The other day I went to a local op shop trying to find a “cheap” outfit for a costume party when I stumbled upon this huge warehouse filled with wool fadges. And the wool fadges were filled with old clothes. There were hundreds of them – fadges not clothes. I couldn’t help but wonder just how many garments there are in this world? How many are being bought and thrown out every day?
Being one of those people that ask Google just about anything, I went home and asked Google about the effects the clothing industry has on – well… just about everything. The environment, consumerism (and vice versa), the people designing and creating fashion and so on. And apart from lots of pretty pictures of beautiful garments (oh and how I love beautiful garments!) I did not find a lot of positive stuff. And I thought damn, I really want to write about this. But I also want to write something light hearted and this is just a bit serious. Hmmm, what to do.
So I sat down and ate leftover fried rice. And thought about my little dilemma. With all the information available I decided to share some of my favourite sources I found on the subject. Thought for food:
*An article about recognising the problem world wide and finding sustainable solutions.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/10/06/assessing-the-environmental-impact-of-the-fashion-world/
*The True Cost – a documentry about the fahion industry
*And a helpful website a friend shared with me
I of course did try to see the positive in the fact that there is so much negative infromation availlable on the subject. It means that people are becoming aware of the terrible impact the whole industry has globally and are trying to make a positive change for the future.
And yet, even after learning about some not so nice truths regarding the colthing industry I still have to confess that occasionally I just can’t resist a bargain. The challenge for me lies in making my little shopping heart happy while being kind to the environment. And of course my wallet because sadly, the better and kinder the product the higher the price! I constantly remind myself to buy quality, not quantity. Try to shop local and locally made.
So far I can happily say I have disciplined myself when filling my shopping trolley at the super market. It’s time I care about what I wrap my body in as much as I care about what I feed it with. And you should too.
A bientot
Andrea