As we all know kids do grow fast, and with Spring on the way, now is the perfect time to have that annual clear-out and decide which clothes will last through another season or which will be heading to the charity shop.

If your looking for a new wardrobe for your children this Spring then just have a simple look through our Spring/Summer 2010 Range and you will fall in love with timeless classic and contemporary designs, each with individual character just waiting to be worn by hip and trendy kids.

Usually, just as I am setting the table for dinner, the Etsy newsletter lands in my inbox. Disappointingly, there are too many crocheted shawls and items which I would consider just a little too handmade to be worthy of purchasing but very often there is a gem which I find hard to resist.

My first such purchase was a delicate ring from St Joshua, fashioned from the innards of an old watch. A thorough look through the store and I was impressed by the wonderful and delicate jewellery which is produced from things which no one wants. I then found an excuse to make a second purchase for a friend who needed some assurance that something beautiful can be made from something which is broken.

Pink House produce this fantastic modern toddler chair made from beautiful, sustainable wood.

Chic felt toy boxes from Babies Breath’s store cool enough to keep in the lounge.

There are many more treasures to be found if you can bare to trawl through the macramé pot holders and knitted balaclavas but I urge you to do so.

We know differently and want to prove that dressing your child in uber cool gear can be done on a reasonable budget and need not have devastating consequences for the world in which we live. Children grow, sometimes at an alarming rate – send them to their grandparents for the weekend and they come back two inches taller. So why then should you spend more money than you have to on clothing when there are cheaper alternatives available?

Did you know that there are 0.8m of cloth in a pair of boys school trousers? How much does that fabric cost and what about the making up of the garment? If a super market or low cost chain can sell these garments for £2.50 it doesn’t take the brightest candle on the birthday cake to work out what these are made from and who is making them up and under what conditions. It’s not rocket salad!

The clothing industry is one of the worlds most damaging and under the circumstances it is not always best to ‘Buy British’. The UK clothing industry is right up there with the most harmful, producing 2 million tons of waste, 3.1 million tons of CO2 and 70 million tons of waste water annually. The dying process alone can use up to 800 litres of water per Kilo of fabric.

Many of our brands from Europe comply with the Oko-Tex Standard 100 which is an international testing and certification system for textiles, limiting the use of certain harmful chemicals. Test samples are examined to determine their pH value formaldehyde content, the presence of pesticides, heavy metals and preservatives. The use of flame retardants and biocide finishes is prohibited in the clothing sector. The greater the contact with the skin the more stringent the requirements.

We have all been urged recently to regard our carbon footprint in our various modes of travel, the food on our table and the energy which we use in out homes. Now you can assess the environmental impact of the clothes in your wardrobe using the new Household Textile Environmental Impact Calculator. Log on to www.ecotextile.com and follow the prompts ie. How many items of clothing does your family buy? How do you wash, dry and iron them, and ultimately how do you dispose of them? This will calculate your Environmental Damage Units and highlight the areas which need to be addressed.

I’m sure that we will encounter this subject again in the Blog as our awareness has been forcibly brought to other areas of our lives and lifestyles which we have been urged to change. Happy shopping and don’t forget to check the label!