How long did it take you to get dressed this morning?
5, 10, 15 minutes or maybe more. Every day we make decisions
about the clothes we want to wear. Clothing can be used as a tool to
communicate something about ourselves. It speaks of our personality and can
make a statement to the people around us. But there is a lot more we need to be considering. We think
about print, colour and silhouette, but what about the stuff you can’t see?
Unbeknownst to the people around you, clothes can make a
more subtle but more important statement.
Ethical clothing considers the stuff you can’t see. It
answers questions like: who made my clothes?
The rise of fast fashion chains like H&M has meant that
more people are buying cheap clothing that is poorly made and doesn’t last. And
when things don’t last you have to buy more things to replace it. This vicious
cycle of excessive consumption has a big impact on both the people who make our
clothes and the environment. Garments are produced at such a rapid pace that
cotton farms cannot keep up and have had to resort to the use of more chemicals. Our throw away culture has created huge volumes of textile waste
that sits in landfills.
Why should you care?
Clothing communicates our personality and what we stand for.
Let’s move from excessive consumption to
conscious consumption. Let’s consider that the only reason you’re paying just
$10 for that t-shirt is because of the poor working conditions and wages of garment
factory workers who made the t- shirt.
At the end of the day, these problems exist because
consumers keep choosing fast fashion over more ethical options.
It’s time for a fashion revolution.
If you want to learn more about this issue check out my
other blog posts:
Want to keep up to date with ethical fashion? Check us out on
twitter:
@DanushiPeiris
@ConsciousAus
Until next time,
Danushi
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