a year of ethical fashion

so i spotted pip encouraging people to

join her in pledging to a

Year of Ethical Fashion 2014

#YOEF

now this is my kind of thing

i have for most of my adult life bought

second hand or upcycled clothing

i love buying from a maker when i can

i own plenty of clothes to meet my needs

& i'd like to join in a swap thing somewhere, sometime

oh & now i have been back sewing

clothes for me ......

these are small grass roots ideas that are not new

all of history has determined that our textile industry

requires of us to have these attitudes to sustain our resources

sub or lack of standard conditions for workers are not new either

what is new is that our world wide economy of scale

has escalated over the last generation+

we are not satisfied with what we need

our desires to have more

accesibilty to more economic clothing

& the hype of fashion that creates 

some kind of 'socially approving' desire

to want to have to use up & to discard

we have created an impossible whirlwind that our planet can not sustain

and

then there is the issue or what is 

fair????

fair conditions & fair payment

from the very production of textile fibers

to the actual garments

there are more and more companies

are joining in with supporting 'fair' & 'ethical'

Oxfam Australia regularly posts on their face book page

join in over there too ....

so in 2014 ..... i 'pledge' to be always mindful in 

shopping/sourcing for

clothing to wear for both myself & my family .....

that it be ....

:: bought from ethical makers 

= fair trade or handmade sellers

:: bought second hand

:: made by myself

:: be it already in our wardrobes

:: swapped or borrowed or gifted items

essentially i have what i 'need'

but in finding 'my-style' which is a

'first-world' fashion esthetic ..... 

i would of course like to have 'new-to-me' items

since May '13 i've made myself lots of new items

they are unique, fitted to me & my taste

& i can only hope that the people involved

in the production of the fibers were treated 'fairly'

who knows ..... probably not!?

but at least i'm half way to helping getting this 'right'

join in ....