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<\/p>Before 1980, fashion used to consist of four seasons: autumn, winter,\u00a0spring, and summer. In contrast, now, many big brands seem to produce 52 micro-seasons annually! And some of these brands can have new lines going into their shops between 2-7 times a week.<\/p>
It is estimated that over 75 million people are making our clothes today and 80% of this\u00a0workforce is made up of women between the ages of 18-24. Children at 14 years of age often enter the industry to work an average of 14 hrs per day in sweatshops to produce cheap clothing. Many of these workers are exploited, physically and verbally abused, and are expected to work amongst harmful and toxic chemicals. A majority of these workers earn less than $3 per day, live in extreme poverty and can\u2019t afford their basic needs.<\/p>
Most of these brands end up producing cheap clothing that falls apart easily and loses it's shape. Consequently most of it ends up in the bin and then onto landfill. Once in landfill, if the fabric doesn\u2019t break down, it simply stays there polluting the land around it. That said, not all fashion brands you find at the shops are bad, you just have to do some research to find the \u2018gooduns\u2019.<\/p>
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So now, this brings us to the topic of ethical fashion. What is it, you ask?<\/p>
Ethical fashion mainly focuses on how people were treated <\/strong>during the production of the garment and requires brands to be transparent about their manufacturing. Were the workers paid a liveable wage? Are they working in a healthy environment? Are they treated well and given benefits? Do they work a fair amount of hours during the working week?<\/p> Such simple expectations, right? Unfortunately, they\u2019re not. Some of the most popular brands continue to fail to be transparent about their production methods - which is why shops like mine exist.<\/p> The industry won\u2019t change unless shoppers do. These undervalued and abused workers won\u2019t be supported unless we support them.<\/p> At the end of the day, the ethical fashion movement simply asks people to be conscious<\/strong> of where they are purchasing their products. If we spend money on brands that exploit workers, then we are effectively supporting this continued behaviour.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Now, please don\u2019t go and throw away all of the clothes you have as that really would be wasteful. Instead, wear out the clothes you already have and perhaps be more mindful of any purchases from here on.<\/p> You can be sure that the hoodies, t shirts and sweaters I sell are organic cotton, made using the the energy of the sun and the wind, ensure fair wages are being paid and use eco-friendly inks. On top of that there is a take back system so the cotton gets recycled again and again.<\/p> All garments in my shop follow the principles of slow, ethical and sustainable fashion.<\/p>