Eileen Fisher slouchy pants | Made in the US
Acne Studios sweatshirt | Made in Portugal
Veja sneakers | Made in Brazil
Today marks the beginning of Fashion Revolution week, which through it’s “Who Made My Clothes?” initiative aims to
bring everyone in the fashion value chain together and help to raise awareness of the true cost of fashion, show the world that change is possible, and celebrate all those involved in creating a more sustainable future
It also marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster, when on 24 April 2013, 1,134 people were killed and over 2,500 were injured in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Personally, I’d prefer that NO ONE dies so that I can have “cheap” clothes, so I’ve made the effort over the last couple of years to make my closet more sustainable and to be more thoughtful about what I choose to add to it.
There’s no such thing as perfect though, and all we can do it better, but asking for transparency on where our clothing is manufactured is a good way to start I think.
For me, “who made my clothes?” is about more than just the individuals who actually sew and manufacture my garments (although they are very important), it’s also about the designers and company as a whole. I try to take a holistic point of view and consider the corporate social responsibility of larger companies, in addition to where their products are manufactured, and for smaller designers, look at where they source their materials, and how each piece is created.
Larger corporations have a lot more to answer for in my opinion, since they have a much bigger footprint overall, but they also have a larger capacity to influence change, like Eileen Fisher is doing, and although I hate to admit it, as H&M tries to do with their conscious collection (I’m totally conflicted about that though, because it’s like, one hand does “good” while the other still has problems monitoring their supply chain, which is how disasters like Rana Plaza happen).
Smaller companies and designers aren’t immune to problems either, and just “made in the US” isn’t enough. So it’s up to each of us to dig deeper and discover more about the companies that make our clothes and how they take responsibility for their environmental and social impact, and then choose to support those who align with our ethics and values as closely as possible.
I’ll be taking a closer look at who made my clothes this week, will you?
Here’s who made my outfit today:
Eileen Fisher has a Social Consciousness department tasked with
- Supporting women through social initiatives that address their well- being.
- Practicing business responsibly with absolute regard for human rights.
- Guiding our product and practice toward sustaining our environment.
Acne Studios “aims to produce all products as responsibly as possible. This is a continuing process between Acne Studios and its manufacturers. Acne Studios is also collaborating with Fair Wear Foundation to ensure that the process is as secure as possible,” and, according to the foundation
Acne Studios has implemented most of FWF’s management system requirements and goes beyond several. The company has 92% of its suppliers under monitoring, hence meets FWF’s monitoring threshold. In the past financial year Acne Studios bought 76% of its supplier volume from factories where the company has significant leverage (at least 10% of the factory production capacity).
Veja is a leader in sustainable sneakers producing in Brazil using local components like low chrome leather, organic cotton, and natural rubber.
Who made your clothes?
Thought provoking as usual! I’m happy that my top half makes me proud (striped tee shirt by Everlane that I just love and a navy cardigan from Eileen Fisher). My cargo pants are from Loft from a few years ago. Bottoms are trickier for me (although I did just buy the Everlane black pants so I’m excited about that). Definitely glad this gets to be a work in progress. Hope you had a wonderful weekend.
I am happy to say that I am head to toe in Eileen Fisher and my shoes are from Seko. So feeling pretty good about mu selections today. I love those EF pants on you. They look fab.
I honestly didn’t know about Acne’s efforts, happy to hear as they make some fantastic pieces. This is a great idea for a week’s focus, can’t wait to read more.
yay gloria 🙂
oh, this is definitely a work in progress…life is a work in progress!!
and we don’t have to be perfect, either – i aim to be better everyday, and i think that’s enough 🙂
Vera dress by Elizabeth Suzann and Birkenstocks (unsure of their sustainability/social conscience level) . Trying to get some work done from my deck while my son and I go through day one on antibiotics for our newly diagnosed strep throat. Happy Monday!
oh i consider birkenstocks to be ultra-sustainable since you can replace the sole AND the cork. i haven’t had to do that with my newer pairs, but with the pairs I wore in college i had that done a couple times until the leather just looked so bad I couldn’t keep doing it. they lasted for 10-15 years that way though.
ugh. sorry about the strep!! i had strep all the time until i got my tonsils out in college. not fun, but better than constant strep throat. feel better soon 🙂
Thanks! Great to know about the birks!
Also just added a hat now that the afternoon sun is steaming in. Made in Mexico by an Austin, TX designer, Tula. It was a gift from my mom.
