With Organic Fortnight launching today, Susie Weldon discovers there's never been more choice when it comes to ethical fashion

THE days of "eek" eco- warrior fashion are well and truly over. Well, mostly. While it's true that some eco-fashion can still seem more worthy than stylish, today's ethical clothing has moved a long way away from its former image of dowdy sandals and rather unflattering sackcloths.

"A few years ago, hearing the term 'eco- fashion' was enough to send the fashion- conscious into collective cardiac arrest," says Matilda Lee, author of Eco Chic (Gaia, £7.99).

"Now, eco-fashion has entire issues of glossy fashion magazines dedicated to it, and famous fashion muses now proudly display their wardrobes' eco-credentials."

This summer, Warehouse launched a new Ware-Eco label, Topshop boasts its own line of Fairtrade fashion, and H&M, Next, Gap and Tesco all launched organic cotton ranges last year.

Cotton has long been a target of environmentalists. Non-organic cotton is a toxic nightmare, using a quarter of the world's pesticides and making the crop one of the most environmentally damaging in the world.

Moreover, five of the nine pesticides used on cotton contain cancer-causing chemicals which can have a devastating effect on the health of impoverished farmers.

Now the luxury fabric, cashmere, has also been given an ethical revamp. Pure Collection is launching a 100 per cent sustainable cashmere – the first cashmere brand to source sustainable cashmere.

"Years of the high street's demand for 'cheap' cashmere has driven cashmere production to unsustainable levels, with an explosion of goats eating the sensitive Mongolian grasslands out of grass," Pure Collection says.

Ethical textiles will feature as part of the Soil Association's Organic Food Festival in Bristol today and tomorrow. Among the exhibitors will be Cornish Organic Wool, whose fleeces will be carded, spun and knitted by Spinning Weal of Clevedon, Somerset. But it's not just about the product; there's also the issue of how much workers in poor countries are paid.

The revelation that Primark had been selling clothes made by children in India brought the issue to the fore and, earlier this year, a House of Lords report encouraged consumers to ditch fast fashion in favour of more ethical clothes.

Ethical fashion label People Tree says it is possible to "wear stylish, exciting and affordable fashion, at the same time as respecting people and planet".

The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) has launched a new guide with tips on how shoppers can help. "More and more people are concerned about how the workers who make their clothes are treated," says the ETI's Julia Hawkins.

"They want to make a difference, but aren't sure exactly what to do. We want people to know it's OK to be an ethical pest."

Visit www.eti-ten.org/ethicalpest.html for more information.