The ‘Six Items Challenge‘ is commencing today as London Fashion Week reaches its finale – its glitzy parties a stark contrast to the excessive overtime and poverty pay faced by many factory workers who will shortly be producing the high street copies of the catwalk designs profiled.

This personal quest is posed by UK NGO Labour Behind the Label which works to support garment workers producing for UK fashion brands around the world in improving their rights.

Labour Behind the Label Campaigner Bee Hayes said: “The challenge highlights our dependency on fast fashion consumption. Participants are encouraged to re-engage with creating clothing identities with less. By doing so we’re standing in solidarity with workers who suffer the effects of mass production and consumption of clothing, at a factory level.”

Participant Janine Woodward explained her motivation for taking part in the challenge “I signed up to the 6 Items Challenge because I want to support the great work of Labour Behind the Label. Also, I guess it’s out of curiosity – will I actually be able to do it?!”

In addition to the six main items allowed, challengees can have unlimited underwear and accessories plus necessary sports and performance gear as part of their capsule wardrobes.

Participants will be blogging their experiences and insights as they go through the challenge while raising money for Labour Behind the Label’s vital work.

Help is at hand with Merino Kids‘ range of Baby Swaddles and Sleeping Bags.

Merino Kids™ is an international award winning 100% natural baby sleepwear and clothing company. Their designer range of 100% natural merino baby swaddle wraps, sleeping bags, sleepwear and new born gifts have helped babies and their parents sleep better and safely through the night in the United Kingdom and around the world. The baby merino sleep bags, Cocooi™ swaddles and garments are made from the world’s finest merino wool. The merino is silky and soft, keeping baby cool in summer and warm in winter. The Merino Kids range is kind to delicate skin, easy to care for, safe and great value. Babies and infants sleeping in or on merino settle more quickly, sleep longer, feed better, cry less and gain weight faster.

Scientific research findings released by AgResearch, New Zealand’s largest national Crown Research Institute, indicate that baby sleep bags made from natural merino wool are better at maintaining a baby’s comfort and wellbeing compared with synthetic polyester-filled sleep bags.

The main benefit of merino is its incomparable ability to maintain a comfortable micro-climate between body and bedding. Unlike synthetics, Merino breathes and controls moisture meaning that it has the natural ability to respond to changes in temperature. This unique garment property helps keep young ones cool when it is hot and warm when it is cold.

Merino has numerous natural attributes that make it one of the most comfortable of fabrics to wear.

It breathes and controls moisture
A unique feature of ­merino is that it absorbs perspiration from the skin and releases it into the air. This means your child will never feel clammy since humidity between skin and garment is lowered.

It controls temperature
Merino fibre actively regulates temperature, protecting your baby from extremes because it keeps him warm when it’s cold, and cool when it’s hot. For this reason it does not require a tog rating. Because merino is 100% natural, there is no need for tog rating, unlike products made from synthetic fibres.

It reduces skin allergies
Superfine merino is soft and silky and does not itch your baby’s skin. Because it has the ability to respond to changes in temperature, it’s amongst the most comfortable material you can put your baby in. Merino has been linked with a lower incidence of skin allergies.

It improves sleep routines
Medical studies have proven that merino improves the sleep patterns of babies and infants. At the Cambridge Maternity Hospital in 1979, Scott and Richards revealed that babies sleeping on merino settled more quickly, cried less, fed better and gained weight faster.

Premature and low weight babies
The same medical studies investigating the effect of merino on premature and low birth weight babies found that they gained an extra 10g a day compared to babies that weren’t sleeping on merino.

Swaddling with merino
A number of studies have shown that swaddling babies tends to reduce the likelihood of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Since overheating has been identified as a key factor in many cases of SIDS there is a strong case for using merino because of its previously noted ability to regulate heat and humidity.

It’s comfortable and easy to care for
Our merino is a finespun fabric, making it soft and comfortable to wear. It has a natural elastic property, meaning our garments fit snugly every time.

