More and more I’ve been hearing about ‘ethical fashion’. Whether it be from my favourite youtubers talking about cutting out ‘fast fashion’, or on documentaries and news reports, it’s become a kind of ‘trend’ to Shop ethically. I thought I’d make a little post trying to explain exactly what ‘ethical fashion’ is, what it’s all about and where you can learn more!

What is ‘fast fashion’?

You may or may not be surprised by how many of your favourite stores use sweat shops, slave labour, and unethical practices in the process of getting those ‘trendy’ pieces in stores. Fast fashion is essentially the process of using cheap, quick means of creating clothing, often involving overworking, underpaying and having staff in dangerous, hazardous environments, to pump out the latest trends on a huge scale. Do you ever question how some major stores seem to be getting ‘new arrivals’ every week? This is usually how, by exploiting those who are far less privileged, and usually live in lower-income areas/countries. There have even been many deaths because of how poor workers environments have been.

Places that are considered ‘fast fashion’ (in at least some areas of the company) include: Forever 21, ROMWE, ASOS, Dotti, Sportsgirl, Topshop, Zara, Missguided, H&M, BooHoo, Cotton On, Ally and obviously there are many, many more!

What is ‘ethical fashion’?

The general agreed basis of ethical fashion is that products are made without the use to sweat shops, slave labour, and workers are in safe working environments and fairly paid. However, there’s also factors of environmental sustainability, and animal rights that a lot of people tend to forget. Ethical fashion can also include things like the use of sustainable, environmentally friendly materials (including the disuse of toxic chemicals), recycling materials/energy/water, and not using and exploiting animals/animal products (including fur, leather, testing, etc). There are so many different factors that go into what ‘ethical fashion’ can be, it all kind of depends on your own personal morals and ethics, though I do encourage everyone to be educated. The fashion industry is one which has such a huge impact on the environment (it’s the 2nd biggest industry with the most impact, to be exact), mostly due to the waste it produces. Ethical fashion, therefore, can also include being conscious about your purchases, recycling and re-using clothes, and unlike ‘fast fashion’, a lot of more ethically conscious retailers aren’t pumping out clothes at a super high rate.

Is it accessible?

I encourage everyone to question where their clothes are coming from, and at what cost those clothes are being made, but ‘ethical fashion’ isn’t always accessible for everyone. For starters, to just fairly make clothes (that is, pay every worker what they deserve), the prices for customers will obviously rise to cover the costs. Add using sustainable materials, that cost can again rise. Not everyone can afford a $40+ t-shirt, or, lets be honest, anything from Refermation (as cute as everything is) or designers that use recycled, sustainable fabrics. There’s also the issue of a lack of ethical plus size clothing.

Thrift shops are an affordable and fun option, yes, but when you have those that are privileged/with a higher income basically taking away what can be someone’s only source of clothing….that’s where things can get a little messy. Rian Phin did an amazing video where she mentioned this topic (as well as other pros and cons of thrifting), which I highly recommend everyone watch (I’m not the best at explanations). Not saying people should stop thrifting, by any means, just something to keep in mind.

Some people also rely on fast fashion to have clothing because they simply cannot afford anything else, or find what they need at thrift stores. That is OK. We shouldn’t ever guilt trip people about that. In a lot of cases, you need to have economic privilege to be able to shop more ethically, but one thing everyone can do is really question their purchases. No matter where you’re buying your clothes from, you can learn to buy clothes that you will really get your wear out of, not just a ‘trendy’ piece you might wear once or twice. This involves understanding what clothes are a necessity for you, and what clothes fit your personal style (which, I know, can be somewhat of a journey, and that’s ok). Playing with trends can be fun, but you don’t need to get sucked into every single one, and again, thrift stores can be an option and often have those ‘trendy’ pieces you’re looking for.

So, is it possible to shop ethically?

Again, depends on your personal morals, and your current financial/life situation. Do what is right for you. Technically, and I’ve read this quote everywhere, it’s impossible to shop ethically in a capitalistic society. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to do better, have workers in fair, safe environments and fight towards a more sustainable industry, but if you buy that one cute dress from Zara, it isn’t going to greatly impact the world negatively. All anyone can do is try to learn as much as they can, and do their best to be more conscious with their purchases.

Where to go?

Other than your local thrift store, here are a few places that are considered ‘ethical’, but obviously do your own research to check if they match to your own personal ethics (some do use animal products, for example). Unfortunately, as I mentioned, the majority of ‘ethical’ retailers are more costly, and don’t cater to plus sized people. They’re usually great for basics, though.

Everlane

Refermation

Tribe Alive

Alternative Apparel

People Tree

Cue

Monki

Want to know more?

Here are a few sources, people, and whatnot where you can learn more about ‘ethical fashion’!

The True Cost – the perfect place to start. You’ve probably already heard people raving about this movie, but it truly is an eye opener in terms of the use of sweat shops, and I highly, highly recommend it. It’s available on Netflix.

Business of Fashion – under their ‘ethical’/ ‘ethical fashion’ tag you can easily find recent-ish reports/articles all about ethical fashion, both on a human and environmental level. There are so many great sources to read through here and keep somewhat up to date on the issue, and what brands are currently doing.

Racked – also has some great articles about ethical fashion.

Kristen Leo – one of my favourite youtubers who regularly addresses ethical fashion/consumption on a whole, including the use of animal products. She creates lookbooks, haul-ternatives, and informative videos to hopefully inspire you to shop more ethically.

Project Just – a perfect place to go if you want to find out if a particular brand is ‘ethical’, and how so. They include pro’s and con’s, and explain exactly how brands are ethical, or not, in certain areas. It also includes links to helpful articles.

Of course, just googling ‘ethical fashion’ can bring up so many informative resources, so I definitely encourage everyone to do their own research!