Hi friends! As I continue along this style journey, I am learning a lot about the apparel industry we all play a part in. I have a growing burden to remind people that clothing doesn’t have to be a disposable commodity and that the people who make our clothing are not dispensable. It’s uncomfortable to think about where our clothes come from and who makes them, but it is something I can no longer pretend not to notice.
Today, I am handing over the keyboard to the talented writer behind Style Wise, a blog about ethical issues in the clothing industry. Meet Leah Wise, who is well-schooled on this topic. Today she’s sharing some information that could change your life.
(Courtesy, The True Cost)
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“It’s not a great moral accomplishment to ensure that workers are treated fairly, it’s simply the right thing to do.”
In the early days of the industrial revolution, life was pretty miserable for factory workers. Even elementary aged children were forced to toil away for up to 12 or 13 hours a day, and early reports from activists suggested some children were even chained to their machines to keep them in line. The concept of capitalism had just been parsed out by Adam Smith, but his invisible hand was already tweaking the marketplace as it saw fit. According to Smith, capitalism would naturally make adjustments based on the needs of the market, and by extension, the people it served. But it became clear in a generation that the market simply could not autonomously guarantee humane treatment for its workers. Over time, labor laws were put in place, restricting small children from working and adults from being forced to work long days with no breaks. We take for granted that thousands of laborers and their allies worked for decades merely to be treated like humans in the workplace.
It is this ignorance that keeps us from caring about the people who still toil in factories working long days for little pay. Despite the fact that children in Bangladesh were sewing elastic into Old Navy jeans as recently as 2013, Old Navy’s sales continue to climb. Despite the fact that 1,129 very real people died in a garment factory collapse on April 24, 2013, we continue to buy into the lie that low cost goods are our right and that accumulating, curating, and wearing trends is a key component to our happiness. You see, people are dying – sometimes in factory collapses and fires, sometimes from diseases they get from inhaling toxic fumes in their workplaces – to make cute clothes for us. This is intolerable. It has to stop.
Here’s the deal: people should be treated like they matter, because they do. It’s not a great moral accomplishment to ensure that workers are treated fairly, it’s simply the right thing to do. For this reason, fair trade can’t be something I buy into as a novelty. I shouldn’t invest in ethical companies because it makes me feel good or so I can tell people I’ve done my good deed for the day. Though fair trade is becoming trendy, it would be a farce if that’s all it ever is to us.
(Courtesy, The True Cost)
Every consumer decision we make is linked to the livelihood of others. Believe me, the day I committed to seek out ethical options was one of the hardest days of my life, because I knew I couldn’t shop in a vacuum any longer. My burdens are no longer lifted by a mini spree at Target. I don’t get to pretend that these beautiful things magically materialized onto sleek racks just waiting to brighten my day. If I’m aware of the fact that the finger prints of a worker across the world likely still linger on the garment I run my fingers down at a “window shopping” trip to my local mall – if I let that collision of someone else’s life with my own sink in – I begin to see factory workers as a part of my community. I am obligated to see their humanity.
It’s not always easy to find that one perfect trend item when you’re going the ethical route. You will have to make sacrifices. But if you’ve been following Andrea here on Seasons & Salt for awhile, you’re already game for a few inconveniences. Much like the Capsule Wardrobe, shopping with consideration for worker welfare takes thought, and time. You will have to ask yourself what items matter most. You will come to terms with your own materialism. You may feel guilty or overwhelmed at first. But you will find that being aware of the human element in the production of your clothing will change you for the better. There are numerous ways to shop more ethically and I won’t go over all of them here (though there are tons of resources on my blog), but know that a small step in the right direction is a very good thing. We can’t do everything, but we can do something. Let’s start right now.
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Thanks for reading! You can find Leah at her blog, Style Wise and on Instagram @StyleWiseBlog.
Loved this! Leah’s blog, as well as yours has really got me thinking hard about my future purchases and the people involved. I SO wish more stores in my area would offer ethically made clothing. Living in a smaller college town, discount giants are prevalent and there are a lot of cheap clothing options. Second hand stores are so-so, and mostly filled with the cast offs from the people who buy at the discount giants. My only other option is online, which I always hate doing with a brand I have never seen or worn before. I need to get more comfortable with that, because anything newly purchased will most likely need to be online. Looking forward to seeing more from you both as you highlight ethical companies!
Great feedback Rebecca. Don’t be too hard on your brand selection when second-hand shopping, at that point you are keeping those items (which you should only buy if you love :) out of landfills. I definitely give myself more freedom in this area, but I still do read labels.
Yes, online shopping is so tricky! Especially shoes. I have pulled out the measuring tape countless times while studying companies’ size charts. Sometimes if the company has a good return policy I’ll even order one thing in two sizes, knowing I’ll send one back.
In the future I plan to highlight some of my newly-found and favorite ethical clothing companies! Stay tuned. :)
This is so beautifully stated. So poignant. Thank you, Leah, for sharing your insight and thank you, Andrea, for spreading the word! I love the line about the collision of lives, and how it’s imperative that we see our own connectedness to the much broader community. So many of us blindly feed into a deplorable global complex, with injustices so pervasive, we would likely be appalled if only the veil were lifted and we got to take a good look around. At this point in time it feels like individual consumers need to force our way past the curtain to see what’s really going on. Thank you both for shedding some light and providing us a peak.
Agreed! Sometimes it seems like the problem is so overwhelming that I don’t know where to take my first bite into solving it, but I recently listened to a podcast with an interesting point of view. The gal being interviewed (she’s the blogger behind Zero Waste Home) talked about how every choice we make in our consumption is a vote – a vote toward endless consumption and waste, or a vote toward refusing to be a part of it and reducing our waste. It was really interesting and empowering to think of my choices that way. It’s good to remember all those little choices add up.
Great post! I’m always excited to meet more ethical fashion bloggers who want to spread the word and change how people shop and how the fashion industry operates. It’s an important thing to realize that each purchase you make influences those who made what you bought.
Great point Brooke! Thanks for reading!
Thank you for sharing this post Leah and Andrea! Such an important topic and one that I constantly find myself thinking about. I love that you addressed the fact that fair trade shopping has become a trend in itself but needs to be seen as a much more integral part of how we produce and purchase goods. My generation and even more so the one after me is so consumed with wanting instant gratification but we don’t seem to want to consider the impact our choices make. I’d love to hear your take on the environmental impacts of the garment industry as well, given that textile manufacturing is the #2 water pollutant globally. Thanks for introducing me to Style Wise!
It’s so great to connect with other bloggers who are concerned about this. I agree the heart of this issues lies with a mindset shift in how we produce and purchase goods. Hopefully we can start with ourselves and share with our friends and those in our circle of influence.