Fashion resolutions - An ethical commitment to style and Fashion
I used to pretend that the chicken I ate once roamed free in a green pasture with his/her cow and pig friends and that they all frolicked together with butterflies until they were ever so gently and humanely made edible for me. This, of course, all having been done by a farmer with a straw hat and a beautifully weathered face who knew each animal by name. (And, who,..of course, lived in a red farmhouse...with a windmill).
I used to imagine that my clothing was carefully created by French or Italian women, (the accent was essential), who would be working alongside each other, sharing stories and a laugh or two. I could see them; the gray haired all knowing woman who did all of the hand finishing, the fashionable happy seamstresses who obviously loved their jobs at the sewing machines, for which they were well compensated, of course, and the designers (who bore a striking resemblance to Coco Chanel or Hubert de Givenchy). Pseudo Coco or Hubert would breeze in Bonjour comment allez-vous to examine their work and sometimes even correct a stitch or two themselves. The fabric, always perfectly draped on a mannequin, was purchased from countryside weavers who had created intricate designs with vegetable dyes. My clothing would be carefully wrapped in tissue and brown paper with chunky twine and put on a shelf next to a cardboard name tag that bore my name, which was written in perfect French cursive strokes. Okay..I have an active imagination.
But then it happened..I became more and more aware of how, where and by whom my clothing was being made. My beautiful fashion illusions were shattered one by one.
France or Italy
My new jacket was made in China. Take a look at where your clothing is made and you'll find not only China, but Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, etc. In her book "Deluxe; How Luxury Lost its Lustre " Dana Thomas exposes luxury brand factories that have the "Made in Italy" labels sewn on in sweatshops in China. At least with my vintage designer fashions, I know they were actually created in Italy, France, and the USA. That's nice.
The Countryside Weavers
Instead of doing his math or reading, a 9 year old boy probably picked the cotton that made the fabric that became my blouse. In Uzbekistan, children are forced to leave school for months at a time by the Government to pick cotton that supplies a lot of the most popular clothing chains. You can read more about this and the efforts to stop it at The Environmental Justice Foundation
The Gray haired woman
A 10 year old girl probably beaded my new purse. According to this Forbes article;
Every time you buy an imported handmade carpet, an embroidered pair of jeans, a beaded purse, a decorated box or a soccer ball there's a good chance you're acquiring something fashioned by a child. Such goods are available in places like GapKids, Macy's (nyse: M - news - people ), ABC Carpet & Home, Ikea, Lowe's (nyse: LOW - news - people ) and Home Depot (nyse: HD - news - people ). These retailers say they are aware of child-labor problems, have strict policies against selling products made by underage kids and abide by the laws of the countries from which they import. But there are many links in a supply chain, and even a well-intentioned importer can't police them all.
The Fashionable happy Seamstresses
My new dress was probably made in a sweatshop. Sweatshops aren't just factories, they are workplaces that ignore the labor laws and take advantage of their employees. There's nothing I hate more than this popular argument: "Well, at least THOSE PEOPLE have jobs" or "THEY would have nothing without the sweatshops." People actually say that. But it's not their ignorance that caused the problem, that would be too easy. It's actually our demand, as consumers, and stockholders, for cheap clothing or wider profit margins, that puts pressure on the manufacturers to reduce their costs. Who suffers? THOSE PEOPLE. According to the International Labor Rights Forum , In many factories, workers report the following:
-
Nonpayment of minimum wage
-
Very high production quotas that often require them to work long hours everyday
-
Discrimination against workers that are part of a union
-
Training by factory management on how to lie to inspectors that come to the factory
The Designers
A designer did not pin my dress to a model. Pierre Balmain doesn't live here anymore. Unless you are buying true haute couture, spending more money on "designer" clothing, doesn't guarantee that your new garment was made with any more integrity than a less expensive brand. According to the Telegraph UK In his book, The Fashion Conspiracy, Nicholas Coleridge estimates that the entire couture industry rests on the whims of less than 30 immensely wealthy women, and although the number may have grown in recent years with the new prosperity of Asia, the number of couture customers worldwide is no more than 4,000. And yet, we shop with the illusion that we are buying "couture" when the term "couture" is in the company name. The truth is, even Target and Walmart have "designers" and their clothing is often manufactured in many of the same factories as the better known designers. Luxury brands are owned by huge conglomerates and the supply chain is so long and complicated, often spanning continents, that the designers themselves aren't even aware of how it their clothing is made.
So what do you do? Where do you shop? How do you know the truth? Well, to be honest, it's not as easy as advising you to buy that free range chicken or organic produce. But, I can tell you what I'm going to do.
