this one, so I will soon be wearing it, pretending I’m some sort of Greenwich Village dweller who writes novels by day and rocks out by night.

If you’re looking forward to a summer of festivals and beach parties, then the 24/7 grey t-shirt (right) might be the choice for you. The large slogan print has a Katharine Hamnett look to it, with an image of speeding lights making up the lettering. The long sleeve tops have a great retro look and they’re ideal for the beach or for huddling round a barbeque as the summer sun sets.

Topman said: “We’ve selected one of our most on trend colourways and print types in our range to ensure that we sell as many Fairtrade tee as possible. We’ve supported the Fairtrade Foundation for the last four years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  Supporting the cotton farmers and their communities via paying more competitive cotton prices is very rewarding for the buying team and brand.  It also raises awareness of Fairtrade in the male younger fashion market.”

Topman has released this limited edition range of brilliant t-shirts for Fairtrade Fortnight, but did you know they have a Fairtrade line all the year round? Topman told us: “Fairtrade Fortnight aims to raise awareness of the problem [or unfair working conditions] but Fairtrade is an ongoing project. Therefore Topman aim to have Fairtrade products available all year round.” To find more Fairtrade products by Topman, look out for the Fairtrade logo on Topman products.

The limited edition range includes two short sleeve and two long sleeve graphic options that start at just £14 (Topman has made sure that no extra costs for the Fairtrade production are passed on to the customer.) The t-shirts are available from 40 stores across the country or from Topman’s online shop.

If you think that Fairtrade cotton is just used to make plain boring tees, then we suggest you think again. Designers have come out with some very stylish creations that are spun with the nicest Fairtrade cotton threads. Ascension recently launched a range of designer limited edition tees with the FAIRTRADE Mark to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight.

It seems that the high street has been taking lessons too as Topshop has introduced a small range of Fairtrade products from which we’ve picked one for  today’s big swap.

We’ve given you the lowdown on this season’s hot pants trend before and it seems that this pair is a perfect choice combining Fairtrade cotton and Topshop’s signature and well-loved style. Part of the Petite range, it works better on smaller figures and it will only cost you a mere £25.

So, swap your hot pants for a Fairtrade pair here!

Related articles

Fairtrade Fortnight sweet daily pick: Double chocolate cookies

Honey, it’s Fairtrade! Ourhot daily pick

Cheers to Fairtrade wine! Torrontes wine from Argentina

Spice up Fairtrade Fortnight with Steenbergs Organic

Model Katya Kulyzhka shows the perks of being in the fashion world with a number of pieces that were gifts from designers. Wearing a Versace winter coat and trousers and topped off with a Latico bag and a top from Betsey Johnson.

Although being slightly disappointed that no one took my street style picture (I blame the rain and the coffee I spilt on my shirt solely for this- note: you cannot pull off a coffee stain as a ‘quirky’ design pattern), it was great to see the stylish folk at London Fashion Week pull out all the stops.

We spotted this stylish lady in the Somerset House courtyard. Channeling Chanel glamour and Christopher Kane modernity, this look is a timeless classic. Sheer fabrics are set to be big once again this coming season, but of course this look will always be a la mode.

Holland & Barrett’s plastic bags will now be replaced by a specially designed natural fibre bag bearing the image of the large blue butterfly, an extremely rare breed that was declared extinct in 1979 but is now thriving thanks to conservation schemes funded by the health store.

The health and beauty chain uses an average of 7.6 million plastic bags a year, so this move could have significant impact on the environment. Nationwide, the UK uses an astonishing 13,000 bags per person over the course of a lifetime. The majority of these end up in landfill.

Holland & Barrett CEO, Peter Aldis, said, “Our customers are concerned about the environment, so it is a natural step for us to ban plastic bags. We have made many changes to make Holland & Barrett a greener and more ethical company and this is just the latest step in our bid to become the most eco friendly retailer on the high street.”

The butterfly bags will retail at 99p for a large bag, 75p for a small and 4p and 5p for differing sizes of paper bags. Cotton Holland & Barrett bags will also be available for 49p.

Holland & Barrett

Television star Jo has been pictured with Love Fashion Hate Sweatshops placards to encourage everyone to join her and the anti-poverty charity War on Want to call on the British government to act in preventing UK fashion retailers from exploiting overseas workers.

Ruth Tanner, campaigns and policy director at War on Want, said: “Our charity is thrilled Jo spared us the time from her busy schedule to pose for a photograph and indebted to her for such commitment to this cause. We hope many others will follow her example.”

Since returning from the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka where she witnessed garment workers’ hardship, on a trip hosted by Safia Minney of fair trade fashion company People Tree, Jo has been active fair fashion supporter.

Returning from her trip she stated, “The conditions that they lived in in the slums were appalling: the rubbish, the smell and the poverty. Up to six people live in a tin room on bamboo stilts above heaps of rubbish. Yet I was humbled by the people and their attitudes.”

It is hoped that her involvement will boost the 50,000 names the charity hope to take to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Since the campaign began with fashion designers and actors alike as Greenmystyle.com reported earlier, more public figures have pledged their support, including John Pilger, Tony Robinson and organic gardener Bob Flowerdew.

You can add your name to the campaign – and your own pictures  – on the Love Fashion Hate Sweatshops website.

Image courtesy of Jo Metson Scott

LeJu, one of the most colourful jewellery brands in the market, specialises in the use of vegetable ivory, a seed harvested from a palm tree species in the Amazonian rainforest. Although it resembles elephant ivory in both hardness and colour, it is 100% sustainable.

This collaboration between LeJu and Oxfam adds yet another feather to the charity shop’s bow.

We love the rainbow coloured Caladium necklace and statement Aniko rings which will give a lift to any summer outfit.

LeJu
Oxfam

Yooxogen will feature as a separate area on the Yoox.com site and will be completely devoted to ethically conscious products including fashion, design, jewellery, books and music.

Big names such as Katharine Hamnett and Pandora Design are backing the initiative but we are particularly excited about the limited edition Caboclo jewellery and Carmina Campus bags that feature exclusively on the site.

Proving that creativity knows no boundaries, these limited edition shoulder strap clutch bags in bold colour combinations were designed using the thin strips of aluminium used to make Venetian blinds.

Yoox.com