Ethical Clothing Pledge

My sister E shared this post by KyliePT of Flying Ducks, who has made the following pledge to purchase clothes that comply with the following:
1. Pre-loved
2. Handmade (preferably by KyliePT)
3. Reconstructed
4. Made with ethical / environmentally friendly materials
5. Made by a company with strong ethical policy & workers' rights

I admire someone who will stick to this. I have been trying to purchase locally made and produced in many aspects of our lives - clothes, food, homewares - and it can be a struggle. It does however make it easier to put something back on the shelf - as soon as I see the dreaded "Made in China" label (especially with an enormous price tag) I am quick to return the item and keep browsing!

KyliePT brings up the point that items that are locally manufactured may well still be produced by exploiting the workers producing these items. At this point I am going to draw a line in the sand and, without researching the conditions for each, assume that for something made in Australia the workers have the mechanisms and laws to fight for their rights.

There are a few items that I struggle with in terms of finding local items to buy - clothing wise that is. They include shoes, underwear and sports clothes. I thought jeans were an issue too until I realised that C's Nobody jeans are Made in Australia, so next time I want some jeans I will be looking a bit harder!

I have also recently been questioning the source of fabrics and goods for making items in Australia. It would be great to have a mechanism where the manufacturer has to also label their items for the source of the materials as well as the labour for putting it together.

For more information see Ethical Clothing Australia