Shortly after this horrible incident in Bangladesh, I watched a documentary about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 that killed over 100 innocent young girls and women and is considered the deadliest accident in New York City's history and in the Fall of 2015 I watched the documentary The True Cost, a truly eye opening film into our present day apparel industry. These informative films, coupled with the sustainable and slow-sewing/fashion movement resonate within me. I want to be more aware. More aware of where the goods I buy originate. Of where and what my money is supporting.
In America, clothes are fairly inexpensive and easy to buy with major retailers offering deep sales so often, it seems more like everyday discount pricing. Many people list 'shopping' as their favorite 'hobby'..... with clothing at the top of the list. Living in the Upstate South Carolina I have seen first-hand our textile mills close and manufacturing move abroad. As late as the 1980's, we were considered to be the textile center of the world. Not anymore.
As I understand, Fashion Revolution is to encourage us to think about not only who made our clothes, but also who grew the cotton and spun the yarn into the fabric used for those clothes. In 2015 I participated in Fashion Revolution Day and now in 2016 the movement has grown to Fashion Revolution Week of April 18 - 24, 2016. I want to join the conversation... to encourage others to think about the origin of their clothes..... the origin of fabrics used...... who made your clothes...
I make my clothes!
More on the Fashion Revolution subject can be read at in the folds blog.
Happy Sewing Everyone!
Lisa, thanks for this post and the links. I'm out of the loop having been away from computer and sewing machine for a week while my daughter and grandson visited from out of town. Catch up time for me!
ReplyDeleteI have never understood shopping as a hobby or something that people put on their vacation activities. Even as much as I love to visit new-to-me fabric stores, it's still not an activity I'd put at the top of my fun list.
Thank you Barbara for your thoughts here too. Sounds like you've had a fun time, but glad to have you back! :)
DeleteIt's good to think about everything one does from this sort of moral perspective - clothes, food, small goods. I guess globalization affects every industry - and don't get me started on the amoral financial system that is not anchored to reality at all. I did a wonderful course with Prof Peter Sellars - Art as Social Action, that introduced a lot of these concepts to me, along with my parents of course, who were well onto this in the 1950's.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting you, and your parents, had the foresight to see long-term effects formulated years before and at the same time feel it must also be frustrating to see some of these negative consequences it's produced(producing). I also feel it's not only clothing.... but our food and products we buy. How interesting to have this international conversation together here and find so many similarities in our thoughts! :)
DeleteLike souls have to find each other somehow!
DeleteI think it is great that this topic is gaining more and more interest! There are so many injust things happening in this world and mostly I resign thinking that I cannot make a change! But with topic I think I really can and it is great that you remind us all of that!
ReplyDeleteThat is what is so interesting to me too Katharina, that we are having this international conversation and finding many similarities in our thoughts about what is happening in our global world! Maybe as we support one another, we can make a difference. Even baby steps of improvement is improvement. :)
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