Clothing & Conscience

I'm going to start out by writing a little bit about the truly important part of the two day event at the Swedish Embassy called Clothing & Conscience. I showed up really interested to learn about eco-friendly fashion and ended up learning so much more. A panel of 5 speakers discussed topics ranging from dying jeans with natural indigo to the social injustices that workers in the clothing industry face around the world. I found myself thinking about how easy it is to disconnect yourself from what may or may not be happening around the world in order to provide you with affordable clothing. It's not the first thing you think of when you go to buy a new pair of jeans. But, if you're consuming something that has caused human/animal/environmental suffering on the other end aren't you responsible?

There was a lot of talk about responsibility and I think this was the most enlightening part for me. I think that I, like most people (maybe it's just American's) believe that the government or other large organizations are responsible for making large changes in terms of protecting people and the planet. The speakers disagreed and spoke about the importance of individual activism (when awareness and responsibility merge) and it's importance in change. I thought about my own life and the ways that I could make a difference. Because, if you think about it, major change is made up of many small individual efforts.

I have finally selected a gorgeous eco-friendly faux leather for our Spring '08 line. Now that human rights are on my mind, I'm working on getting some concrete information about the people who make the materials and their working conditions. Hopefully I'll have good things to report.