Who are we voting for with our wallets?

Fashion

Now I can’t remember did I heard it in the movie or read in the book, but the idea was that we really support the company by buying their products, support their values- standing by them with our wallets. If we stand by this company, so it means that we support what kind of world this company creates.

Something with what I have struggled lately is, that I really love fashion but I also would love fashion to be more sustainable, but in the same time not to brake the bank over it. You would say- second hand is the way to go then, but what I have seen there – either it is low quality or too expensive still. So I’m still in process to find the best way how to combine- being fashionable and being sustainable in the same time.

Fast fashion companies are ones which creates the biggest pollution in the world and not only that,[1] they are producing in countries where wages are very low- in my opinion, it means that all these companies profit on using all these people who are not able to demand normal life and normal work conditions, and who sometimes pay with their lives in process. As happened in 2013 when Rana Plaza collapsed in Bangladesh, where 1134 people died and Approximately 2500 were injured. In these factories were produced garment for The factories manufactured apparel for brands including Benetton, Bonmarché, Prada, Gucci, Versace, Moncler, the Children’s Place, El Corte Inglés, Joe Fresh, Mango, Matalan, Primark and Walmart.[2]

I will also copy information which shocked me the most, regarding this situation here (from Wikipedia):

“As of mid-September 2013, compensations to families of disaster victims were still under discussion, with many families struggling to survive after having lost a major wage earner. Families who had received the $200 compensation from Primark were only those able to provide DNA evidence of their relative’s death in the collapse, which proved extremely difficult. The US government provided DNA kits to the families of victims.

Of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the Rana Plaza factories, only 9 attended meetings held in November 2013 to agree on a proposal on compensation to the victims. Several companies refused to sign including Walmart, Carrefour, Mango, Auchan and KiK. The agreement was signed by Primark, Loblaw, Bonmarche and El Corte Ingles. By March 2014, seven of the 28 international brands sourcing products from Rana Plaza had contributed to the Rana Plaza Donor’s Trust Fund compensation fund, which is backed by the International Labour Organization.

More than 2 dozen victims’ families have not been compensated as they could not back up their claims with documentation”.[3]

Also what I have read that even today (where there are made some improvement, organisations created to support workers) in countries like Bangladesh, it’s still difficult to survive especially if you are a woman. And in countries where it’s difficult to get job because of competition and then when you get a job, you can get even sexually abused to be able to keep the job and cannot say a word if you wish to keep working.

Is this something what we would like to support, stand by? Thinking about it all now, could be that we would feel, that is it, I won’t buy fast fashion again ever, BUT it’s important also to understand that quite often drastic changes lead to failure. Changes which are made in little steps often lead to bigger and better results. So I would like to encourage you to start with little changes- like if You like to buy new things every month- maybe buy new thing every second month and from more sustainable brands or higher quality item, or if there is an option- maybe rent something new instead of buying.

We all are humans and even if we would like to do things the right way, there can still be hundred and one reason why it could come hard. As there are hundred and one little thing which makes every one of us as unique. With this blog post my goal is to make you think about this subject and inspire to find steps that you could take to improve this situation. And remember that even small steps can lead to big changes.

Wishing You all lots of love and inspiration-