I just read in a weekend supplement (yes, it takes me a week to trawl through them all) that white paper parasols are the new ESA – “Essential Summer Accessory” (a la the new film of The Painted Veil, below). This new ‘trend’ is surely just for single women – or mums with nannies. You simply cannot sit elegantly holding a parasol in one hand and a G&T in the other whilst wiping chocolate ice cream dribbles from a toddler’s chin or rubbing sun cream on a wee nose. And don’t even contemplate the nappy conundrum.

 

Just as well ‘What’s Hot/What’s Not’ lists seem so far removed from my life at this point. Anyway, only women seem to notice trends, so I take comfort in the fact that 50% of the population won’t slate me if I’m sporting last summer’s skirt.

 

Fashion trends – in clothing or homewares – rely on change, updates, keeping fresh, which means buying more stuff. So is ‘Conscientious Consumer’ an oxymoron? Surely the point is that we should all consume less, but ‘mend and make do’ doesn’t really sell magazines, especially not when there are fabulous finds for a fiver on every high street.

 

On the one hand, it’s great that fashion is no longer the privilege of the rich. Now, instead of hiding their thrift under a barrel, penny-pinchers hold their heads high. “This dress? Just £10!” we squeal with delight. Unfortunately, our glee masks the truth behind the labels. Today’s prices don’t reflect a product’s true costs – human, in sweatshops, or ecological, in airmiles or unsustainable or polluting production processes.

 

Now there’s pressure on high-street retailers to improve labelling. As of 14 March, M&S food labels will start to note when there's air freight, as part of the company's Plan A, which includes a commitment for M&S to become carbon neutral within five years. Carbon Trust (carbontrust.co.uk) is now working with businesses on a new carbon reduction label to show companies are committed to reducing the carbon footprint of their products. The scheme is being tested with Innocent, Walkers and Boots on board. A ‘reduce it or lose it’ clause means if a company fails to reduce the product's carbon footprint over a two-year period, Carbon Trust will withdraw the label.