Fairtrade and fashionable? Is that really possible? It certainly is with a little help from Tam and Rob...

www.tamandrob.co.uk
info@tamandrob.co.uk
020 7729 3280

Who: Lucy Robinson
"I started Tam & Rob two years ago having studied History of Art and being desperate to do something creative and to start a business of my own. My friend Lucy Tammam and I used to make clothes for each other when we were about 12 and living in Poole (probably attempting to look 16) and I remember asking her back then whether I should set up my own fashion company 'when I grow up'. She said yes, and could she design some of the clothes! Fast forward many years, and while I was a student, I visited India for a project on eastern art and on the way to being taken to a gallery, I was shown a factory that made non-fairtrade clothes. The conditions were shocking and I'll always remember how young some of the children making the clothes were. Meanwhile, Lucy had been studying design at St Martin's. A few years after graduating, I decided to set up a fair-trade clothing company, and asked Lucy to design a part of the collection. I named the company after our surnames (mine's Robinson) and in the spirit of Lucy and I dressing up back in the day. Fast forward two years, we're growing rapidly and I'm now employing three designers."

What: London's quirkiest fair trade label. Tam & Rob runs a successful online shop that offers their entire range, all designed in-house. You'll find clothes that translate key trends into distinctive, tailored clothes for women who want useful statement-pieces with brilliant attention to detail. Tam and Rob take inspiration not only from the catwalk, but films, books they're reading and exhibitions they've been to. The summer collection, including dresses and shirts inspired by the film Brief Encounter, is currently in the sale (33% off everything right now...) and when the autumn collection arrives in October, look out for purple umbrella dresses, fitted jackets with kimono-sleeves and Katharine Hepburn- influenced wide legged trousers (prices are between £25 and £170). Later this summer, they'll also be opening London's first branded fairtrade clothing store.

They're working hard to develop a shop that's relaxed and fun (with regular tea and cake afternoons!) but that's informative and will let you discover where your clothes are from - down to the name of the person who made your dress. The girls at Tam and Rob believe it's really important that fairtrade and ethical clothing has an actual space.

Why: Because we're all starting to want to see the fashionable in fair-trade. Women really are starting to turn their backs on the pile-it-high mantra of cheap fashion that has a questionable back story. There's now a move towards more streamlined wardrobes that offer brilliantly-designed investment pieces, and that crucially, have been made by people who are paid a fair wage in communities that have the opportunity to develop and aren't exploited. Women want to use their purchasing power to make a difference. All Tam and Rob's clothes are made from organic and fairtrade certified cotton, and the garments are produced in fairtrade certified factories in India and Nepal using artisan and modern manufacturing techniques. Many of their suppliers employ people who would ordinarily be overlooked in the Indian and Nepalese job markets – for instance abused women. They also donate 10% of profits to charitable projects in the communities they work with.

Where: Currently online at Tam and Rob but watch this space for news on the boutique opening...