Here are my 3 fashion resolutions for 2011:
- I'm going to buy vintage. If not vintage, then upcycled or second hand clothes whenever possible. This is the easiest way to be an ethical consumer and is something I've done for quite some time now, so that won't really be a challenge for me.
- I'm going to stay on top of what's happening in sustainable fashion. i will educate myself on the issues on a regular basis. Of course, that includes reading those boring supply chain and labor law reports - not something I look forward to every day, but that's why I've made it a resolution!
- I'm going to support ethical companies Something more powerful than boycotting is to re-direct your purchasing power. I'm going to buy from those clothing companies whose mission is to create ethical fashion
from the cradle to the grave. This is easier said than done for two reasons; 1. These companies are often much more expensive (because they are actually paying their workers and following safety guidelines), and 2. It's not easy to find companies that are fully committed to ethical fashion and also have great style. It's easy to find simple tee shirts and basics, but the higher fashion is trickier. There are more
and more of those kinds of ethical talented designers out there (and for some reason, a large percentage of them are in
Europe), so I'll have to do some research.
My little dream of the Coco-ish designers and chic seamstresses sharing a baguette in France might be gone, but that's okay. I've come up with a new fantasy.. In this dream, children go to school and adults go to work for a living wage at a company where they can expect to be respected, safe and that their basic human rights will be honored. I don't like to sound preachy, but I hope you'll become engaged in the discussion and that you will feel empowered with your choices. You can use the voice our democracy has provided you to demand corporate transparency and the dollars you've earned to endorse or reject the ethics of any company you choose.
Dreams can come true..I've seen some pretty happy chickens lately..
If you are interested in learning more, here are some resources you might find helpful:
MADE BY , a non profit organization with a mission to improve environmental and social conditions in the fashion industry, has a short list of Partner brands who have joined them in their mission.
Sweatfree Communities has a helpful guide to becoming a responsible clothing consumer
Ecouturre , a website devoted to the future of sustainable fashion design, listed the 18 questions created for designers who wanted to exhibit at London Fashion week. Wouldn't it be nice if we could get the answers from all of the designers and companies that create clothing? Or, better yet, wouldn't it be amazing if the rising stars of fashions thought about each of these questions as they form their new companies?
1. How can you use intelligent design to reduce the social and environmental impact of a product’s life cycle?
2. Do you consider the environmental effects of the colors and prints you choose for your collection?
3. Can you create a longer-lasting and better-functioning product, thereby reducing the need to replace it?
4. How much water does it take to produce your fabrics?
5. Are you aware of the sustainable alternatives to the raw materials you are currently using?
6. When selecting your fabric range, do you think about the end-of-life stage, such as the implications of disposal?
7. How well do you know your supply chain?
8. What are the social costs of your production process?
9. Have you ever considered using recycled pre-consumer/post-consumer waste in your collection?
10. Are you able to reduce the amount of solid and hazardous waste in your packaging?
11. Have you considered a local supply chain to decrease mileage in the production process?
12. Could you reduce the weight and volume of a product by using fewer or lighter materials to optimize transportation?
13. How durable are your products; is it possible to increase their longevity?
14. How can you encourage the customer to form an emotional attachment to your product, thereby discouraging disposal?
15. How does your product need to be cleaned and what impact will this have on the environment?
16. Can the product have a second life?
17. Could you offer an upgrading and/or a repair service to your customer?
18. Can you reduce the waste impact of disposing your product by making it recyclable or biodegradable?
Thanks for this blog - my only complaint is that you don't post more often!
These are important issues and I admire your desire to enlighten and encourage change in our culture. Thanks!
Great post! The world needs education on this because complacency and pretending are just too easy. Close your eyes and buying $15 Old Navy (to pick just one of the hundreds of offending retailers) cr*p has no consequences in the real world where children and families suffer. No consequences means we consumers have no guilt on our consciences about perpetuating human misery. What a sweet dreamworld to live in!
One result of educated consumers taking responsibility for the effects of "voting with their dollars" will be paying more for things. Which will mean buying fewer things, which will make us focus more on the quality of what we are buying, which may (now I'm dreaming!) bring back true artist-designers and artisan fabricators.
I think the problem is that people don't want to know..it's easier to be in the dark than to have to do something that takes effort. But the more people like you get the word out, the harder it will be to ignore! Thank you - I really enjoy your blog!
Great article....Another option you may want to champion is "sew it yourself!"
You are right! I guess my only caution with that is that the creative ones out there use vintage fabric or make certain they know how and where the fabric was manufactured! Thanks for the reminder!
There's so much out there that could be recycled into new fashions if the designers would just get on that band wagon! Thanks for the beautiful blog!
Loved this..I have to re think how I look at shopping..thanks for the insight. I also love your website