It’s been a few days now since my last post, as a mother of boys time does seem to sneak away from you!! But during this time I’ve been pondering on some of the ideas raised within my last post on sustainable fashion. One of the topics that arose from the short survey I conducted amongst some of my friends was that of guilt. My previous post suggested that a significant number of women (majority mothers) focused heavily on price when buying fashions, however, something I didn’t discuss was a comment brought up by my sister and her friend on the issue of guilt. After stating she knew nothing on sustainable fashion, other than my opinions, or that the what and where of a garments manufacturing was taken into account whilst she was shopping, she contemplated for a moment and added “We are just deciding whether to feel guilty about that or not. Should we be more aware of environmental impacts!? This is the question we ask ourselves.” I thought what a brilliant statement, and then thought how relevent is this? Is this something people ask themselves when they shop? Do you walk out of a retail store after purchasing something for yourself or child and feel guilty about not considering the sustainability of the garment? Do you even ask or question whether the garment is made of organic fibres? Was it made in a less fortunate village or town that contributes and benefits the economy, infrastructure or people of that village? Do any of the profits contribute to a charity? Tough questions, that realistically would not cross the majority of consumers minds when they shop, which is perfectly understandable given the lack of awareness that is out there on such topics.
So where do we shop guilt free? What labels are doing good in the ‘big bad world of fashion?’ Well for those out there who are not purely price driven and do buy designer labels either for themselves or their boys, I’ve touched lightly on charitable designers and labels in my previous post and listed some such as Australia’s children designer label Munster Kids,
but there are hundred’s more labels across the globe that are focused on sustainability and adapting to or giving back where and when they can. Yes organic labels are on the rise and they are contributors to sustainable fashion, however, I believe sustainable fashion is about more than just organic and the environment. Take Edun for example. Without going into too much detail on the label and the endless ways in which they contribute to sustainable fashion, this is a fashion label founded in 2005 by Ali Hewson and Bono (lead singer of U2) with the intention to increase awareness of the African Rag trade and in particular the damaging effects the cotton industry has and is having on the country. It actively works to increase trade with Africa and is aiming to produce 40% of its seasonal fashion collection in Africa by 2013 with the aim of building long-term, sustainable opportunities by supporting manufacturers, infrastructure and community building initiatives (www.edun.com).
Although any piece from their amazing collection could be considered an indulgence for most mothers, you could happily shop guilt free knowing you were supporting the African community and contributing to cleaner work environments through supporting Edun’s Conservation Cotton Initiative (CCI) in Uganda.
In fact Diesel has recently collaborated with Edun with a Spring 2013 denim collection that is manufactured in Africa with the finest CCI cotton from Uganda. However,this is not the only reason to shop guilt free with Diesel. Apart from having amazing denim for men and women, they also have a fantastic kids and boys wear range,
and have also established their own charity Only The Brave Foundation, which was “born four years ago with the mission to fight social inequality and to contribute to the sustainable development of less advantaged areas and people throughout the world, the Only The Brave Foundation so far has supported over 100 innovative projects providing concrete solutions to the life of more than 40,000 people.”
The H & M ‘All for Children’ collection is a collaboration between the designer and UNICEF. Released in 2013, the collaboration is aimed at protecting the rights of kids living in India’s Tamil Nadu region, where cotton is the primary source of income. Through the collection, which is targeted at 1-8 year olds, they use 25% of the proceeds to establish proper education systems in Tamil Nadu (www.trendhunter.com/trends/h-m-all-for-children).
For the mum’s and women, there are some very charitable designer labels across the globe including the Benetian group and Asos. Asos Africa for example,
is a range designed by the company that supports a sustainable work environment in Kenya by partnering with Soko. I’ve also found a website, www.psfk.com, which is an online designer label store that donates 20% of the proceeds from all purchases to a charitable cause. Basically, designers are paired with a particular charity campaign and when an item is purchased, 20% of the RRP goes to the not-for-profit project. Toms for example, has set up an initiative that donates a pair of shoes to someone in a developing country for every pair of shoe sold through PSFK. Currently more than 1 million pairs have been distributed to those in need in more than 20 countries.
So for those who are looking for ways to support sustainable fashion and shop guilt free, there are endless ways you can go about it and support the fashion labels that are supporting not only the environment, but also the people and communities of the less fortunate both locally and globally. I could go on for hours about sustainable fashion and list page after page of labels, fashion designers and fashion organisations that are charitable and working toward sustainability but I won’t. If people really want to make a difference, I suggest stop talking about it and actually do something. It’s easy to want to change the world and condemn big corporations for doing more, but what are you doing in your immediate area? Do you volunteer your time to feed the homeless in your town or city? Or volunteer at your local second-hand store? Do you even buy second-hand clothes or donate regularly to charity?
If your feeling guilty about your shopping and want to find ‘sustainable labels’ ask your local retail store owners about which labels are doing what, or get online and google it, there is a world of information at our door step, and a world of sustainable fashion for men, women, girls and our boys. If your not then don’t, which is equally acceptable. We all have a choice and it’s not our place to judge, because at the end of the day there is no right and wrong there are simply consequences.
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