Ethical Fashion:  What, Why and Why Now?

In the wake of recent tragedies, like the sweatshop disasters in Bangladesh and the illegal wildlife trade in China, it's become clear that we all have a responsibility to be more aware of where our clothes come from. So this post is here to tell you what ethical fashion entails, how it differs from slow fashion or sustainable fashion and why it's something worth thinking about.

A lot of people don't know this, but in order for a garment to be considered "ethical," not only do its raw materials need to be cruelty-free but also any human contact with those materials has to be non-exploitative. Furthermore, garments are graded on how well they satisfy ethical standards like working conditions and environmental impact.  The fashion industry has a complex formula to evaluate these criteria. Some companies will test fabrics on their fibers by seeing how much dye is absorbed, how strong the fabric is and how readily it accepts dyes. Others will actually test the actual factory conditions, like floor sanitation, water quality and worker health. These evaluations are weighted according to an industry scale that goes from "acceptable" to "bad" and in order for a garment to be accepted as ethical, it must float somewhere in between these two ratings.

Of course this isn't always simple or clear-cut. For example, in the fashion world, if your label is something like "ethically sourced" or "made in a fair trade environment," it can be too easy to misinterpret this as meaning that the garment came from a faraway place with no negative impacts on anyone. This is false.  What's actually meant here is that the production process was monitored by an ethical standard set by the industry itself and each step of production adhered to those standards.

Fortunately, a lot of people are doing good work in this industry. We're working hard to raise awareness about these issues, and if you're interested in what they are, you can find more information here .

one word of caution: Just because you're buying ethical doesn't mean you're also getting the best value for the price. There are lots of well-made, durable and high-quality ethically made garments, but these take just as long to make as any other garment. You can expect their prices to be higher too.

There's a lot to think about when it comes to the issues surrounding Ethical Fashion. I hope this post will serve as a starting point for you to learn more and to make better choices. And remember, if you're interested in getting the best bang for your buck, remember to shop slow!

Here's an article from The Atlantic that's a little more in depth. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/12/this-is-how-ethical-fashion-works/282040/#sl_p1=rssnws

See you next time! ;)

(PS: Sorry about the language in this post! English is not my first language.

Conclusion

And it was a good day. I had booked tickets for the ferry and decided to eat on its deck. It was amazing. Across the water, on the island of Hvar, the sun was disappearing behind an orange-red horizon and night was gathering its clouds in a huddle of blackness. Everything around looked gold and hazy, and when I looked to my right, I could see a wide band of blue spreading across the sea like a curtain rippling in a strong wind as the Adriatic held still beneath it.