BEST OF THE BRAND
The other day I was asked by a reader why I include so many higher prices in this column. Ultimately, a price has a number of hidden ingredients, from who made the clothes and in what conditions, to how many of the garments exist. My aim is to encourage you to question everything you buy, or everything you want to buy. Price is an indicator of quality as much as value. It’s about sorting the environmentally good (GOTS-certified cotton) from the bad (polyester). It’s about realising production in Britain will always prove more expensive than in China or Bangladesh, but that your carbon footprint will be sprightlier for it.
I ask Cameron why a customer should pick her brand and her reply is clear: “For years I have felt that designers and brands either compromise their aesthetic, or their environmental and ethical values... The world of sustainable fashion is a minefield, and sadly, often a misused label. Everything that goes into Berjoan’s collection is considered in terms of environmental and social impact, from our fabric, through to our labels and packaging.”
So yes, this is a brand that comes with a price tag. Yes, it might mean cutting back on x, y or z to justify it. But ultimately it’s about readdressing how we wear our values and finding brands that combine style with clear-cut principles. I’m trying to do the finding for you. If any fashion brand has done their “due to Covid” homework, it’s that we can exist with less. We just want the “less” to work in more brilliant ways than we perhaps wanted before the pandemic.
We have become more savvy as shoppers. We need to be really bowled over. But bowled over doesn’t have to be shouty and loud. Just look at Berjoan.