Ethical Fashion – Ethical Fashion Designers
At this time and age I like to think that everyone wants to do better by our Planet and its habitants but most of you may not know where to begin. Education, when it comes to environment friendly lifestyles, beauty products and Fashion,is still in its baby stages and I for one want to educate my readers
It kind of hit me while cleaning out my own Closet, getting ready for a Garage Sale, on how big that pile of Clothe was that I did not fit in anymore or just have not worn in over a year. Now mind you I am not one that will shop every Season or even every Year, I also wear a lot of re gifted Items and Stuff from second hand shops , so a lot of clothes are being worn for Years but, somehow this accumulated, and (note to self ) will have to change!
Does ethical mean business – What does ethical mean in business
Ethical Fashion is a term to describe ethical fashion design, production and sales. While covering issues such as working condition, fair trade, sustainable production and of course the environment and the welfare of animals.
In 2013 a poorly maintained garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh, killing 1,132 people and injuring over 2,00 others. This made world News but ever since, we do not hear much about how / IF this Industry is changing in the main News. I started digging to learn more.
Women in Bangladesh and Vietnam who are making clothes for the US$23 billion Australian fashion industry are going hungry because of wages as low as 51 cents an hour, an Oxfam report has found that Nine out of 10 workers interviewed could not afford enough food for themselves and their families and were forced to skip meals or go into debt.
Bangladesh — the world’s second-largest importer of apparel behind China is abusing local economy and poverty to employ local workers that just don’t have another choice.
The Ellen MacArthur foundation conducted a study in 2015 and revealed that 73 percent of the total material used to make clothes ended up incinerated or in Landfills. This is a major sign that the massive resource consumption is still ongoing.
Price over Quality and sustainability. Think about what price that Product may have cost the person that is putting it together for you or the animal that had the Skin that was needed, the Land the Ingredient was grown on and the method on how it made it to your Store of choice.
When you go to one of those major corporations that are buying from Bangladesh or China to purchase a shirt for cheap, a Year later that Shirt will fall apart and you throw it away or if you are not to selfish maybe give it to a Goodwill or Red Cross. Why not buy a Shirt from an ethical Fashion Producer or has the Label of fair trade, cruelty-free to name just a few. It will not cost that much more but you will feel much better knowing that you actually made a difference.
I was so happy to find that clothing manufacturers small or big alike are realizing, plenty of ways to sell fashionable clothing and accessories without destroying the environment, endanger workers, or cause suffering to animals.
Startup fashion brands focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing Hurrah !!!!!!
It is not just the Garment Industry that is changing but also the Beauty and Hair Industry as well.
The industries are moving away from the destructive practices of previous years and toward cleaner, ethical ways of making clothes and other products.
While the List of Companies still testing on animals is rather long and includes some of the largest Brands on the market.
The List of Beauty Companies that DO NOT test on animals is getting bigger every Year. See if you have their products and if not you may want to think about switching .
Keep Company and Unicorn Goods are two brands that have a large catalog of vegan shirts, Shoes, accessories, Cookbooks and much more. Smaller brands like Unreal Fur, Ahimsa, Beyond Skin are taking a more specialized approach. Rothy is making Shoes from recycled plastic bottles, The Third Estate has been at a Store front since 2005 and is a great source for the smaller budget.
Amanda Hearst’s Maison de Mode features a combination of Fair Trade, recycled, cruelty-free, and organic products
The average pair of shoes takes more than 50 years to fully decompose
Veja, Rothy’s and Allbirds are three sustainable brands that have cracked the formula for creating ethical shoes .
In Paris and London, Veja has a reputation as the “green” luxury sneaker, made with sustainable materials .
Companies are rapidly investing in alternatives to traditional clothing in order to continue the Trent towards ethical Products. Plumtech for example features a cruelty-free alternative to down feathers, and Modern Meadow a Brooklyn NY Startup, is working on developing a bio fabricated leather that is made from collagen protein and other essential building blocks found in animal skin without requiring the slaughter of animals.
H&M and Zara along with Old Navy now sell vegan clothes and Gap, Hugo Boss and Gucci no longer carry fur in their Stores.
When it comes to PETA approved products, I will have to name Hipsters For Sisters. Their products are entirely made from recycled, up cycled or dead stocked materials.
Now you know – the choice is yours
Now that you have a small overview, I hope that you are motivated to support the Companies that are working on environment friendly Fashion, Beauty, Hair and Home Products.
For a more direct support of Women that are working to get out of poverty you can start here.
If you like to not just help yourself and your wallet while cleaning out your Closet, sell your Stuff here
You see, when you start looking around and read the labels it is not that hard to make an educated choice. For a comprehensive Guide about labels click here.
Cheers
Andrea
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