HEARING about the horrors of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh was the moment a former Priestley College realised urgent changes are needed in the fashion industry.

Charlotte Instone, from Lymm, watched the TV with shock as the media reported on the more than 1,130 garment workers who were crushed to death under eight stories of concrete when the building collapsed in 2013.

The 20-year-old said: "I was inspired to become involved in ethical fashion when I saw the atrocities that happened with Rana Plaza.

"It horrified me that things I am buying on the high street, people are losing their lives for, children and girls my age. We need to start understanding that as consumers, our choices matter."

Determined to make a difference, Charlotte, who is in her third year at London College of Fashion studying buying and merchandising, has organised two fashion shows in the capital to raise awareness of the very best of ethical fashion.

The aim of the event was to educate people into what they are buying on the high street, to encourage change and to raise money to help poverty stricken countries.

She said: "If we were to start buying the one per cent fair trade cotton on the high street, it would create demand and retailers would start supplying ethical alternatives.

"I wanted to let others know about what they can do and where they can shop to make a difference."

Although Charlotte has no plans to organise another ethical fashion show in the near future, her mission to bring radical changes is still ongoing.

She said: "The whole aim is now to move the story on and equip people with why and what it looks like to shop ethically. I will be running a conference at the end of the year, with visionary expert speakers from around the UK and US.

"I am working on a business start-up at the moment that I will be launching when I graduate. It will allow consumers to shop ethically, without having to compromise on price or style."

Charlotte's Priestley textiles tutor Emma Lingard added: “Charlotte impressed us all at Priestley and it is no surprise that she has gone on to make a real difference."