bits and bobbins

food for thought: fast fashion finale?

confession time.

i buy new and at retail. i try to do so sparingly, instead mostly favoring secondhand finds at local thrift stores. a major reason for this: i am haunted by the ethical implications of the things we buy, fashion or otherwise. i feel guilty about these purchases afterwards, inevitably pondering of the individuals that made those items…and wondering what kind of life they might be forced to lead. i am filled with lots of questions, and the answers definitely aren’t easy.

fast fashion has of course been a huge trend for years, spearheaded by big, popular retailers like h&m, topshop, and others of a similar ilk. goods go from the design desk to stores in as little as two weeks, according to a recent article in ny magazine. TWO WEEKS. a trend could be spotted on the runways or on the streets, be picked up by these retailers, and then be on the backs of shoppers in a fortnight. and the shoppers love it: trends can be test-driven for a song, and when one tires of those threads (which often fall apart quickly), they can be disposed of in one’s chosen manner with little guilt. fashionistas across the ‘net and beyond are big fans of these clothing meccas, from what i’ve been able to garner from viewing many an RSS feed. cheap is chic. cheap is what people claim they can afford, which of course is understandable. it’s clear that many prefer quantity over quality.

but honestly, frankly, who REALLY pays for this breakneck speed, this lightening fast fashion? it’s something we, as a culture (meaning western, consumerist) need to look at, question, and perhaps, confront. myself included.

danielle of final fashion recently posted a link to an article from the independent that relates to that question…and may be part of what could be a growing backlash against trends at the speed of sound.

Jane Shepherdson, who resigned as Topshop’s brand director just days after the news broke that Kate Moss was to design a range for the chain, said it was “getting a bit boring” for people to find their wardrobes full of “cheap rubbish”.

She said: “We should always question if something is very, very cheap and think that if you, the consumer, aren’t paying for it, then someone, somewhere down the line, is paying.”

more here: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2609315.ece

***

want to see the faces of those who are really paying for that cheap chic clothing?

check out china blue, a recently aired PBS independent lens documentary that was clandestinely shot in a blue jeans factory in china. the film follows a 17 year old girl named jasmine who, like many others in her workplace, earns the equivalent of about 6 US cents an hour.

the film aired on my local affiliate a couple months back…but i can’t stop thinking about it, even today.

***

what say you on the subject?
pipe in, and discuss!

June 11 2007 | Posted in culture-vulture, fashion musing

Comments

20 total remarks on this post.

  1. June 11 2007 at 2:30 pm

    Sam.

    Hmm, I watched that documentary too, by chance, and it has haunted me as well. Every time I slip on a pair of jeans, I think about that poor girl and her sleeping on the table where she worked, as an angry boss stood over her and glared.
    But my ass must be covered! And a pair of pants that I know a human actually got paid a decent wage to construct are completely out of my price range. Is there somewhere to purchase jeans, cheaply (or cheaper), that provide a fair wage to their maker? Am I missing that? Or should I just start wearing linen pants I can make myself…

    Probably :)


  2. June 11 2007 at 2:47 pm

    Jeannine

    I have to say it made me quite happy to see you duscussing this topic here. I feel pretty mych the same way you do. When I buy from places like Target I invariably wish I hadn’t. . . I really do make it my goal to buy entirely secondhand, and, when I can afford it, from small, local boutiques where the clothes are not made in sweatshops.

    Thank you for putting this subjest out there. Fashion, for me, is not the shallow wolrd that many people would believe it to be.


  3. June 11 2007 at 4:04 pm

    Casey

    I’d really like to be able to purchase clothes that aren’t made in a sweatshop in some third-world country. However, that is pretty much out of the question right now as I don’t make enough right now to have many options. Even places like American Apparel (or Alternative Apparel) are out of my price range right now! That being said… I do love to thrift shop, and use that as a way to source clothes that I know my money isn’t going back to some company who could care less about their workers!! Right now that is the way I’m able to sustain my love of fashion without funneling all my money into sweatshop-produced clothing. I’d love one day to never have to set foot in an H&M or Old Navy again!! :)

