Wife of the governor of the Bank of England hits out at cheap clothes for harming the environment

Diane Carney (pictured with her husband Mark Carney) wrote in a blog post that consumers should buy organically-produced clothes (Rex Features)

The wife of the governor of the Bank of England has condemned cheap clothes as a “toxic skin” which damage the environment and fail to reflect the “true costs of production”.

Diane Carney said in a blog on her environmental website that consumers should buy fewer clothes and instead pay more to get organically produced T-shirts and jeans.

She hit out at the type of cheap cotton clothing frequently found in high street stores that leave a “trail of devastation” because of the damage wrought on the landscape by “toxic chemicals” and high water consumption. She was also concerned about the impact of cheap clothes on the health of the people who make them.

The environmental campaigner, whose husband, Mark, took up the role of Governor of the Bank of England earlier this year, said: “Low prices tempt us all in (I am by no means exempt here),” she wrote. “But in the textiles world, prices are nowhere near high enough to reflect the true costs of production.

“Looking at all the benefits of organic fabrics, it’s a wonder we don’t demand them more vociferously. Who wants to carry around a toxic second skin each day?”