Eco shopper diary: mail order fashion

If, like us, you've ever hunted for H&M's organic range on Oxford Street or ferreted around for Marks and Sparks' Fairtrade cotton socks in Ealing, you'll know that finding green and sweatshop-free clothes can be tricky.

This year, H&M's organic spring collection sold out in a month, while Topshop's much-hyped People Tree range comprises one measly rail tucked away in the basement of its Oxford Circus store. And London is better than most -- there's Howies on Carnaby Street, Equa in Angel, and Junky Styling off Brick Lane. Beyond the capital, charity shops are often the only highstreet option.

Which leaves us mail order. In theory, this is the best of all worlds -- maximum choice (over 40 brands at Adili, for example) and you can get your hands on the clothes even if you live in a cottage in John O'Groats.

But let's rewind to reality. The first obstacle you'll find is Royal Mail and your undersized letterbox. I now know the staff at my local collection office just a fraction more than I'd choose to -- and thanks to the Mail's cut-backs, my 'local' office is now over a mile away. Sure, you could get your latest black dress/slogan tee delivered to work, but then you've got to get your package home, which seems to defeat the point of mail order. Plus your boss might not take kindly to their office being used as a hub for your Amazon/THTC deliveries.

My experience has certainly been better than my wife's. She's a mail order loser when it comes to ethical fashion. Twice she's been bursting with excitement as orders from People Tree arrived and twice she's ended up packing them back. One time, the colour was too dull (quite different to its web photo) and on the second occasion the fabric was beautiful but the cut shapeless -- something she hadn't been able to spot online. That's no reflection on People Tree quality: it's just mail order.

Personally, I've been more fortunate. My Kuyichi jeans and shirt order from Adili fitted like a glove first time, while I buy so much at Howies that I know my sizes in their range, from jeans and shorts to t-shirts. Orders elsewhere for mundane essentials like socks and undies haven't (so far) required any red-faced returns explaining 'size issues'.

That, of course, raises another hitch. What if you want to return unwanted buys? As my wife discovered, you'll have the joy of queuing at your local post office just to get your cash back. Few firms reimburse you for postage costs, unless they sent you the wrong product or damaged goods, which means if you don't like the colour, the cut or if the label's idea of medium turns out to be your idea of small, you'll be stumping up £5 or more to send stuff back via Special Delivery (so you can guarantee you've posted it).

There are, however, alternative ways of buying eco fashion that actually fits and is easy to buy. My personal favourite is visting the various ethical fairs and sales that now regularly take place up and down the country -- once again London enjoys the lion's share of the action. But that's a whole other blog post. For now, I'd love to hear your experiences -- brilliant and nightmarish -- of buying ethical fashion by mail order.

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