    I am really encouraged to see such an interest in both socially-responsible and enviromentally friendly garments and lifestyles. I think it shows that there is a segment of the population that is tired of the consumeristic lifestyle that is touted by society. I know I have started to really sit up and pay more attention to the idea of recycling and being more conscious about where my garments come from…

    I can’t wait to see the other responses to this post you’ll get!! Its a topic that I feel very deeply about (despite the fact that, as I mentioned, I literallly *have* to buy clothes from low-end retailers otherwise I don’t have anything to wear!), and am always on the hunt for new perspectives to challenge my outlook and expand viewpoint… :)


  4. June 11 2007 at 5:48 pm

    Mallory

    I watched that documentary too. It was something I was totally haunted by already, but that drove it in even deeper. I often wonder about that…working at a locally owned clothing boutique where my boss designs everything but then we have it all manufactured in China. I’ve been too scared/shy to have a really frank discussion with her about how much she knows about the factory conditions and how the workers there are treated. I know she would prefer to have our clothes made in the US or in a more sustainable way, but it would drive up the costs significantly. (And our clothes are fairly expensive to begin with.)

    It’s definitely something I think a lot about. And I admit, I find it hard to resist temptation whenever I enter a Target or a H&M or an Old Navy. I try to just not go there at all, but when I do, I usually end up buying something. And then feeling guilty about it later. It doesn’t help that there’s not much thrifting to be had locally in New Orleans, post-Katrina.

    I think the first step with making any real change is just the awareness of the problem. Changing that ignorance to knowledge is the first step. At least we feel guilty about it…plenty of people out there don’t, and don’t even realize (or care) why they should. Getting the word out about why this is important will help reduce the amount that each of us shops in this totally disposable, non-sustainable manner.


  5. June 11 2007 at 9:38 pm

    Gina

    I didn’t see the documentary, but I’m well aware of the indignities suffered on the spectrum of the fashion machine. Designers are overworked, but it seems it’s nothing compared to the tired hands that sew the designs in far-off lands. It’s really a sad state of affairs. I don’t like the concept of “disposal” clothing at all. It doesn’t suit me on many levels, and one of those is the landfill level. There’s also the consideration of the values we are teaching our youth. Everything is to be upgraded and/or disposed of when it no longer suits us. I wish there were interesting resale shops to scour locally, but I live in fashion dessert, so I make do with sort of scratching together the bits and pieces that I find from time to time. I’m also getting closer and closer to sewing. I’ll never be one to sew my entire wardrobe, but a few skirts I can manage.

    Sustainable style is really at the heart of the matter here, and it’s about more then using organic cotton or hemp, isn’t it? Cheers to you for putting this question out there. Maybe it will make people think about what they buy. And like you, I understand that money is an issue for most of us, but I try to be careful of how I spend the little I have.


  6. June 12 2007 at 6:12 am

    sanddancer

    Its a very interesting subject and one that has received quite a bit of coverage in the UK recently. I will admit most of my wardrobe comes from H&M and TopShop – I don’t really have the finances for much else and unfortunately in London, we don’t really have much in the way of cheap secondhand stores – we have lots of overpriced ‘vintage’ shops that cost way more than to buy brand new. If I had more access to decent secondhand stuff, I would probably buy nothing else – from a style point of view as well as ethics.

    With the new clothes I buy, even though they might be cheap and intended as disposable, I don’t treat them as such – I’m still picky about the quality and expect them to last me a couple of years at least. I was horrified a few weeks ago in TopShop to overhear a mother encouraging her daughter to buy a pair of shoes saying ‘Its only £50 so it doesn’t matter even if you just wear them once’. A terrible attitude towards money and the environment I thought.

    Regarding the sweat-shops and treatment of people who make the clothes, I don’t think it is enough to not shop in the places that do things badly and just buy vintage (as that is doing these people out of a living all together) – I think is better to find those shops/manufacturers that treat their employees well and shop there.


  7. June 12 2007 at 6:22 am

    madam0wl

    I’d chime in more if I had a few more minutes (mostly more pro-sustainable style thoughts), but quickly just thought I’d let you know I added a few of the links you presented to my (textiles & clothing) students’ web link list and will ask them to ponder on “fast fashion” today. Thanks!


