At the beginning of 2018, I was an ignorant but blissful fool, just trying to navigate the world as a social justice warrior.
It was 2018, merely one year ago, that I decided to give up fast fashion. Fashion that is fast. It wasn’t even that I wanted more sustainable fashion or clothes that would last longer, I really just wanted to put my money where my mouth was. If I was going to be against sex trafficking, I was going to be against labor trafficking. Read: I didn’t want a 6-year-old trafficked child to make my clothes in some factory in a third-world country.
So I gave it up. No more Forever 21 or H&M or Zara. These places are relatively cheap (kind of: when did Zara get so expensive), so I figured they would have a lower risk of their clothes being made in sweat shops.
For all of 2018, I pretty much only shopped at Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters and the occasional thrift store. Listen, I had zero reason to believe these places were ok and morally conscious except for the fact that they are a little bit more expensive, so I figured the labor situations were fine. Or at least not bad.
Well you know what happens when you figure.
A few months ago, at the beginning of 2019, I found an article on The Cut about how another woman gave up fast fashion for the year. Another social justice warrior just like me, I see. I clicked and read. She wrote that she uses an app called Good on You.
So I download the app and began searching.
And that’s when everything I once knew became a lie.
🙂
I first search my one and only, my beginning, my end, Nordstrom.
This was shocking and heartbreaking and honestly, I’m still not doing well.
So then I search Topshop, which is the main brand I buy at Nordstrom.
Topshop’s rating was a little bit better, but not great. The Good on You app does an average rating based on labor, environment and animal. I really only care about the labor if I’m being honest and that seems to be where brands fail most often.
So then I search Urban Outfitters.
“Not good enough.”
Free People, you know like people being free and earth and peace and flair jeans and chokers that cost $75.
“Not good enough.”
So then I’m like, ok I’ll check the brands that I KNOW are bad. Looking at you, Forever 21 and H&M.
Forever 21 was also “not good enough,” meaning it’s in the SAME CATEGORY AS NORDSTROM.
H&M had 3 out of 5 stars with a “it’s a start rating,” which was honestly mind-blowing and also sad because I don’t even like H&M.
Then I was like let’s check out Zara. You know Zara, the company that was once accused of having a rat sewn into a dress and accused of having a “help me” message sewn into some clothing from the poor workers. Or something like that, I don’t wanna fact check.
Welp, their rating was also “it’s a start” and more specifically, their labor rating was “good.” So what do I know, I know simply nothing.
Basically all I can buy is Reformation and I’m too fat and poor for that brand.
