Sustainable fashion: the top five stories of 2014

It’s hard to forget the photos of Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg wearing “this is what a feminist looks like” t-shirts this year, although sadly for all the wrong reasons after it was alleged that these tops were made in a Mauritian sweatshop by women earning 62p an hour. In our most read sustainable fashion article of 2014, Tansy Hoskins explores the exploitative worlds of fast fashion and commodity feminism.

One company that knows about the perils of fast fashion is Primark, an organisation that got its metaphorical knickers in a twist earlier this year when mysterious labels were found in its clothing reading “forced to work exhausting hours”.

It’s not all been bad news, however. Leah Borromeo wrote a heart-warming piece about the Swedish denim company that recommends not washing your jeans for six months at a time and offers a free repair service to all its customers, while Amy DuFault’s exploration of the technologies enabling our clothing to generate energy unsurprisingly went down a treat.

Image:coral bridesmaid dresses

1. The feminist T-shirt scandal exposes an entire system of exploitation

With allegations of low worker wages and poor conditions for the women who made the feminist T-shirt, was the scandal a lesson in the perils of ‘commodity feminism’?

2. Primark ‘cry for help’ labels have painted Bangladeshi women as helpless

Labels found in Swansea reminded the public of the cost of fashion, but we need a better approach to change the working conditions in factories that make our clothes

3. A Swedish denim label wants to change the way we wear our jeans

Nudie jeans recommends not washing jeans for six months and has repair stores offering a free fix up service for old jeans

4. Fashion meets renewable energy �" clothes that charge your smartphone

From fibres that convert sunlight into electrical energy, to uploading your kinetic energy to a green energy bank, the worlds of fashion and technology are merging

5. A cruelty-free angora fur trade may be incompatible with fast fashion

Brands suspend production after PETA’s secret footage reveals grim reality behind production of angora rabbit fur

Get involved!

Let us know your favourite fashion content from 2014. Tweet us @GuardianSustBiz with #GSB2014.

Next year we’ll have a special focus on sustainable materials and the circular economy. Email [email protected] if you have any suggestions for coverage.

Read more:black bridesmaid dresses