Slow Shopping

From second-hand designer goods and ethically produced resortwear to great goodies for your home, these UAE-based businesses are leading the charge against fast fashion

Oni Earth-Kind Fabrics

A love for India and the desire to support the “slow fashion” movement was the driving force behind Oni earth-kind fabrics’ inception. founded by nea ferrier and her husband Mark Rodgers in 2015 following a visit to Rajasthan, this Dubai-based brand offers handcrafted quilts and kanthas in rich colours and eye-catching prints, made by women from Jaipur and Bagru. Pieces utilise traditional indian design techniques, such as Dabu printing, a Rajasthani process where clay-mud is applied to fabric using a woodblock. the cotton used is certified pure organic by the Global organic textile standard, while the non-toxic dyes adhere to Reach international standards, a European Union regulation that looks to protect both humans and the environment. safe and ethical work practices are also an integral part of Oni’s ethos. no child labour is ever used and employees make their own fair wages from their craft while working in safe environments. onifabrics.com

Bedouin

It was during a stint working in Bangalore that British-born designer andraya farrag saw, first-hand, the ethics of outsourcing clothing production, an experience so profound it drove her to launch her own ready to wear label, Bedouin, in 2014. founded with a strong ethos of corporate and social responsibility, the label now aims to create pieces that are made to last, reducing the amount of waste so often associated with fast fashion. farrag works closely with the suppliers of her fabric – located in Japan, Italy and Spain – which allows her to trace the fabric’s production history, and she even incorporates off cuts into her designs to negate waste. to ensure work practices are kept to a high and ethical standard, farrag works directly with Dubai-based artisans, all from a single, small family-owned business, rather than outsourcing the production process. bedouinstudios.com