by now we've all heard about the devastating collapse of the rana plaza factory in bangladesh. a host of factors contributed to the loss of 1,127 lives, including the swampy ground the factory had been built upon, the poor quality of construction materials used, the vibrations of the equipment located therein, the lack of unionized workers (the thinking is that if the workers had had the ability to unionize, they would have been able to demand better working conditions, and even strike after noting the cracks in the building the day before the collapse, potentially saving hundreds of lives), an inadequate regulatory system. it's hard to point just one finger.
what we do know is that despite shops in the building closing after the cracks were noticed the day before the collapse, the garment-factory workers were ordered back in the next day. many -- so many -- would not emerge alive. how can we ignore the connection? international clothing companies demand that their products be made on time, and at a certain (often extraordinarily cheap) price. facing such steep pressure, factory managers make sure these demands are met, here with disastrous consequences. the rana plaza collapse is considered the deadliest garment-factory accident in human history.
i'll say it: i really like buying inexpensive clothing. kristie + i live on a budget (like, um, everyone) and after all the bills are paid, there's usually not much left over for fashion. we buy a lot of what we wear secondhand. and up until a few weeks ago, a lot from companies like forever 21, and yeah...i'm wearing shoes from wal-mart right now.
but the news from bangladesh got us thinking. what are we supporting when we support these brands? forever 21 has been accused of running "sweatshop-like" factories in LA + has long been accused of funding anti-gay establishments. their conservative ideals aren't hidden: i know you've noticed the bible verse printed on the bottom of that yellow bag. the co-founder + president of urban outfitters contributed $13,000 to rick santorum's presidential campaign (yuck). a lot of people felt that the names of some of uo's products are/were racist. it's worth noting that the company that owns urban also owns anthropologie + free people. in 2007, gap was found guilty of employing eight-year-olds to make their clothes, working in unspeakable conditions (the same company that owns the gap also owns old navy).
you guys, this is a laundry list of my favorites. and it doesn't stop. add "degrading to women" to the list + shopping becomes even sadder. i was in a victoria's secret the other day with my mom + sister, and watched all these women bringing their young children in. watched as these little girls -- ages 3, 4, 5 -- stared up at warped, photo-shopped, unreal images of the women they'll grow up wanting to look like. it was like seeing a 4-year-old at a strip club. i could practically watch the foundations of poor self esteem being build inside their tiny minds. this is not what we're supposed to look like! i wanted to yell. go read a book!
okay, silver lining time. it's not all sad. there are plenty of amazing companies that make wicked cute clothes whose manufacturing + advertising practices i can (for the most part) get down with. i'm thinking specifically of american apparel (whose ads have always seemed a little smarmy to me, but whatever, at least the women's bodies are a little closer to what i see when i look in the mirror) and h+m. (sidenote: they're in a fight.) in fact, following news of the rana plaza factory collapse, h+m (along with zara, yay!) signed a legally binding pledge to make bangladeshi factories safer. and guess what else. their ceo, karl-johan persson, is pushing to hire more "healthy models" to advertise h+m's products. it's a win-win-win (that third win is for relatively low prices. + beyonce.).
so what now? i'm not throwing out anything that's already in my closet. i just don't have enough clothes for that. but going forward, how could this not be in the forefront of my mind when pawing through racks of clothing, when hunting voraciously, as i was raised to do, for a good deal?
kristie + i went shopping with my mom, sister, + bro's girlfriend sasha over the weekend. we had a veritable fashion show in the dressing rooms at h+m, and came away with lots of cute shit + nary a dark mark on our collective conscience. but in the interest of honesty, i also bought a bikini from aerie -- not exactly a winner in terms of aligning with my beliefs re: unions + republicans, but not the worst either. so...baby steps.
look, i'm not telling you what to do. we're all grown-ups here (right? i hope there are no kids reading this, because i swore earlier) each capable of making our own informed decisions. do i think it's going to make a huge difference that two lower-middle-class lesbians stop shopping at forever 21? probably not. but it'll make us feel better.
anyway, if you're still hanging in there, here's your reward: a bunch of stuff from h+m that we love + bought. i'm excited to continue supporting a brand that has really stepped up regarding the things i care about. what clothing companies do you stand behind? i'd love to have any recommendations!
hat // bikini bottoms // hoodie // button-down // heels // dress // bracelet
