Buy Less, Pay More
Let’s talk Fast fashion, as in the inexpensive and readily available clothing flying off the hangers at Forever 21, H&M, Old Navy, you get the idea. It’s the $17 clearance tops overflowing closets across America.
The world always seems a little brighter, a little better when you’re grabbing lunch after scoring a haul of temporary self-esteem boosters at a discount. But just like that shirt after its first wash, the feeling fades.
It’s not hard to imagine how or why a $7 shirt is bad for the environment and the workers charged with making it, but let’s paint some pretty little facts into your mental picture.
· The apparel industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution 1
· 85% of 77 Southern California garment manufacturers investigated were in violation of US Labor laws, some paying workers only $4.50 an hour 2
· Despite only using 3% of the worlds arable land, cotton accounts for 24% of insecticide and 11% of pesticide use 1
· Bangladesh’s minimum wage is only 32 cents an hour 3
· Americans throw away 26 billion pounds of clothing each year 4
That’s only 5 facts, not even a toe dipped into the cesspool of the trillion-dollar industry’s noxious conduct. I didn’t even mention the poor working conditions, deadly building collapses, or the millions of gallons of toxic waste the fashion industry produces each year.
The people making our clothes deserve ethical treatment. Resources are not infinite, throw-away fashion is not sustainable.
Quality, ethical, affordable fashion does exist. However, it often costs more than its Bangladeshi counterparts. But buying better, higher quality clothing means you have to buy clothing less often. Start dressing up your wardrobe with handmade accessories or mix and match your existing pieces. OR be like Steve Jobs and wear the same outfit every day…life could be so much simpler.
I’ll continue to provide links to affordably priced, quality clothing to restock your wardrobe when it needs a pick-me-up, or if you’re like me, for when your tops have acquired more stains than is socially acceptable.
Buy better. Buy less.
1. “The Apparel Industry's Environmental Impact in 6 Graphics.” Shifting to Renewable Energy Can Save U.S. Consumers Money | World Resources Institute, 5 July 2017, www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics.
2. Kitroeff, Natalie. “Factories That Made Clothes for Forever 21, Ross Paid Workers $4 an Hour, Labor Department Says.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2016, www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wage-theft-forever-ross-20161116-story.html.
3. Westerman, Ashley. “4 Years After Rana Plaza Tragedy, What's Changed For Bangladeshi Garment Workers?” NPR, NPR, 30 Apr. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/04/30/525858799/4-years-after-rana-plaza-tragedy-whats-changed-for-bangladeshi-garment-workers.
4. Goldberg, Eleanor. “You're Likely Going To Throw Away 81 Pounds Of Clothing This Year.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 9 June 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/youre-likely-going-to-throw-away-81-pounds-of-clothing-this-year_us_57572bc8e4b08f74f6c069d3.
The world always seems a little brighter, a little better when you’re grabbing lunch after scoring a haul of temporary self-esteem boosters at a discount. But just like that shirt after its first wash, the feeling fades.
It’s not hard to imagine how or why a $7 shirt is bad for the environment and the workers charged with making it, but let’s paint some pretty little facts into your mental picture.
· The apparel industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution 1
· 85% of 77 Southern California garment manufacturers investigated were in violation of US Labor laws, some paying workers only $4.50 an hour 2
· Despite only using 3% of the worlds arable land, cotton accounts for 24% of insecticide and 11% of pesticide use 1
· Bangladesh’s minimum wage is only 32 cents an hour 3
· Americans throw away 26 billion pounds of clothing each year 4
That’s only 5 facts, not even a toe dipped into the cesspool of the trillion-dollar industry’s noxious conduct. I didn’t even mention the poor working conditions, deadly building collapses, or the millions of gallons of toxic waste the fashion industry produces each year.
The people making our clothes deserve ethical treatment. Resources are not infinite, throw-away fashion is not sustainable.
Quality, ethical, affordable fashion does exist. However, it often costs more than its Bangladeshi counterparts. But buying better, higher quality clothing means you have to buy clothing less often. Start dressing up your wardrobe with handmade accessories or mix and match your existing pieces. OR be like Steve Jobs and wear the same outfit every day…life could be so much simpler.
I’ll continue to provide links to affordably priced, quality clothing to restock your wardrobe when it needs a pick-me-up, or if you’re like me, for when your tops have acquired more stains than is socially acceptable.
Buy better. Buy less.
1. “The Apparel Industry's Environmental Impact in 6 Graphics.” Shifting to Renewable Energy Can Save U.S. Consumers Money | World Resources Institute, 5 July 2017, www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics.
2. Kitroeff, Natalie. “Factories That Made Clothes for Forever 21, Ross Paid Workers $4 an Hour, Labor Department Says.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2016, www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wage-theft-forever-ross-20161116-story.html.
3. Westerman, Ashley. “4 Years After Rana Plaza Tragedy, What's Changed For Bangladeshi Garment Workers?” NPR, NPR, 30 Apr. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/04/30/525858799/4-years-after-rana-plaza-tragedy-whats-changed-for-bangladeshi-garment-workers.
4. Goldberg, Eleanor. “You're Likely Going To Throw Away 81 Pounds Of Clothing This Year.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 9 June 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/youre-likely-going-to-throw-away-81-pounds-of-clothing-this-year_us_57572bc8e4b08f74f6c069d3.
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