The High Cost Of Low Fashion

It was a black halter dress bedecked with very '50s red cherries and matching piping. Flattering in that fit-and-flare way that has me wishing I was born in an earlier era, the dress was a vintage dream.

"Where did you get that?" I gasped, admiring the red patent leather belt.

"H & M," the girl replied in a rare burst of haberdashery honesty.

At the time, there was no H&M within 100 miles of me - a thought that seems preposterous these days when they are as ubiquitous as K-Marts once were - and so I simply filed it away in my mind. Several years later when I moved to a city with an H&M, I made it my goal to go find me my own LBD.

Upon first entering the store, I thought I might have a seizure. My dingy thrift store mind was overwhelmed by the exploding lights, neon patterns and pulsing music. But once I found my footing - and saw a price tag - I was hooked. I could finally afford clothes that looked like the ones in magazines! And with all the assortment and high merchandise turnover, I would finally be Unique! I'd get my own style and nobody else would look like me.

I'll wait while you stop laughing.

Because of course everybody looked like me. Sadie Stein from Jezebel sums it up nicely: "But the reality is that we are far more homogeneous in our distinctively-printed designer knockoffs than we would be in simpler basics. The idea of high style comes to us pre-packaged, complete with eclectic jewelry and accessories, and I'm guessing this paradoxical illusion of the unique is at the expense of individual creativity."

But that's not the worst of the Forever 21 sins. Not only are we not as cute as we think we are, we're not as thrifty as we think we are either. Sure that dress only costs me $25 (oh, excuse me - that's $24.99 in industry parlance) but it probably came from one of the multitudinous garment districts, a.k.a. slums, like "Dhaka in Bangladesh, home to 2.5 million garment workers, 75 per cent of whom are women and children." Liz Jones of the Daily Mail goes on to explain the human and environmental costs of throwaway fashion. Workers, often underage children, are paid less than $5 a week and live under canopies of plastic bags to bring us those cheap-n-trendy lovelies. The problem, according to Jones, is compounded by the belief "that women (it is particularly women who have fed this trend for ever-cheaper clothes) now think very low-cost but fashionable designs are their 'right' because they are 'worth it'."

I'm not sure what to make of all this. I love cheap clothes. I've never owned a designer anything in my entire life and don't plan to start now. I'm also not into potato sacks. Is there a way to look cute on a budget (and I do not mean that in the Vogue sense where an $800 dollar purse is a steal because they compare it to a $4,000 one) that doesn't exact this kind of toll on people and the environment? Help me!

Comments

[land]

2nd hand is definitely the answer! The key is finding things that fit and are flattering because you'll feel good and look good and that makes things last much much longer than a trend or taste phase would normally last. The great thing is, even when you find things 2nd hand that were originally made in less than ethical circumstances, thrifts stores and yard sales are not logistically linked to the fashion industry and marketing apparatuses, so you are not supporting or reenforcing bad business practices.

[pinellas]

FYI - here's a nice site of thrift store listings in the USA...

http://www.thethriftshopper.com/index.htm

[trinity]

It's not just the discount stores that stock sweatshop fashions...plenty of the upscale fashions of DKNY, Liz Claibourn, Tommy Hillfiger, Ralph Lauren, etc. are also made in sweatshops, they just have much much higher markups. Bloomingdales sells plenty of high cost fashions made in Bangladesh, Haiti, Vietnam, and on Saipan (as well as sweathshops in L.A. and NYC). They also sell $50,000 rugs made by children in Pakistan.

Much better to buy from thrift stores & yard sales, make your own clothes, or buy made in the USA (preferably endorsed by needleworkers union). Or one can go on-line...there are many charitable organizations that work with local economies to improve quality of life for communities by selling clothing/accessories made by artisans who are paid fair wages (NOVICA is one, they sell jewelry). You pay more, but more money goes to the person who made it.

Here are some sites to check:

http://www.newdream.org/marketplace/clothing.php

http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/

http://www.sustainlane.com/directory/no-sweatshops

[Loxie72]

Thanks for those links, Trinity! Any idea where I can find clothes for work (professional environment) hehehe

[Stuart12]

I'm not sure the exact chapter, but in the first few chapters of the book "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs it talks about garment workers in Bangladesh. Now of course nobody condones abuses of human rights or forced labor. But the argument is that those garment workers either work for $5 a day (which buys much more in Bangladesh) or earn nothing. And with those garment jobs they are eventually able to increase their standard of living from barely surviving/eating to being able to provide things for their families. I'm not sure we need to feel so bad about raising peoples standard of living little by little.

[rini]

This is an old argument.

All workers should get paid a living wage. No corporation should put stock returns over human decency. We as consumers should also put our money where our ethics are. If we do, things can be a lot better.

if we say,"well it could be worse" and shrug our shoulders, things will actually get worse.

[pinellas]

**This is an old argument.**

Agreed - & a convenient way to rationalise away one's own selfishness & laziness = P

[rini]

I have the same dilemma.

I know it is possible to find interesting and exciting clothes at second hand stores. However, it takes time that I don't have. At the mall, stores like Victoria's Secret and Express have clothing that is always cute and inspirational. It is designed that way. They know that the "consumer" is more aware of fashion and wants things that are new.

Perhaps if we show them that we are also aware of the source of the items and will not condone sweat shops and environmental degradation, they will change, I would be willing to pay more if I know that my clothing is cruelty free in every way.

Sigh.

[PhillyQuaker]

Church Bazaars and Thrift Shops; sometimes Ebay. Quality clothes made in USA.

[rini]

Yeah, I don't even know where these thrift shops and bazaars are. I am truly out of touch with my local culture, i guess, Ebay, maybe. The internet is definitely more convenient. This sort of searching on foot or by car takes time!

BTW, my kids go to a Quaker school (AFS)

[trinity]

Check out these sites, they have lists of various companies/organizations:

http://www.sustainlane.com/directory/no-sweatshops

http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/

http://www.newdream.org/marketplace/clothing.php

http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/sweatfree/

ttp://www.fairindigo.com/?gclid=CJ6x3rPUpJUCFQrPGgodF0lykQ

[pinellas]

In answer to that last - of course there's an answer - shop 2nd hand! Thrift & consignment store revenues help charities & local economies - IOW, $$ stays in your community, rather than going away to other areas &/or supporting sweatshop labour.

& the beauty of it is, all this 'throwaway fashion' means a large number of thrift store donations these days are those same clothes, often barely or never worn & @ a fraction of the original price. Some places even do trades (Crossroads).

Of course, it's impossible to buy EVERYTHING 2nd hand (socks, underwear), but you can make a significant difference & discount odd lots stores (Ross, T.J.Maxx, etc.) have loads of great deals as well.

[JBS]

But those 2nd hand fashions originally came from some sweat shop.

Another option: Do it yourself.

http://www.sewingpatterns.com/

http://www.simplicity.com/

http://www.lanetzliving.net/

The fabrics probably get imported from the third world too, but I don't know how to fix that.

[pinellas]

**But those 2nd hand fashions originally came from some sweat shop.**

Oh please! Isn't that going to extremes?

But I agree sewing is a great skill to have (I do) - & there are a number of people recycling old clothing from thrift stores, etc., to make new - Threadbangers.com has some examples of this & UrbanOutfitters.com has section called 'Urban Renewal'.

& Etsy.com is cool source as well.