Welcome to my blog!
My name is Evelyn, and I’m here to share my passion for ethical and sustainable fashion!
When I was in junior college, my project work group was tasked to research and write about promoting eco-fashion among local youth. It was such an exciting topic! But never in my life had I thought that the clothes I wore every day had such a massive impact on people and the environment. It was a truly transformative personal journey. My thoughts on fashion have never been the same.
For youths like myself, fashion is something we hold very close to us. It’s like a self-image we create. It’s how we want others to see us. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Fashion is also pretty complicated, because of its many aspects: cultural, socioeconomic (source), practical …all intertwined with forces like globalization and our human desire to make meaning.
“It is impossible to wear clothes without transmitting social signals. Every costume tells a story, often a very subtle one, about its wearer.” -Desmond Morris (source)
So true.
Feels good to wear something that is trendy, fresh and unique, right? Following the latest trends is not bad in itself, but the way many of us consume is no less than damaging in many ways.
I guess some of you have heard of fast fashion. It’s named after the speed that characterises it: the sheer speed of mimicking high fashion’s runway designs, rapid mass production of their low-quality duplicates, and the garment’s short life cycle from manufacture to the bin. (source)
This creates many problems.
Our rapacious consumption of clothing has resulted in exploited factory workers, deadly pollution and its consequences on human health as well as ecosystems. (source) I know this may seem alarming to someone who may never have heard of fast fashion, but what impacted me the most learning about fast fashion is this particular incident where a garment factory that supplied major brands like Mango and Benetton (source) collapsed and killed hundreds of innocent garment factory workers. (source)
It’s shocking to realise that because of globalisation, that shirt you picked up off the shelf was probably made by someone who was underpaid to work in a garment factory, miles away. (source, source)
We need change and on so many levels.
One way that you and I could choose sustainable fashion would be to buy only what we need. Try a closet cleanse! Then donate what you might realise you’ve only worn once in, say, three years.
Another option would be to thrift instead of buying new clothes, but admittedly, it’s a tedious job, especially when it’s so hard to find the right pieces, size, quality…
Or you could give an eco-fashion company a try. Sure, they’re usually pricier than “normal” clothes, but they are made more sustainably. Check out my favourite eco-fashion company here!
Till next time!
Cheers,
Evelyn 🙂
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Pretty summary of what I’ve learnt as well from my junior college project work, we mentioned the socioeconomic, environmental, etc., as well said in the blog. Since then, I’ve been doing what you’ve mentioned! I’ve always “closet cleanse”-d and donated my less-worn (or barely) to my relatives in my parent’s hometown. Thanks for sharing such a unique view and your passion for ethical and sustainable fashion! I loved the way you phrased words and you had a very passionate tone regarding the topic! I look forward to seeing more of your blog entries, E!
– El
Hi Eliza! Glad to hear that our project has changed your fashion lifestyle. I’m so inspired by your donating your clothes! It’s so meaningful. And yes, I look forward to sharing more about sustainable fashion! Our project was such a worthwhile learning experience, and I keep thinking about how it applies to my life over time. Like how over the years, more and more eco-labels have come up, but each with their benefits and downsides. I also realised through a conversation with our friend Samantha that eco-fashion still has a relatively high carbon footprint compared to buying clothes from a thrift shop, largely due to the shipping process involved in buying eco-fashion. She also introduced me to hemp and alternative textiles, which have been making way into the market over the years. I hope alternative textiles become more of the norm over the years, as opposed to using synthetics and cotton, which are so taxing on the environment.
Your writing is amazing. Even though I already have some background knowledge about the points that you have mentioned, your words have re-inspired me. I honestly do not go thrift shopping that often as it takes patience and luck to find what you desire. I have found out over the years that asking your family members or friends for unwanted which you are interested in is much more convenient. Thanks for uploading blog:) I look forward to reading more of your work.
P.S. I am glad that our discussion inspired you 😉
Hey Sam! Thank you for your comment! I can relate to your feelings about thrift shopping: the last time I went, I spent hours there and only bought one piece, which I still had to alter. And the experience was so frustrating that I decided not to go thrifting anymore (that was then, but I might go again once in a while). I think thrift shops could become more attractive and feasible if they organised their clothing by size and provided on-site alteration services. They could provide a list of standard sizes across different size charts so that consumers could make a more informed decision before purchasing (since they don’t allow exchanges due to hygiene reasons unlike “normal” shops). That way thrift shops may stand a better chance against ordinary fashion companies as consumers need not worry about being “stuck” with a piece of clothing in the wrong size and wasting their money on it. Another strategy could be to have visually appealing thrift shops located beside ordinary fashion stores to lure customers with an alternative to buying new clothes in a more “obvious” way. Thrift shops could also educate their shoppers on the benefits of thrifting, such as driving a circular economy (Tilly, 2016). I hope thrift shops become more of a norm in the future as this would really help to solve the textile waste issue and promote eco-consciousness, especially among our youth.
References
Tilly. (2016, Dec 21). What goes around, comes around – The circular economy [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thriftbewithyou.com/2016/12/21/what-goes-around-comes-around-the-circular-economy/
Hello! I also tried thrift shopping and honestly, it feels very rewarding to get what I need at a cheaper price and its still fashionable!
