Wear it well

We all want to do our bit for the planet but sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming. In her series throughout 2020, KATE HASKELL talks to people and businesses doing their best to make it easier to live The Green Life. This month: Sancho’s of Exeter

- KATE HASKELL

“I haven’t got a thing to wear” is a cry you will hear coming from adjacent to many a wardrobe on a Saturday night, but especially mine. This is despite me having far too many clothes for the wardrobe space on offer, as my husband will concur.

It’s a common problem that we have too many clothes and often not of great quality either; massed produced in unethical, unsustainable ways. Disposable fashion is the recognised term and I do admit to a smidgen of guilt when buying 3 for 2 t-shirts at ridiculously low prices, knowing how and where they have been made.

So perhaps it’s time for change: less clothes but better made in all the ways that matter. Next time you go shopping it might be worth discovering Sancho’s on Fore Street in Exeter. Here Kalkidan Legesse and partner Vidmantas Markevicius curate affordable collections that literally don’t cost the earth.

In fairness they may cost more to buy than fast-fashion retailers, but this cost is the result of ethically made pieces, by fairly treated garment workers and worth every penny as Kalkidan explains: “We have five criteria that we stick to when choosing our collection: the item must be fair trade, made with natural materials and organic where possible. It should be certified and hand made so that it boosts employment. This is what our customers expect of us and the reason they connect with us.”