Ethical clothes?

BungleGirl

hardpressed wrote:

I don't like to think that people are having to work in sweat shops to provide me with clothes but I do wonder if it is better for them to work for a pittance than have no income at all. Please don't think I'm condoning it but it's something that has bothered me for some time. What do others think.

It's a really complicated issue - try reading 'No Logo' by Naomi Klein (website id https://www.nologo.org but not sure how much info there is on there). The book is really hard work - lots and lots of information and I had to reread several bits to take it all in. It totally did my head in! Very generally the info in the book is not to bycott the brands but to campaign for the rights of the workers i.e. fair pay, unions, external inspections etc.

The book is really worth reading but as I said it exhausted me and upset me to know what horrible things are going on in the world. A hard read but worth it!

hardpressed

Thanks bunglegirl. Most of my buys are from charity shops, I agree that a boycott of cheap clothing might do more harm than good. I try to suport charities that fight for treating workers fairly and buy fair trade goods when I can. So hopefully I'm not exploiting anyone.

S0rin

Ive used http://store.americanapparel.co.uk/ before, sweatshop free and decent prices, plain / bland clothing though.

Penelope_Penguin

Hi! I've just started working one day a week in an affluent market town. I had a half hour to kill, so mooched into a charity shop, looking for books. I'd not been into one for years, when they used to be smelly, and disorganised. I was amazed! All the clothes were on hangers, beautifully presented, and organised into sizes and styles. I bought 2 designer skirts, a fitted jacket, 4 blouses and a jumper for £25.

Apart from underwear, possibly a winter coat and an outfit for the Christmas party, and shoes, I'm not intending to buy new clothes again.

I'm taking DD next weekend. She's thrilled, as it will make her allowance streeeeeeeeeeeetch that much further!

I went past our local Outlet yesterday, which was advertising itself as "guilt free shopping". Not so - that phrase belongs to charity shops.

Penny. x

greenmummy_2

See this article about 'Ethical Fashion' on Friends of the Earth's website:

http://www.foe.co.uk/living/poundsavers/ethical_fashion.html

Sarahsaver

I have had stuff from people tree. Nice, organic fair trade and so on.
But...
Went to India recently and saw an advert in a glossy mag over there for a people tree embroidered handbag - 150 rupees!!! :eek: there are approx 83 rupees to the pound. Who is getting the markup?

Charity shops I would say are the most eco-friendly and ethical, because it is reusing and avoiding landfill, and if you have seen the poverty (relative to our standard of living) people live in first hand, and realised that £2 a day in some places is a living wage, you change your perspective.

[Deleted User]

Hi there you could try this new online store, just opened at the start of October I think.

http://www.adili.com/

They quote

"Adili brings together a community of producers, designers and customers who believe that fashion can be both stylish and ethical.

Adili.com offers the best brands in the ethical fashion market. You can buy clothes that will benefit the people involved in their production or the environment, and in many cases, both.

Adili.com sells Women's and Children's clothes and accessories. Our ranges of Organic Clothing and Fair Trade Clothing include Organic Jeans, Fair Trade T-Shirts and much more"

regards

dotcouk

There is a collection of 8 ethical / organic fashion shops on the Ecotivity website.

dotcouk

Plus links to 11 uk ethical online clothing shops in the Ecotivity Directory.

arkonite_babe

I've added those links to the useful sticky at the top of the board for future reference