In the face of concern over the fashion industry's treatment of both people and resources, an increasing number of people and businesses are turning away from the traditional manufacturers and fighting back for the sake of the planet. Lois is one such firm, aimed at the fashion-conciencous green consumer and based in Sheffield, which takes old, unwanted clothes and recycles them into new pieces. Ruth Block created the business after a unit on ethical fashion at university. "We'd been to this ethical fashion conference and a couple of companies who were there did a similar thing where they took old pieces and did something new with them and then that really inspired me to try it and see what I could do with it," she said, adding that she decided to turn the project into a real business when "people seemed to like the idea".

Now, Ruth sells her one-off pieces in boutiques around the country, vintage fashion fairs and online. "It helps the environment because it stops clothes being thrown into landfill. Obviously I'm only doing a small part but I'm taking clothes that people would literally just throw in the bin and which would go to the landfill site, take years to decompose and I'm creating a new life for them," she explained.

Ruth talked me through one of her designs:

And it looks like Lois is a business of the future, as ethical fashion is becoming increasingly popular. In early October, the third Ethical Fashion Show was held in Paris, showcasing "chic to tradional fashion, including street wear" and promising there would be "something to suit all tastes". In order to qualify for the show, designers had to show that they had thought about the ethical consequences of their pieces from design through to the end of the garment's life. They also had to have chosen materials with the lowest possible impact on the environment.

Emma Watson and Bonnie Wright, two of the stars of the Harry Potter series of films, have spoken out in support of ethically-produced items. Emma, who plays Hermione in the hit series of films, recently spent five months of her gap year working for ethical clothing company People Tree. She said: "I think young people like me are becoming increasingly aware of the humanitarian and environmental issues surrounding fast fashion and want to make good choices, but there aren't many options out there."

Ruth agrees, saying the future of ethical fashion is to teach more people about it, making it more available for the average consumer. "People need to understand the impact of disposable fashion and if they are going to buy cheap clothes they should be forced to give them to charity shops or something similar when they're done with them," she explained, adding: "Lois will just carry on using other people's unwanted clothing to do it's bit for environment."