The Politics of Fashion
Fashion and politics surely don't mix. Or do they? In a world where you are what you eat, are you also what you wear? What matters more - who made your clothes, or how?
There are lots of things to consider when deciding on what you will buy and wear. Of course, there's the usual: style, cut, color, label, designer, price, fit. But there are also the unspokens: how was it made? what is it made of? who was harmed in the process?
Several years ago Kathy Lee Gifford's new clothing line was found to be made by teens in sweatshops. Do you believe she was the only one? Mustn't there be other clothing lines that just don't know about it, or do and won't tell? Does it bother you that young children are paid three cents for a shirt you paid $20 for? Does it bother you that they are even working when they should be in school?
Then comes the matter of the fabric. The obvious: furs and crocodile and alligator and suede and leather. These are things that require animals, sometimes precious and endangered, to die for your clothing pleasure. Then there are the wools, cashmere, angora, which theoretically are sheared, but which leave animals out in the cold, or help protect them from disease, or simply hurt them to harvest. Finally come the cottons and the synthetics. How are they grown? Are there pesticides in them? Are they genetically modified? What insidious chemicals were used to make them and what have they done to the workers who created them, the water waste, and the air we breathe?
Finally, comes the matter of who was harmed by the clothes you bought. Perhaps they were not paid much, even if they made it. Perhaps the people who sell your clothing are supporting a terrible war somewhere. Perhaps the company who makes your clothes is testing other products on animals, or even on people somewhere.
All these matters come crashing down on you - all over a simple piece of clothing. It's all a matter to be taken seriously.
So next time you purchase your clothes, consider where it came from, what went into it. Maybe you'll stop wearing fur and leather. Maybe you'll start wearing organic cotton. Maybe you'll check out companies to make sure they pay normal wages.
And somewhere, a crocodile or rainforest or little girl will thank you.