The moment that started a revolution in my own life, something that convicted me of things that I knew and believed in but had yet to put into practice, was last November. One comment from someone important in my life led me to recognize that if I wanted to truly live out my desire for social justice, equality, sustainability, and love for people around the world in every nation and circumstance, I needed to stop taking things for granted and make a stand. Specifically when it comes to clothing.
I've been a fashion enthusiast for as long as I can remember, subscribed to vogue for years, started following fashion blogs back in 2006 and have tried quite a few different "trends" in my day. The past couple years I stopped following the trends and began to focus on developing my personal style. I've been trying to prioritize quality over quantity in my budget and purchasing decisions, though sometimes I just needed a quick fix to take care of a hole in my wardrobe. The one aspect I had never truly given any thought to was the sustainability and social responsibility of the companies I was purchasing from.
So in November I immediately put myself on a shopping hiatus and began researching intensely. I discovered that there really is not that much information out there, hardly any comprehensive databases, very few companies put their ethical beliefs on their website, much less in an easy, intuitive-to-find location. And I've been striving to prove that quality/sustainability/social responsibility does NOT have to equal bankruptcy. My strategy basically consisted of googling "company name+social responsibility". Oh, and social responsibility and sustainability are not interchangeable. Additionally social responsibility has several layers when you take total supply chain into account - not just manufacturing.
I did not make my first purchase until nearly March. No Black Friday shopping, nor holiday deals nor after Christmas sales for me last year. (Consumerism and modern advertising is a whole different topic for another day...). I'm still collecting data and researching. I have a haphazard list of brands and products and links to databases, online stores, news articles and blog posts saved in Evernote at the moment. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to organize and consolidate and disperse my findings. I'm sure there's still great resources out there that I haven't discovered yet. There are brands that I used to shop all the time that left me surprisingly disappointed, and haven't stepped foot in since, and others that found me pleasantly surprised and have earned a spot in my budget. Some of my "blacklist" locations have left a hole that I'm still trying to fill.
I plan to begin a series on my findings, and try to keep things positive and encouraging. Brands will be featured and resources shared. It's hard to be perfect on something like this, it requires making some concessions and prioritizing (Is organic cotton worth it if the people aren't paid a fair wage? Or how about American-made vs international fair wages?). There will be mistakes (just because a brand puts something on their website doesn't mean they actually believe in it/follow through with it) and moments of weakness (Why are well-fitting jeans so expensive and rare without even adding the ethics requirement?). But this is one step toward living the life I'd like to live in a way that can meaningfully contribute back to the world around me.
Do you know who made your clothes?
Extra Credit: Fashion Revolution. #InsideOut. April marked the one year anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. Fashion Revolution started a campaign encouraging people to wear their clothing inside out (to feature the "made in" label) on April 24. Photos were posted across Social Media as a statement that things need to change. And that change starts with simply being aware of where your clothes are made, and by whom. When consumers are aware of this and begin to demand this information from brands, then supply chain transparency will be a natural part of every business model.
