the pop cultural: sights, sounds and pages

This is a repost from my personal/private blog - initial written on March 6, 2010

Be more conscious of purchasing clothing - how much I really need/want and where it’s manufactured – and raise awareness of this to others
I’ve been watching a lot of TV. I mean A LOT of TV. Some bad, but mostly really
good. Like this week, we started watching the series on Planet Green called “Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts” about the working conditions in garment factories and cotton farms. I LOVE clothes and I’ve definitely been aware and concerned about what really goes on in factories (who hasn’t heard of sweat shops?!?!) but I wasn’t very educated on it and I hadn’t taken the time to find out much. I knew conditions were bad, but it’s easy to forget about it when you don’t see it. This show is eye opening. You have to see it for yourself, but it makes you realize how much work goes into one piece of clothing – and that makes me double take on if I really need that piece of clothing. And it makes you realize how by purchasing brands that use laborers that aren’t being paid a fair wage, how you are encouraging it by creating demand.

So I started doing research…
Planet Green names resources and groups, like Green America, you can look into that help to educate you on how to make changes. One article references Co-op America’s Guide to Ending Sweatshops. I’m SHOCKED at reading about some of the major brands. Wal-Mart and Nike didn’t surprise me, but there are stories about Victoria’s Secret, Hanes and others. And it’s not just fair wages, but beatings, sexual assault, and more. I’m completely disgusted. And apparently, not even the label ‘Made in the USA’ saves you.

The big problem I see is that all the brands they name that do pay fair wages and give appropriate working conditions aren’t popular brands. I don’t want to dress like a hippie – most people don’t. They need legitimate large brands in high fashion following these standards and speaking out about it if there is ever going to be a tipping point. This is discussed a bit in a really good Financial Times article. In it, they reference a report done a few years ago called the “Deeper Luxury” report which rated fashion brands on ethical and eco friendliness. It’s good, but most people aren’t buying Hermes or Louis Vuitton – and I think it’s more likely that those companies that charge $2000 for an item are more able/willing to pay fair wages. However, by them making changes visibly it would put pressure on the rest of the market.

I wondered, what about fashion for the middle-class American? Where do those
companies stand? Are there any that don’t use sweatshops?  I’ve been researching for hours on fair labor, brands that use sweatshops, and which ones don’t. The sad truth is it’s not realistic to avoid purchasing clothes from brands that use sweatshops because all of them do. There are very few brands that do and they tend to only sell things like t-shirts and basics. 

And there’s a lack of dialogue on this. A Google news search brings up very little about these topics. American Apparel seems to be the only company really talking about it and they are primarily known for their basics (t-shirts, sweats, etc).

Another article on Planet Green begins to address this theme – specifically what it means to create green fashion. But green fashion and sweatshop free fashion are different and I think we need to not lump them together.

I’m frustrated with the lack of information and lack of progress here – sweatshops aren’t exactly a new issue. That said, here’s what we can do to help:

1. Speak out directly to companies engaging in unethical behavior
   (write them a letter, email, letter to editor)
2. Donate
3. Get educated: Sweatfree.org posts news about sweatshops – check it out and stay
   updated on what’s happening in the US and abroad
4. Speak up by educating friends (twitter, facebook, myspace, in person, e-mail, participate in rallies and petitions, and vote) – share articles and links
5. Minimize your spending – fashion doesn’t have to be so much of a commodity – decide if you really need what you intend to purchase. Cutting down on the amount we buy is eco friendly as well
6. Buy your basics from companies like American Apparel that are sweatshop free

So I guess this isn’t exactly what I thought I’d find, and I guess in hindsight I’m not all that surprised, but I’m more educated, I’m speaking out today and commit to writing to Gap, H&M, Target, BCBG and others about my concerns over their use of sweatshops. I encourage you to as well. What do you think of all this? Will you commit to writing to some of your favorite brands?