by René Lavanchy
TOPSHOP, the high street clothing retailer, fell victim to ethical clothing campaigners again last week, when a “guerilla fashion show” gatecrashed the company’s exhibition at London Fashion Week.
Student activists from pressure group People and Planet held their own catwalk show, complete with transparent clothes, at the University of Westminster. Nearby, Topshop were launching their autumn women’s wear at a star-studded event attended by celebrities such as singer Róisín Murphy, TV presenter Alexa Chung and socialite Peaches Geldof.
The event was the latest in a long-running campaign by pressure groups to make Topshop’s supply chain more transparent after revelations over human rights abuses in its suppliers’ factories.
Jim Cranshaw of People and Planet said they received support from guests: “When we said we were trying to persuade Topshop to get into ethical fashion, a lot were congratulatory about it. Even the security guards were sympathetic to our campaign.”
Topshop’s parent company the Arcadia Group refuses to sign up to the Ethical Trading Initiative, which promotes a code of practice of labour standards.
