As I’ve said in an earlier post that it’s Fashion Revolution Week from 22 – 28 April 2019. So for my ‘W’ post for the A to Z Challenge I thought I’d share a little more about sustainable and ethical fashion. “Who made my clothes?” is a key question to ask.
Ethical & Sustainable both important
A few years ago I was interested to know more about which brands were ethical. Which brands were treating the people who made their clothes humanely? I saw the book “Wardrobe Crisis” in my local library and thought it might be helpful. Well the book really opened up my mind to it being much more than finding out how ethically my clothes were made. It was also about how the manufacturing processes effects the environment as well. After that I went onto research more.
Useful Apps
I really haven’t bought many items of clothing in the last few years. I’m much more conscious of how my purchases affect the world and the people who live in it. There are a couple of apps that can help you buy from ethical and sustainable brands.
The Good on You App and The Baptist World Aid Australia End Poverty App both have a number of brands rated on their apps. Baptist World Aid Australia has been putting out an ethical shopping guide for a number of years now.
What I’m Wearing?
I thought I’d search the brand of the clothes I’m wearing today on the apps. My shorts came up as a “we avoid” brand on the Good on You app and “C+” on the End Poverty App. I’ve had these shorts for about two and a half years and wear them a good percentage of the time during spring, summer and autumn. So although the brand doesn’t rate will I’m getting good wear out of them. When I replace these denim shorts I’ll either choose a more ethical brand such as Outland Denim or buy second hand.
The shirt and jumper I’m wearing are both quite old and neither of the brands came up on either of the apps. Once again I’ve had quite a lot of wear out of these 2 items of clothing. I’ll replace them with ethical brands or second hand items when I need to.
What can you do?
So many clothes get worn for a very short amount of time and make their way into thrift shops or are dumped. One of the best things is to make do with what you have by wearing it until it wears out, mending if you can or re-purposing the item in some way. Another idea is to borrow/rent for one off or special occasions. Clothes swaps are also good as you can swap good quality clothing you no longer wear for items that you want. There are a number of clothes swaps happening around the world for Fashion Revolution Week. As you can see there are a number of options before choosing to buy new clothes.
So when I am going to make a new clothes purchase I will be asking the question “Who made my clothes?”
Have you considered or asked the question “Who made my clothes?”? If so what brands, apps, sites have you found helpful? How do you make sustainable and ethical chooses when building your wardrobe?