Fire resistant
Merino contains natural fire retardants, ­further helping safeguard children’s health.

Click here to view our full range of swaddles and baby sleeping bags

Cocooi Swaddle Wrap - Merino Kids

Go Go Bag - Merino Kids Baby

Ciel love to create beautiful low energy, organic and sustainable products that are as good for you as they are for the environment. Ciel is a womenswear and organic underwear label that unites intelligent eco-design with socially conscious production methods for the thoughtfully style led. Gorgeous, glamorous and eco friendly!

The entire organic underwear collection uses organic, eco fabrics certified by GOTS dyed with healthy, environmentally friendly Oeko-tex dyes, manufactured locally in a small family run factory in Peru.

The cotton for Ciel organic underwear collection is grown organically in Peru. From seed to stitch the whole process is vertically integrated from the field to the end product, with maximum respect for the environment and the farmer’s. Rather than using harsh agro-chemicals emphasis is put on the natural balance in the field. This creates a 100% GOTS Certified Organic Cotton!

Organic cotton is ideal for lingerie and Organic Underwear as it needs no pesticides to grow it is also good for you and good for the environment. Super soft, fabulously silky and gorgeous to the touch the organic cotton feels beautifully soft and snugly, as it is kind to your skin and made in a sustainable way.

Ciel also added a beautiful selection of fine French lace to its organic underwear collection to create a special feel and add a little glamour!

They look fantastic either on their own or all in a row adding a bit of life to your everyday clothes hook.

Available in four colours: Red, Green, Blue or Black.

Size: 16cm (length)

Made in India; fairly traded; handmade.

Click here to view our full selection of hooks and door knobs.

The Hevea Holder is now available in 4 colours. It has been redesigned with sustainable wooden rubbertree clip and is made from 100% organic cotton.

The Hevea Holder prevents your baby’s Hevea pacifier or Hevea panda teether from falling on the floor/street/ground and getting dirty or lost. The Hevea holder has been designed with a practical space for adding your baby’s name on the back, so it’s easy to identify. Now available in 4 Colours (Chocolate brown / Pink / Light Blue / Green) it is the perfect complement to the best selling Hevea Dummy Pacifier and the Hevea Panda Teether.

Hevea gives you the opportunity to give only the best to your child while taking care of the environment.  No PVC, No BPA**, No phthalates**, No artificial colours… just 100% natural rubber from the sustainable rubber trees

                                                Hevea Dummy / Pacifier                                        Hevea Panda Teether

The  Hevea pacifier and Hevea panda teether are both made of 100% natural rubber.

Hevea’s products are made of natural rubber extracted from the Hevea brasiliensis trees, which is a natural and environmentally friendly material· The natural rubber is extracted from trees grown in a sustainable Malaysian plantation. Attractively packaged in recycled and biodegradable materials the Hevea range includes accessories made of 100% organic cotton and printed with soya ink.

Hevea’s unique one piece design means that pacifiers and teethers are more hygienic as there are no joints, cracks or edges for dirt or bacteria to accumulate.The soft material and ergonomic shape of the pacifiers is soft and gentle against baby’s face. It doesn’t leave marks and prevents vacuum around the mouth.

Hevea Pacifier retails at £4.99, Hevea Panda Teether retails at £8.99, Hevea Chain / Holder retails at £9.99.     Click here to view the full Hevea range

Healthy and eco-friendly cooking with the GreenPan Lima Stainless Steel Range, an eco-friendly alternative to non-stick cookware.

The GreenPan Lima range was created with comfort and elegance in mind. Elegant mirror polish handle with comfortable grip. The Thermolon™ coating acts like an insulator that retains heat, moisture and flavours. Suitable for all cookers, including induction. Oven safe with no restriction.