  8. June 12 2007 at 8:29 am

    frostpatterns

    Thank you for this thought-provoking post! Well, I buy at H&M, too, sometimes and I have to say that the quotation of the former Topshop designer rings true for me on many levels. Firstly, of course, the thought that someone else has to pay for my conveniently cheap T-shirt. The other obvious aspect for me is the consideration of quality and that spending $10 for an item of clothing that will lose it’s shape and colour after one or two rounds in the wash is a way of throwing cash out of the window. Also, I have to think of something I read in a Vintage/Thrift shopping guide (“It’s Vintage, Darling” by Christa Weil) about fashion and style in France: It’s about looking great every day instead of looking different every day.

    When I look into my closet and feel like I have nothing to wear, I often think of that quote and also the fact that until not so long ago people had very small seasonal wardrobes that were coordinated, that they wore (and darned!!) to death and that were then replaced again with a small amount of carefully selected items in the best possible quality that their budgets would allow. At least that is the “romantic” idea I have of times past and though not everybody adhered to that ideal, I think there were many people who did. (I just have to think of my grandmother and great-grandmother and the women of their generation in my birth region in Germany who still wore the traditional clothing of that area. They made all their clothes themselves and practically wore the same style of clothes ALL THEIR LIVES, all year round! Quite inconcievable for us today!) So, sometimes I dream of a change in attitude towards fashion (also my own, I can’t resist the quick fashion fixes all the time, either!). I think it would be more practical, ethical, and also cheaper in the long run, if people would educate themselves about what suits them, what they really need and the value of quality. If then it would be also possible to incorporate the element of FUN into the equation it would seem to me a great ideal to aspire to.


  9. June 12 2007 at 11:30 am

    sarah

    this is one of my favorite topics.
    it is too easy to be oblivious to the results of our actions just because they are far away in space or time.
    thrifting and remaking is such a postive productive way to make ourselves directly responsible and accountable.
    1) for the love of good; thrift! no matter where you are it costs less. it may take some time and effort but good things sometimes do.
    2) learn to sew. old sewing machine are cheap and easy to come by and not hard to use. if i can do it anyone can. and if you still can’t i’ll help you to the best of my ability.
    3) thrift some more. it’s not enough just to make clothes yourself. i worked in a faceless fabric store chain where almost everything came from china or india.
    but thats all i have time for. lunch breaks fly when you’re on a juicey rant!
    xs


  10. June 12 2007 at 5:00 pm

    jennifer

    in response to Sam:

    American Apparel is currently producing and selling a line of jeans. They are still in development, but are also for sale in stores. I think they cost around $70 USD. That’s seems like a lot of money to me, but knowing that they are sweat free (and come in sweet colors, plus have spandex stretch in there) is a consolation. If this is something you are interested in and can fit into (I think those jeans are too skinny for my hips and butt) you might want to check it out.

    Also, I’m constantly reminded that everything with a low price has a high cost. I feel a lot of guilt about my shopping practices, but I never do anything about it. I want the information, but I don’t go looking for it.

    Tricia– how did your wardrobe challenge go?


  11. June 12 2007 at 6:58 pm

    tricia

    jennifer: which wardrobe challenge? the wardrobe refashion one? that went quite well, it wrapped up a few months ago. i’ve always bought most of my stuff from thrift stores, so in that sense, it was easy. the pledge spurned me back into sewing more than i already do (instead of maniacally knitting!)..and that is a good thing.

    or were you referring to something else?


  12. June 12 2007 at 8:23 pm

    jennifer

    tricia – that was the one! i’m giving myself a personal challenge a la wardrobe refashion. i’ve been thinking a lot about what you talk about in this blog and figure a good way to avoid the costs (moral, ethical, and financial) of retail would be to practice consumption the wardrobe refashion way.