Hi Si Rong! Great to hear your perspective! Yes, I agree, I recently bought this piece which I really love at a thrift shop, and I think it was well worth the trouble. And I also agree that you could save a lot of money when you thrift, especially if you find a higher-end brand. I guess thrifting is something I can only do when I can afford the time, though. Nevertheless, it’s a win for both one’s wallet and the environment, unlike buying from an eco-fashion company itself (which, as we know, is quite pricey though sustainable). That gets me thinking…I wonder how popular thrifting is among youths like us, and whether thrift shops have been gaining popularity.
Anyway, it’s heartening to know that you’ve been adopting sustainable practices after pw 🙂
i knew fast fashion contributed much to carbon emissions, but it shakes me more how you shared it was a great social issue as well with workers poorly treated and not in safe working spaces. it’s awful, thinking it cld be someone’s mom…or child.. i don’t mind paying more now if it means that worker are paid properly and taken care of. thank you!!
Hey Jeremy! I’m glad you changed your mind about fast fashion! It’s so moving to know that a fellow youth is willing to go the extra mile to do what is ethical and sustainable, despite the pressure to conform to the norm of fast fashion. I admit it is difficult, as there are so many advertisements everywhere: online pop-up ads, physical ads in stores that you would notice just walking in a mall, and also, seeing people hold bags from fast-fashion companies. Not to mention peer pressure from seeing what others are wearing. This makes it feel as though fashion is some sort of race and that you need to keep up with. Sometimes it seems as if you need to get that piece of clothing before it vanishes (which is probably why we might buy things on impulse sometimes). I agree with you that the exploitation of garment factory workers is absolutely horrifying, and I relate to how it moved you. It is what comes to my mind whenever I think twice about a fast-fashion store. You made me realise even more that each person who works there has a story and a name.
I hope that these people are empowered to voice out the injustices against their dignity and human rights. I also hope that governments enforce tighter regulations and that factory managers adhere to these regulations. You might be interested in the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh developed after the Rana Plaza incident via this link: https://bangladeshaccord.org/about
Cheers,
Evelyn
Thank you for giving me a good awareness about fast fashion and it’s adverse effects on less fortunate people those who are working in this sector,also harming the earth by pollution.Now I stopped buying fast fashion fabrics.Good effort Evelyn, hope you can influence more and more people to advocate eco -fashion
Hi Catherine! I’m glad this post was useful to you! Like you, I was so moved by the social impact of fast fashion that I freeze whenever I see a clothing label that says “Made in Bangladesh”.
And yes, fast-fashion is known for using unsustainable fabrics like synthetics and cotton. (source: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-environmental-fast-fashion.html ) I hope to talk more about the idea of sustainable fabrics in a later post. I wonder if the material we wear matters to most people, considering how different people have preferences for different fabrics; and whether people are open to alternative fabrics that are supposed to be more sustainable. So far I’ve only tried organic cotton, but there are many more to discover! I doubt most people have ever tried these alternative materials, though, considering their generally higher costs. I wonder if there is a material out there that is sustainable yet competitively priced.
Your sharing has really inspired me to support brands that care for the environment and the welfare of their workers!!
However, I feel that few brands are being transparent on where their clothes are being made from.
Not only that, we as consumers place time, price and design as our top priorities and just join in the buzz and crowd in a fashion store, which I am guilty of too.
Hence, we should set aside our (forever not-enough) time and take the extra mile to find out from retailers where our clothes are made from and research for ourselves sustainable brands and thrift shops to support (like what you did).
Thank you for putting this topic out for discusison:)
To add on, I like how Espirit is transparent on how their clothes are made:
https://www.esprit.com/en/company/sustainability/produce-responsibly/transparent-supply-chain
This goes to Levis’ too!
https://www.levi.com/CA/en_CA/features/sustainability
Hey Denise! Thank you for your thoughtful comment, and for sharing about the commitments that Esprit and Levi’s have been making to ethics and sustainability, I never knew about that.
I appreciate how Esprit has been transparent about their progress, even when it was only “15%” in one section. Although they seem to not have updated their data from 2 years ago…
As for Levi’s, I’m amazed at their “Worker Well-being Initiative” that reports having impacted thousands of workers. However, the website does state that “By 2020, 80% of all Levi’s® products will be made in factories that support Worker Well-being,”, meaning that they would not be fully ethical even next year. I wonder what are the challenges of going completely ethical. But at least they did not claim that they were supporting all their workers. I guess they seem more transparent in that sense. For more about transparency in the fashion industry, check out this website: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency/
Cheers,
Evelyn
Great thoughts penned together in an amazing way. It’s great food for thought, especially for the younger generation. I’m also glad to see the impact your blog had on a lot of people as evident from their comments. It’s great to be conscious about the environment and realize how each and every person can contribute in their own way to help protect it. This could potentially be a wonderful gift to the next generation. Kudos Evelyn.
Thank you for your comment! Yes, I believe my generation has the duty of carrying forth an eco-conscious mindset to the future. That reminds me, during my project, my group had also interviewed a journalist from The Straits Times Life (local mainstream newspaper), Melissa Heng. She writes about fashion and lifestyle trends. She shared with us her thoughts about young people and sustainable fashion: “If the younger generation can be educated to understand the impact of a fast fashion then they are more likely to make environmentally friendly life choices.”. It’s amazing to consider how just knowing about one environmental issue can lead you to be eco-conscious in other areas as well. Like, thinking about the textile waste created by fast-fashion could make one more conscious of waste created in our daily lives, like food waste and single-use plastics. I think the key is spreading awareness, and considering how important fashion is to young people, I hope schools will make an effort to educate students effectively.
Cheers,
Evelyn