On 1st March, People & Planet will be holding their One World Fashion Show for the third year running. The show will provide a insight into the different types of ethical clothing that is available to students, ranging from Fairtrade clothing to recycled clothes.

Alongside these will be a variety of clothing from different cultural backgrounds in a true ‘One World’ style.

In the past the Fashion Show has been a huge success. Last year the show was featured on BBC2 and included a top international model. This year we are taking it back to the students, and making it a more relaxing experience.

The doors open for the show at 7.30pm and entry is free. The show is open to all students at Portsmouth Uni.

Fairtrade produce is such an important issue, in a world where the poorest are given an unfair deal, and Fairtrade has stepped in to try and change this.

A majority of companies that sell clothing, including as Primark, have signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). By being part of the ETI, you agree to try and improve the conditions of the workers who produce the clothing.

The problem with this agreement however, is that you only agree to try. There are no regulations in place to ensure that you are doing something.

This means that clothes sold by companies who boast that they belong to ETI are often still made in sweatshop conditions with workers being paid below the absolute poverty line of $1 a day.

In places such as Uzbekistan, cotton pickers are forced to work for up to 80 hours a week and are unable to organise into any sort of Trade Union. I

t has also been known that children as young as seven have been made to work in the cotton fields. In a recent Newsnight feature on Uzbekistan, it was revealed that schools were closed down during the day just so students could help out on the cotton fields.

Fairtrade provides a guaranteed price for producers. This allows these workers to be able to send their children into education, afford healthcare and to increase their disposable income. 

As disposable income increases, more money is spent within the economy, and this helps it grow.

A rise in the amount of Fairtrade clothing bought means that developing economies can grow, creating more competitive world markets.