When Ruchi Chawla first started working in fashion and textiles in the early 2000s, Ugg boots, miniskirts, and bandanas were wardrobe staples. It was also the start of a new era for ethical trade; following the creation of the Fairtrade Foundation in 1992, officially certified products began to hit UK shelves in 1994. Green and Black’s chocolate bars were the first, and other products slowly followed. Fairtrade cotton started to appear in 2005.
It was a different time back then, says Chawla. “I had friends in Brussels, Amsterdam, who didn’t know what cotton is. [They’d ask]: ‘It’s a plant? Oh, really, cotton is a plant?’”
Sourcing products for large brands, she quickly became disillusioned. “Two things stayed with me, even after I quit those jobs: chemicals are all around us – we are literally wearing chemicals – and [workers] are not treated properly. There was no concept of fair, living wages at that time. You could just see [workers] were really struggling.”
So, when she decided to launch her own organic brand, Cottsbury, Fairtrade certification was non-negotiable. “Fairtrade really means that workers have those regular hours, they’re given their due salaries and bonuses. And, specifically, women are paid, they’re treated as somebody who is working, not just like some helper hanging around. That’s Fairtrade.”