  13. June 12 2007 at 9:25 pm

    Jessica

    About two years ago I went to China to visit factories where our goods were being made. The workers hands were moving so fast they couldn’t be captured by the camera. My personal opinion is this: 6 cents an hour is something no American would ever work for, but in many of the countries that have such factories, 3 cents buys a meal. The scale is often hard for us to realize. Furthermore, in a lot of places (not all), the alternative to working in a clothing/shoe/something factory for women is to sell their bodies. Factory work is factory work no matter where it happens and it sucks everywhere. (Even in the US where workers are paid $10/hour or more)


  14. June 12 2007 at 9:58 pm

    Rachel

    I’ve been working on this issue in my own life for a few years now: I just quit my teaching job to start a Ph.D. program, but I always show documentaries on this issue in my college courses and I’m amazed at how much students still don’t understand about the clothes they wear everday.

    I gotten so sick of this issue that I do my very best to not even go to major stores and malls anymore unless I have to have something that i can’t/don’t want to make, like jeans. I try to sew all of my own clothes from recyclyed materials and I’m now selling them and there is a demand, despite the higher price point. A few days ago, I decided to go through my waredrobe and clean it out/recyle it all: I ended up ditching 26 tops. 26 CHEAP TOPS that I had collected in the last two years at places like Target and HM. I’ve made a new adventure of shopping: I go thrifing once a week and if I buy something, I am obligated to give something up in my wardrobe that I don’t need or that is a cheap article I never wear. It’s a challange, but it’s fun. Everything else I try to make myself or buy from other crafters on Etsy. I agree that it’s cheap to get all your clothes at H&M, and they often have fun stuff, but ethically, I just can’t deal with it anymore. It’s so wasteful. I think that if more people got a little daring with their clothes, there would be a recycling revolution–out with the cheap crap and in with all the stuff we can remake into something interesting and clever. (I use wardrobe remix for inspiration. Thanks!)

    I agree with Sarah: Learn to art/craft of thrifting and a few simple sewing techniques, and you’ll come closer to a sweat-free life. And have a fabulous, one of a kind wardrobe.


  15. June 13 2007 at 8:58 am

    mollie

    this is a great topic, tricia.

    I’ve been into thrifting as long as I can remember. When I lived in L.A., most of my wardrobe came from Jet Rag’s $1 sale. I still have a lot of that clothing. What my mind is turned toward lately is just having LESS. Less of everything, and that includes clothing. By most Americans’ standards I have very little, and yet when I look into my closet, I see so many things I never wear. Fashion is fun- it expresses our personality- but I think we need to start looking at clothing more as a necessity. If we really start to examine why we buy clothes- it usually isn’t because we need then, but because we want them. Because we saw something cute on someone else or in a magazine or on a blog or on t.v.

    My thought is that if you need something- a new pair of jeans for example- and H&M is what you can afford, then go for it. Just don’t buy a new pair of jeans every year or every season. Buy them when you NEED them.


  16. June 14 2007 at 4:46 am

    Ligaya

    Do all of you not realise that the more that you buy all the expensive and second-hand goods, the more that the people in the sweatshops suffer because that means one less outfit to earn from?

    Just because you boycott the sale of cheap sweatshop-made products does not mean that sweatshops will stop operating. For as long as people are desperate to earn even less than a meal’s worth, and for as long as the demand is high, sweatshops will continue to exist.

    Also, most of the stuff you have now on labels like American Eagle Outfitters are made in China and in Third World countries. I know for a fact that we here in the Philippines make and sell Old Navy clothing.

    I’m sorry to provide such a dissenting view, but this is something I’ve seen firsthand. It’s a life I very narrowly escaped from living.


