A Merkin (!). Photo by Dr LaRue

A personal tale of woe…

When casually traipsing down a quaint and “oh so very fashionable” little lane in Italy a few years back, I couldn’t help but notice that disturbingly sharp-toed stilettos were everywhere. Self-consciously looking down at my round toed Mary Jane stilettos I’d recently (disturbingly recently) purchased, I was overwhelmed by confusion, anxiety and repulsion. I was repulsed by the ill-proportioned pointy-toed stilettos, anxious because I knew myself only too well to deny that I’d be doling out lire in the very near future to feel up to date, and so confused because my usually astute fashion sense seemed behind the times.

Two weeks later, as an Italian priest in a confessional was to hear, I had succumbed. The trend, forgive me father, had defeated my weak resistance, even though I was well aware of just how ludicrous I looked when the wiry heels got caught in the uneven Italian pavement every time I “strutted” down the street.

Why, Monseigneur, was I so susceptible to the whim of the fashion dictates? I’m convinced that the answer to my affliction lies in the hands of a small, conspiratorial group known as ‘Trend Analysts’, or, to us lay people, “The Fashion Police”. Their Hippocratic Oath is designed to serve and protect the commercial interests of fashion companies across the globe.

Indeed, by carefully, nay, painstakingly dissecting the psychology behind the next trend, these Da Vinci Code-esque diabolical and hooded villains are able to predict what will be in demand two season cycles into the future. These ‘trend analysts’ then slither back to analysis companies, who, in a play straight out of Machiavelli’s “The Prince”, then go on to consolidate their findings in industry magazines and websites for the use of fashion companies.

In my slanderous mood I’d like to call fashion companies slothful for not doing analyses themselves, but the truth is that analysis companies are just that much more in tune with the fashion world; and then there’s the risk involved with getting it wrong. Imagine manufacturing 10 000 pairs of high waisted skinny legged jeans only to find out that the market was responding better to low-rise bootlegs. Selling the 10 000 articles on BidorBuy.co.za just isn’t a viable option. Another constraint is the time pressures between seasons: the result is that most commercial designers plan the new collection based on the information analysts have provided for them. Of course, if their employers have the resources, the designers will be shipped off to the East and European fashion capitals to, er, “get inspiration” (feel free to read between the lines here).

This would go to explain why the variations in design seen in different outlets every season vary only slightly from one another: all our fashion houses shop from the same big-name collections! In South Africa we know exactly what’s coming because the Southern Hemisphere is one season behind the trend-setting north. Without sounding terribly paranoid I should like to point out that we are the victims of a vicious conspiracy!!

We have no choice but to take action, to protest and toi toi down the marbled floors of our malls! I cannot help but plead with you to set fire to your pleather Fendi bags (I shudder at the feminist undertones in this)!

Are we given no freedom to invent our own trends? For my part, I have resolved to knit myself a luminous green version of the merkin (you’ll have to see the photo to appreciate just how desperate I must be for some sense of agency and power over what it is that I wear!).

So, again, what was it that made me give in to the fashion police and buy those vulgar stilettos that I now cherish? It quite simply must come down to one word: agreement. Agreement by trend analysts, agreement by industry magazines, agreement by designers, agreement in fashion magazines, agreement throughout the stores, and finally, agreement by me to make the purchase. Indeed, it is agreement that underpins the entire fashion industry. Agreement has its merits, but with it comes the shouldering out of smaller, more individualistic designers who buck the dominant trends, who are willing to experiment with ideas that are not simply agreed upon by a few individuals in powerful positions who, essentially, get to dress us. Are we truly that powerless?

Let’s start at the beginning: what is ethical fashion, why is it important, and why is it becoming important in our societies? Perhaps the best place to start is by enquiring about the clothing production industry as it stands today. Large numbers of retail outlets buy merchandise from countries using so called “sweat shop” labour to produce items at a low cost in order to maximise profit margins. These sweat shops are reliably reputed to use child labour and other exploitative methods to reduce production costs. Materials used by manufacturers include non-organic cotton (which accounts for 25% of pesticide use) and polyester (a by-product of petroleum/oil), and could very definitely be regarded as being unsustainable. Current conventional dying practices release chlorine, chromium, and other pollutants into the environment posing a significant health risks to humans (manufacturers and wears especially) and animals alike. Moreover, various pesticides used in conventional cotton crops are either suspected of being, or are known to be, carcinogenic.

The move towards more ethical manufacturing methods in the clothing industry has been in incubation for a long time, preparing the market for positive changes. As consumers become more conscious of unethical and unsustainable production methods, so the demand for better practices increases.

Ethical Fashion

The general guidelines which are used to qualify whether particular garments result from acceptable and ethical production processes include: the employing of properly paid and justly treated adult workers; the use of low impact, fibre reactive dyes or vegetable dyes; an esteem for a healthy environment; practices that keep farmers, assemblers, and wearers of clothing free from toxin exposure; the use of sustainable fabrics and materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and reclaimed or recycled materials.

In various ways, we are all to be held accountable for our lifestyles and how they impact on the environment. There are simple measures which can effect large changes in the industry: switching buying patterns to include products of environmentally friendly materials will force retailers to buy sustainable garments; further, pressure on the business sector could be applied by boycotting businesses whose products are unsustainable or unethical; and as part of this last point, buying sustainable garments from ethics-orientated businesses will grow those businesses.

The best aspect about the growing ethical fashion industry is that the shift in consciousness has stimulated creativity resulting in a huge variety of exciting designs, colours, new cuts, n and new fabrics. Long denounced as a close relative to the iconic burlap sack, contemporary ethical offerings are undeniably oriented towards sophisticated design. Ethics-conscious designers are crafting gorgeous, sexy, edgy, classic, modern, imaginative, and, yes, figure flattering garments. Ethics are not being sacrificed to expediency, and impressively, neither will the look and feel of ethically manufactured work. Reducing our collective carbon footprint needn’t necessarily include the sacrifice of individual expression and style.

A central driving force behind the movement is public awareness. Thanks to several media exposés on well-known manufacturers, the fact that sweat shop labour is being used for a staggering amount of production can no longer be discounted. The clout of boycotting has been verified on several occasions, and in a collective effort, over time, will lead to definite changes in manufacturing processes. We find ourselves in the uneasy position of having the undeniable knowledge that gross environmental and human rights abuses are now intimately linked with our everyday lives.

Consumers are becoming increasingly wary of the “quantity without quality” mentality. Most designers that can be seen to have an ethical bent to their art work in small batches, producing high quality goods with exceptional fabrics. The result of this is that consumers are, in growing numbers, supporting the growth of the sustainable textile industry.

Conclusion

We should all be looking for ways to reduce our unsustainable and negative impact on the environment and social fabric, and at the same time increase our positive contributions to the world in which we find ourselves: why not begin in a sphere that anyone reading this article holds dear – the world of artistic expression and fashion?