Fashion
Sweatshop labour
Sweatshop labour is used to make most of the clothes we buy. It involves child labour, poverty wages, dangerous working conditions and harassment. Your best bet for sweatshop-free clothing is Ethical Threads or to buy clothing bearing the Fair Trade logo.
No Sweat works to build solidarity with sweatshop workers.
What are your clothes made from?
Prehistoric people may have needed to wrap themselves in animal skins to keep warm, but come on - this is the 21st century! Modern synthetic fibres and ecologically-friendly plant fibres are cheaper, lighter, easy-to-wash, comfortable, stylish, less expensive, and cruelty-free!
Ever thought about the poor cows whose skins are turned into shoes, bags, and belts? Leather and suede are not just by-products of the meat industry. Selling off every bit of the carcass is what makes killing animals profitable: the skin represents 10% of the total value. The softer the skin, the younger the animal from whom it has been stripped. Calfskin often comes from the 'surplus' offspring of dairy cows. The softest leather of all is taken from calves who were never even born, but ripped from their slaughtered mother's wombs.
Fake it baby
You won't turn into a sandal-wearing hippy by choosing cruelty-free footwear, nor will your feet sweat and stink in cheap plastic. Pretty much all high street fashion chains sell shoes and boots made from modern, synthetic alternatives to leather and suede, and many are designer copies at a fraction of the price. Fake leather jackets, skirts and trousers are cheaper to buy than the real thing and you'll save even more money because you won't have to send everything to the dry cleaners. You can buy shoes, wallets and belts from Animal Aid and the wonderful Vegetarian Shoes, which are animal and people-friendly, because all their merchandise is made within the EU so you don't have to worry about sweatshop labour.
Why wear wool?
Wearing wool gives you that 'my-gran-made-my-clothes' look, but that is far from the worst thing about it. Sheep farming is a brutal business. Sheep are forced to endure floods, storms, blizzards and drought and are pressed into producing more lambs too early in the year. They suffer a range of health problems and illnesses and often die even before a farmer realises that something is wrong. Their young are killed at just a few months old and eaten for Sunday dinners
You can get that fluffy feeling without buying into cruelty - these days a lot of the woolly-looking clothes in shops are actually cotton and polyester. They are just as warm, but the bonus is that you can bung 'em in with the rest of your wash without them shrinking. Great when you want to put everything in one load at the launderette.
Fur f*ck's sake!
Take a close look at the fur trim on cuffs, collars and hoods. Farmed foxes, mink and rabbits, and even cat and dog fur, are commonly used for trim. Farmed foxes and rabbits, also domestic cat and dog fur are commonly used for trim. These animals are killed by anal electrocution or gassing, and may even have been skinned alive. Always check the label, and only ever buy fake fur.
Ethical threads
If you're concerned about the environmental impact of the fashion industry and want to support Fair Trade, investigate these ethical manufacturers:
- No Sweat (Converse-style baseball boots, hoodies, t-shirts and even synthetic footballs!)
- Ethical Threads
- Roots of Compassion
