Our Moral Fabric {Ethical Issues of What to Wear & The Morals of Making}

I’ve avoided this topic for a while but I feel like now is the time to address it. I read a lot and widely. Books, magazines, blogs, and almost everything I read about fast fashion and ethical clothing makes me wince. Not because the topic is so bad but I feel that so many people oversimplify things and put forward black & white opinions where there can only be grey.

Of course no one endorses slave or sweat shop labour and the mistreatment of garment industry workers. And no one wants those people working in unsafe conditions. I’m sure you all wish that everyone was paid a living wage, regardless of industry. I’d also bet that you’re against toxic by products from growing cotton, fabric dyeing and treatment being pumped into oceans, rivers and ground water. Which one of us doesn’t care about these things? And how do we navigate them?

There are so many more things than these to consider. Huge chunks of the international population survive by doing these jobs. Slum dwellers of Bangladesh have looked into documentary makers cameras and expressed gratitude for the life that these jobs allow. Business empires, world markets, family fortunes and many meager existences rise & fall on this.  This is the story of industrialization. From the cottage industries that all but disappeared with mechanization, to the London fabric makers who stopped the import of cheap Indian fabrics, to the first department stores killing high street business, to offshore Korean & Chinese manufacture and the move into Bangladesh & Mumbai.

Before we even consider the virtues of our own closets, let’s think about the tut tutting we put on others. It’s easy to watch a young woman’s haul  on youtube and marvel at the ginormous load of cheap clothing she holds to the camera. It’s easy to lay the blame on the young generation and their list of ‘must haves’ that won’t even last the season. They didn’t create this fast fashion cycle, although they participate, it’s always been driven by all of us as consumers. There is an often bandied stat, saying women wear 20% of their wardrobe, 80% of the time, I’m not sure that that’s true. But I think it is true that most of us have far more than we need. I’m writing this while wearing $2 shoes, for real! I’m sure they’re principally made of cardboard but someone made them with their hands. Not a machine, a person. It’s easy to buy a shoe I don’t need, especially at $2. Consumers demand lower prices, driving this industry. And that allows us the luxury of more than we need. But you have to know that somewhere, someone is paying the cost for me to have $2 shoes. Or maybe the 50 cents they earned making them put food on their table.

There are so many sides, so many puzzling issues and so many lives to this story. There are no quick fixes, no easy answers and we are left with an ethical mine field. There is no way I can cover all of these issues in one little blog post (hence my reticence to address things at all) so I’ll put a reading list at the end. For now, I’m going to talk about my own philosophies and why I adopted them. I hope that it will help you to decide on your own. I expect some mixed feedback on this post and even if you disagree with me, perhaps that will help cement your own position.

For me, this is all about metaphorical lines in the sand. Because once you see this first issue, you’ll see the next & the next & the next until you’re right down the rabbit hole! You have to find the ethical line and draw it. I’ll give you an example. Ethical eating is a great idea. So if I buy all of my produce local from organic producers, is that ethical enough? If I buy free range eggs too, is that ethical enough? Meat & poultry from local, free range farms, is that ethical enough? Local dairy for my cheese and milk? Eat vegetarian? But then do I serve meat? Go vegan? Not easy right? And how do I accommodate these changes with a family or a limited budget? Pick your line in the sand. For me I have been vego most of my life, always buy free range eggs, buy local/ethical/higher welfare meats when I can. Some days, I just buy whatever’s in the shop. I’ve drawn my line.

But know there are things I’ll cross situationally and some I will never breach. Everything has it’s own context. My time, effort and financial situation create context for that day/week/month/year.

Let’s roll back to fashion for a moment. I sew and I try to sew most of my garments. That’s better than a sweatshop right? But my fabric creates pollution and growing cotton is water, land & labour intensive. Shopping second hand is less environmentally polluting but most of those garments were originally made in sweatshops. Or I could buy from someone who hand makes and sells on Esty but few hand makers pay themselves a living wage so it’s just another kind of sweatshop. Isn’t it?

Let’s consider our high minded ideals and our harsh reality. These less ethical garments cost next to nothing. But there is no guarantee that a more expensive garment will be more ethical or better made (if it lasts longer we can get maximum use from a garment, reducing waste and slowing our consumption). Which brings me to morals of shaming. There was a recent social media campaign, inviting women to wear no makeup and go barefaced, showing that they were ‘real women’ in solidarity with others. Rather than achieving that solidarity, women who chose to wear makeup were shamed. Creating unsettling tension and divide filled with fear, insecurity and disharmony. Hardly the idea, right? I want this discourse to inspire thought. Because sometimes all we can be is mindful as we make ethical decisions for our situation. Let’s be honest, ethics count at the cash register. And sometimes money overrides our ethics. So, draw your line where you need to or where you can. I say, line in the sand because if anything, the sands are always shifting.

Ethics are complex. The ancient Greeks (and those before them) wrote some mind bending philosophical and ethical texts. As a civilization we have never stopped asking, why? And neither should you. Don’t get sucked into simplified sound bites that end with calls to action like tweeting a hashtag. Get informed, think critically and draw your line. When I read the books and articles below I was inflamed and tried to push my ideas into anyone who would listen. I have learned that (even though I’m talking to thousands in this post) my sphere of influence is essentially just me. That’s why I never judge the $6 bargain that Mummy Ask, the Bestie or even I picked up.

I will tell you that I do try to make all of my own clothes (they fit better & they’re cuter) but I still buy the odd thing. Sewing has definitely changed the way I think about clothes, as Elizabeth L. Cline said, “One of the reasons why I think people should buy a sewing machine is because it makes you a better consumer. Even if you’re horrible at it, if you have to go to a fabric store and pick out a fabric and try to put something together, it just rewires your brain to think about clothes in terms of how they’re constructed”.

My ethics change and grow as I access more information and have a greater experience of life. I am curious and choose to educate myself when I can. I am multidimensional. And I’m all torn on this one. It’s such a big thing to try and understand the ethics of what we wear. And I think in some ways it’s harder to work out the morals of making, I think making is like being half way there. I welcome your questions and would happily engage in a debate. I’d love you to add any relevant sources of info on these topics. I open up the comments section to you! Please share your opinions, I’m sure you will help me to grow and refine my ideas. Be free minded, kind hearted and unafraid to draw your line in the sand.

Neither of these documentaries have been released yet but both have teaser trailers.

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline

The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever by Teri Agins

To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? by Lucy Siegle

Further Reading Articles/Blog Posts:

The Secret World of Fast Fashion by Christina Moon

Why is it so expensive? Pricing Handmade Clothes by Supermommy…or not!

Why is it so difficult and expensive to make your own clothes (or have them made)? by Chez Skud

Why organic cotton? by Ecobirdstyle

Why paying more for fashion can actually cost you less‏ by The Beautiful Think

What does that $14 shirt really cost? by Roesmary Westwood/Macleans

Shopping With Ethics: A 5 Step Guide by the Tiny Twig