Green around the Phils

Despite the clothing wonderments that have been born out of Arcadia, Philip Green has always been a somewhat controversial figure. His extravagant lifestyle of living between big city hotels and the swish scene of Monaco paints a picture of a man who is not afraid of spending money. Now employed as a Conservative government advisor (tax evaders like to make friends) he, as a billionaire, now has the power to advise the government upon how us plebeians should live. With an estimated £1.2 billion income per year alone, where has the money come from?
Even though I am a partial slave to it myself, I am astounded by people who pay for Topshop and Topman clothing. Even by looking at the Topshop website I can see that the price range for just one dress ranges from £35- £300. The times I do shop there are now becoming more and more infrequent as I am convinced that the prices charged for clothing aimed at a younger audience are not on. Not only does this become an exploitation of the student budget, but as I have more recently discovered, an even further exploitation of basic human rights- and not that far from home. In as nearby as Leicester, workers are paid only half the legal minimum wage in cramped conditions with the emotional blackmail threat of the sack looming over their heads if they do not work to their optimum efficiency. Representatives of Arcadia have passed the blame to the producing factories under the premise that such factories are a) not under their ownership and b) are under investigation.
This is all getting a bit too heavy, I hear you cry! I want to buy nice things! I want to feel good! Furthermore, what ethical options are available? There are a few alternatives to the ‘hippie’ on small online stores but they do not seem to cover a large enough market to have created a real impact. However, the rather more interesting side of the fair-trade market seems to be that it charges the same, if not lower than Topshop general range. There seems to be a rather large gap in the retail market yet I am not surprised Philip Green is not involved- morality normally means lower profit margins. It is true that times are changing and we are becoming more ethical in our habits- is this a time to start caring what price we are paying for fashion?
I understand that at the bottom of most pleasures there lies a secret underworld that we should not expose if we do really want to get to sleep at night, but I am not sure of how proud we can be of our latest clothing which gives the right image but conveys the wrong message. In a world of increasing moral consciousness, perhaps it is time we began looking into what we are buying instead of ignoring the facts. I too intend to tell that to my overdraft when it decides to attempt to lash out at me in Topshop in the future.