Looking good and doing good don't always go hand in hand - we all know about sweatshops. But increasingly it seems that fashion consumers are purchasing with a conscience: they don't want their retail choices to result in fewer environmental choices farther down the eco line.

A recent proliferation of ethical labels, from mail-order catalogue People Tree to Edun - a range created by pop star Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson - reflects "a long-term change" rather than some kind of trend or fashion revolution, says Roger Tredre, news editor of trend analysis website wgsn.com. What these labels offer are not just ways of curbing child labour or environmental damage, but ways of tackling sustainable development, ethical commerce, environmental performance and aesthetic innovation; all of these factors are a crucial part of their brand and design manifesto.

Momentum is building. Last year saw the first ethical fashion show in Paris (another has been scheduled for October), while in London, Anti-Apathy, a socio-environmental campaign group, staged a similar event in February. There is also growing research into fibres that are renewable, such as bamboo, corn, soy and chitin. Last April the first forum on ethical commerce was organised in France and Project, a magazine on "conscious style and culture", was launched.

But it's Bono and Ali Hewson's new Edun range that has really got people talking. The couple joined forces with Rogan Gregory of Rogan jeans and set out to provide "an alternative choice" in fashion - a clothing line with a social conscience. For Hewson, it's a natural reaction against huge consumerism. "The fashion industry hasn't been sensitive enough," she says.

Sensitivity is at the core of Edun's soft denims, cotton shirts with art-nouveau prints and floaty dresses: workers, producers and consumers will benefit. "The clothing industry has a tendency to raise from the bottom and our plan is to pay respect," says Hewson, who hopes Edun will provide a successful business model that will become an industry norm.

Respect for the environment is also key: Edun sources organic fabric from Peru and Turkey and is made in worker- and environmentally-friendly factories in Africa. "We carry the stories of the people who make our clothes around with us," features a stitched message in every pair of jeans.

"Ten years ago you wouldn't have thought that people would be looking at food on the shelves and asking what the ingredients are. Now people are starting to ask that about their clothing. We are answering a need rather than creating a new concept here," Hewson explains. According to figures from the Co-operative Bank she's right: ethical consumerism in the UK alone is now worth £24.7bn a year.

Edun, of course, is not this trend's frontrunner. Katharine Hamnett has vigorously highlighted ethical issues for years, as has Dosa's Kristina Kim, who works with people from developing countries, uses organic materials and recycles remnant materials left over by other companies.

"People don't just want to look good in their clothes, they want to feel good in their clothes," says Hewson. "The consumer is very discerning now - the more information they have, the less they are prepared to accept. The revolution is in people's pockets."

Even major clothing groups have moved to improve their monitoring of ethical manufacturing processes. Companies such as Nike and Marks and Spencer have pledged that by 2010, 5 per cent of the cotton they use will be organic. Armani's jeans are made with hemp and organic cotton; Vuitton has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions; and Stella McCartney, Bottega Veneta, Dior and Paul Smith have all flirted with alternative leathers.

According to Hamnett, it's certainly possible "to combine ethicality and environmentalism with luxury". Her Katharine E Hamnett men's wear line, which launches this September, is proof. The suits are made of pesticide-free merino wool, the shirts of organic cotton, but Hamnett points out that her line is also about fashion - "new cool, old posh", as she describes it.

But it's really the small-scale designers who are pushing through change. In LA, for instance, Linda Loudermilk is known for her luxury eco women's wear; Serfontaine's ultra-stylish jeans are made with environmentally-sound unbleached denim; Bamboosa makes clothing out of bamboo fibres; Peruvian Giuliana Testino employs indigenous communities to make her beautiful knitwear and Parisian Nathalie Hambro makes jewellery out of beads made by indigenous African communities.

The UK is also proving to be a hotbed for revolution. Howies makes eco-urban clothes, Enamore offers bespoke kimono tops and duffel coats made with organic textiles, Juste has dresses made of silks from Bangladesh, and Sari makes saris donated by Indian women into couture and accessories. Junky Styling even offers to take your old wardrobe and restyle it in a workshop which only uses renewable energy. Crucially all of them offer good design with the feel-good factor.

Buba bags, for instance, has taken care with sourcing its manufacturing in India. "There's no way you can get that type of work done anywhere else," says Euan McDonald of Buba, of the heavily embellished and embroidered accessories. McDonald has joined forces with a local NGO in India, providing employment to families in Delhi, while giving them an opportunity to use traditional techniques that would otherwise be lost.

"Unless a fair-trade product is stylish or well-made [consumers] won't buy it," says Safia Minney, founder of People Tree. Minney's company relies on the specialist skills of over 1,400 artisans from around the world to produce pieces such as halter-neck tunics embroidered with Indian beadwork.

For Romp, a fur and leather accessories label, the key factor is sourcing: all its skins are derived from food by-products. Greg Sturmer of Romp says: "Ignorance is not to be confused with desire. People don't like what they are finding out about the production system and the materials they are being offered. This is why all Romp products are ethically manufactured and their production is fully traceable."

Galahad Clark, of the Clark shoe dynasty, has also joined the ethical crusade. His footwear label, United Nude, makes shoes that are "not just a disposable item" - they use simple plastics and extreme moulding to create designs. Terra Plana, another shoe brand, uses artisan constructions and natural materials, but integral to both collections is the idea of maximising energy efficiency and minimizing toxins and glues.

In short, both provide a starting point for putting a more environmentally-friendly fashion foot forward.