No potentially dangerous chemicals inside: It’s completely PTFE-free and contains no silicone oil. Manufactured without PFOA and applied in an environmentally friendly way. Heat resistant up to high temperatures. If you accidentally overheat your pan, even up to 450øC/850øF, no toxic fumes will be released and the coating will not blister or peel.

Healthy and eco-friendly:

1. With Thermolon™ non-stick technology; A natural, non-stick mineral-based coating.
2. No potentially dangerous chemicals inside: It’s completely PTFE-free and contains no silicone oil.
3. Manufactured without PFOA and applied in an environmentally friendly way, resulting in 60 % less CO 2 emissions.
4. Heat resistant up to high temperatures. If you accidentally overheat your pan, even up to 450°C/850°F, no toxic fumes will be released and the coating will not blister or peel
5. Use of up-cycled aluminum for the pan and up-cycled stainless steel for the handles.

Nominated for Best Actress for “My Week With Marylin”, Michelle Williams picked a custom design from H&M Conscious Collection.

According to Grazia “Michelle’s dress had a gold draped organic cotton bodice gown, with trumpet skirt in satin back crepe and a flower detail belt at the waist. Though her actual dress is not available in stores, there is some good news for fans of her outfit, as it has inspired a top and skirt to be designed as a part of the latest H&M conscious collection, which will be in stores from April.”

Meet Ava & Luc‘s bright and colourful organic cotton ranges of  Organic Baby Clothes and Organic Clothing for Children.

Their  Organic Baby Clothes and Organic Clothing for Children ranges include pyjamas, playsuits and t shirts.

‘Ava & Luc’ was born in September 2010 after its founders (Janice Rokita and Vicki Leaver) found that their high expectations of childrens clothing were not being met.

Fed up with pastel blues, pale pinks, ‘cutesie’ prints and highly impractical garment design (if you’ve ever tried to get a round neck T shirt over a 12 month child’s head or had a toddler cry about a logo label irritating their neck when you’re out and about with no scissors with you, you’ll identify with the problems they faced!), ‘Ava & Luc’ started to sketch out what they felt would be an ‘ideal’ sleepsuit, bib, T shirt and pair of pyjamas, then canvassed friends and family for opinions.  After lots of positive feedback, ‘Ava & Luc’ set about manufacturing a capsule collection of clothing with an ethical supplier based in India (no child labour used, employees are paid fairly and work reasonable hours)

All of  ‘Ava & Luc’  Organic Baby Clothes and Organic Clothing for Children are manufactured using highest quality, soft organic cotton and only ecologically sound dyes are used.
Every last detail has been carefully considered in terms of design and comfort, and each item has been tried and tested by Janice and Vicki’s friends and family to ensure that it is absolutely perfect.

Viola Davis (nominated for “The Help”), wore a pink Valentino dress made of recycled plastic bottles, and Michael Fassbender (nominated for “Shame”), wore a superb tuxedo by Georgio Armani made from ethical-wool with accents from recycled fabric. Colin Firth was also wearing a dashing eco tuxedo by Georgio Armani.

The list is put together by The Global Language Monitor. For Their Fifth Annual Analysis, they used NarrativeTracker 2.0.  NT2.0 is based on global discourse, providing a real-time, accurate picture of what the public is saying about any topic, at any point in time. NarrativeTracker analyzes the Internet, blogosphere, the top 75,000 print and electronic global media, as well as new media sources, as they emerge.

What else is on the list you might ask? #1 is “The Duchess Effect” (ie: The positive economic impact of Kate Middleton’s fashion choices, derived from her new title, ‘the Duchess of Cambridge’), #4 “Pyjamas”, #10 “Novelty Denims” (oh so 80s!), #16,17 & 18 Vintage Style. Still making waves “Pippa’s Bum” is at  #5.

Now here is a partnership that would certainly boost sustainable fashion:  The Duchess of Cambridge and Pippa’s Bum taking on Livia Firth’s 2012 Green Carpet Challenge . . .