What a wonderful post! My top today is from AllSaints, which I was happy to learn a while ago aims to ethically secure their materials and labor. My pants are Eileen Fisher (I think the same exact style as yours – love them) and my shoes are…Vans. I am still having trouble with shoes since I’m a sneaker fanatic, and have amassed a bit of a collection. Clothing wise I feel pretty confident that I can make the right choices, but am still struggling with footwear and undergarments (I’m very picky about my bras since I’m a 34DDD). The journey is always in progress, but at least I’m better informed as I go along. Thanks for all the great information you provide!
I’m happy to hear that about Acne, so many of their products are made in China that I assumed they weren’t that high on the sustainable/ethical scale.
There are two Canadian makers I really like, Noctex and Ovate. I have quite a few Raquel Allegra pieces, I’ve always assumed her clothes were fairly sustainable but to be honest haven’t checked.
My absolute favorite designer is Rick Owens (when I can afford him) and I’m quite afraid of what I’ll find out there.
Today I’m in an Eileen Fisher tee, Raquell Allegra pants and Marsell shoes.
Eileen Fisher sweater, 5-yr old suede Steve Madden booties (I think they get better looking as they get old!), and 4-yr old J Crew bootcut jeans that were made in Mexico. I wear all of these pieces a lot, which can also add to the sustainability of an outfit. Oh, and the best part: My specs, which I won, are made with bamboo arms, and I had them converted from readers to real glasses! Talk about recycling! 😉
yes! very good val !! “insert thumbs up emoji here” because this isn’t instagram LOL
We and our smiley/winky emojis!
what have we become??
i was a late texting adopter, and now i can’t do without it, and my emojis…
Great post – I’m thankful that the issue of ethical manufacturing has finally found its way into corporate lexicons, although certainly wish it hadn’t taken events like the Rana Plaza tragedy to get it there.
Like you, I’m conflicted about H&M’s dichotomy, and have come down firmly on the side of not supporting them, even if their Conscious Collection is authentically ethical because (1) their CEO has fear-mongered that reducing consumption patterns will harm all of the workers in their outsourced, indirect supply chains more through unemployment than the harm they currently suffer, and (2) buying the Conscious Collection is kind of like subsidizing an alcoholic that goes to AA meetings every Monday but with no intention of actually getting off the sauce.
such a great way to put it…
i haven’t supported H&M in quite some time, i never did much, really, but i went through a period where i was buying a lot from zara and H&M, and i never was really stuff i loved, or that lasted very long.
i guess i appreciate in theory what they’re doing, and they could have a very big impact if they tried to make the entire COMPANY more conscious/sustainable, but as it is, it feels much more like greenwashing to me.
So there’s an H&M at the base of my office building, and a Zara right across the street. I’ll be tempted to have a look once in awhile, but it’s pretty much a deterrent. I avoid shopping there partly so I won’t be wearing the same clothes as everyone else in the building, partly because their fits and quality are terrible and the clothes are nothing I’d want to hang onto for more than a season. However, I’ll admit to buying a bit from Uniqlo – like the pants I’m wearing today, which have held up far better than I had a right to expect. The rest is pretty good – Elizabeth Suzann Sullivan sweater, Everlane luxe merino U-neck sweater and Fiorentini + Baker boots. Made in Italy and I’m not sure about their supply chain, but I feel good about these boots because I’ve been loving and wearing them for about a decade and they’re well-made enough to last at least another 5 years – probably a lot more. My belt I’ve had forever, though I forget where it’s from.
I do try to buy ethically made and sourced clothing as much as possible, but affordability is definitely an issue for me – as I’m sure it is for many, many, many Americans. I do agree that H&M’s “conscious” campaign is just a greenwash, but the potential benefit is that it gets younger consumers – who want trendy clothing and don’t have a lot of money to spend – to talk and think and become more informed about the issues. With hope, it will influence their purchases later in life. Change – for the better – is definitely happening.
affordability is a HUGE issue. and I don’t talk much about it because I don’t know how to…i mean, i’m the girl who’s getting things for free…
ideally, we pay more and buy less, getting better quality pieces and things that last longer, making us happy with our wardrobes for years. it doesn’t always work out that way though. i’ll try to figure out how to write about it, because i think it’s important to consider…
and i agree with you on H&M, i don’t have to support them with my own $$, but awareness is important, and anything they can do to get consumers to think about recycling their clothing, or how it’s made, is better. it’s just all in an effort to sell more clothes though. so…
I’d love to see a post on affordability. I mean, I think you’re one of the few (if ANY) bloggers out there that actually REPEATS her items/outfits. I appreciate that REALNESS SO much. But affordability is a huge issue for me and probably a lot of people. And it seems like an issue of relativity.