  17. June 14 2007 at 4:25 pm

    tricia

    ligaya:

    it’s okay, dissenting views are welcome! :)

    so, are you suggesting that we buy sweatshop made clothing and other products, despite how we politically feel about buying those products and how they are made? are there perhaps other solutions? if so, that’s something that i think all sides need to work on…and it’s likely to be a huge task.

    i do understand your point, however! :)

    i could be wrong, but i feel as if there needs to be accountability on the part of these companies, manufacturers, factories, or sweatshops, toward paying their workers a fair wage, by treating their workers in an ethical manner. this fair treatment of workers can be (and is) used as a marketing tool to some degree, if it is honest, if the powers that be recognize the human worth of their workers. this fair treatment of workers also needs to be supported and enforced by the governments of these nations. sadly, it is not.

    the choice between buying used and buying new sweatshop-made clothing is a difficult one, as you point out. more often than not, i do not personally feel right supporting a company or companies that use people in that kind of unethical, reprehensible manner. i’m not trying to punish the underpaid worker, i am trying to punish the company that supports that kind of business practice. perhaps it is futile, and perhaps i’m misguided. but when i buy something used, i feel that i am not contributing to the profits of a company that behaves in an unethical manner towards it’s workers. and outside of human ethical issues, i’m not buying a new, cheaply made piece that i will be required to dispose of within a short period of time, because of it’s built in planned obsolescence.

    the issue obviously goes deeper than clothing, and stretches into the issue of economies and politics within a nation, not to mention world politics and world economies, and the disparities inherently residing within that context.

    thanks so much for bringing this point up! and for giving your voice to the issue.


  18. June 14 2007 at 10:33 pm

    SwanDiamondRose

    i’m working on a blog entry about this too. i know i have to address it since i sell things. i think you have to be really honest with yourself about your lifestyle, buy less, and on as many levels as possible make the best eco-friendly choices. thrifting scares me in that it puts me off buying new stuff. i see miles and miles and miles of crappy clothing that barely got worn. and i know i am only in one tiny corner of the world looking at this. i mean this is a big pile of barely used clothing.


  19. June 14 2007 at 10:38 pm

    tricia

    swan diamond rose: absolutely…i mean, people are working hard trying to make a living making those items, but for what? so we in the west (and beyond) can indulge our penchant for consumerism and buying a bunch of cheaply made crap that we don’t even NEED?

    i love things, i love collecting, playing and buying things, but i can’t in good faith go around ignoring the ramifications of it all.

    i’d love to read what you have to write about it… :)


  20. June 18 2007 at 7:03 am

    Ligaya

    Glad to know I’m welcome here, Tricia. :)

    You are right, actually. Buying all the sweatshop-made goods makes you support not only the end producer (the sweatshop labourer) but also the sweatshop who abuses the labourer to come up with the products. But then, there is really no way a sweatshop company ever really loses, especially if they support and are supported by a governing body – if people oppose it in one place, they close shop and then re-open in a different location, preferably one where the people are desperate to earn for themselves and the governing authorities are desperate to earn even more than what they already have. Even if the authorities of the companies that run sweatshops are put to jail, they can still operate their factories like nothing has happened. Lawyers and government officials in Third World countries like mine know that the best way to earn money is to drag a case till forever, and make it entirely to your (normally foreign and First World) sweatshop owner/operator-client’s favour in the long run. So you see, there is no real way a sweatshop owner or operator loses for the benefit of his/her workers. :S

    My perspective is that until people take concrete protesting action and also make it known that they do not like sweatshop operators to treat their labourers unfairly, this cycle is never going to stop. It’s not enough that you don’t buy their products, because such loss isn’t easily felt by owners and operators. You have to TELL THEM that you’re not buying their products, and tell them WHY NOT. Sweatshop owners and operators are stubborn and only believe things that are backed by statistics and a genuine proof of losing face due to unethical practises; I’ve learned that they would be forced to act fairly and justly only if they are told to their faces that they are in the wrong. But even then they can choose to ignore statistics and ethics entirely.

    As for the non-ethical view, well, yes, the quality sucks. But here in Asia we’re all in a rush for new, “modern” (meaning, Western) things and we’re only too willing to discard our beautiful but painful Asian pasts for that.

    Oh if only more people in the West were like you Tricia. Unfair labour practise and wasteful use of resources are two of the reasons why, even if I have an American boyfriend and I am educated in the Western arts and sciences, I cannot quite find it inside myself to forgive Westerners (Europeans and Americans alike) for their their continued colonial and imperial grip on my country, among so many others in Asia. It doesn’t help that so many Westerners – some of them Filipinos born in the West – actually encourage these labour practises and this depressing perspective against one’s own culture.