In my postgrad year, I researched international labour rights in the chocolate trade and apparel industry. I was shocked and devastated at what I found. And yet, I was oddly helpless. I tried to refrain from eating non-fair trade chocolate, yet caught myself drinking hot chocolate in cafes and scoffing chocolate cake. I tried thrifting like a madperson, only to find myself lusting after the cheap, quick and trendy fix that local chain stores were able to provide. Consciousness and awareness of global issues is important. But doing something with that knowledge is where I often fall down. It makes me feel like a chess piece, being moved against my will, by someone more powerful than myself.
♥ Let's Clean Up Fashion: The State of Pay Behind the UK High Street was released this month and provides a list of UK chain stores, grading them by international labour standard. Summary article in The Guardian here.
♥ Buy Fair Trade chocolate as much as you can. It's delicious!
♥ For general reading, the International Labour Organization is always helpful.
♥ Let's Clean Up Fashion: The State of Pay Behind the UK High Street was released this month and provides a list of UK chain stores, grading them by international labour standard. Summary article in The Guardian here.
♥ Buy Fair Trade chocolate as much as you can. It's delicious!
♥ For general reading, the International Labour Organization is always helpful.
♥ Headband from Portmans ♥ Top, Skirt & Tote from Cotton On ♥ Necklace worn as bracelet from Diva ♥ Shoes from Farmers ♥ Location: Tanera Park, Brooklyn
my sister told me about a book she read, where a hard working and extremely talented suit maker in the third world saw on TV one day his suit being worn by Angelina Jolie, and he was heartbroken, because the suits were selling for so much but he was never paid for his work. :(
ReplyDeleteand yes! fair trade chocolate is scrumptious!
fair trade is the way to go! ♥
ReplyDeletebut as a student, its really hard to battle between the choices of expensive but gorgeous vintage clothes or cheap but easily worn out ones from the high street.
thanks for this post though! total encouragement for the need to start thrift-ing and thinking wisely about where i put my money now :)
love these photos, hun!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about wanting to do the "right" thing, but convenience often makes us do otherwise. My work deals a lot with environmental issues, and I get so much guilt for small things like using a plastic bag and buying stuff I don't necessarily need (including clothes!). So I've also been trying to thrift like a madperson myself. Not easy, but it does get easier.
I too struggle with these issues. The Boyfriend and I are pretty passionate about recycling, buying local etc, and hope to one day build our own eco home. I try to limit buying new clothes to a one item bimonthly, its hard but I usually manage it!
ReplyDeleteamazing photos! :D and cute skirt! :]
ReplyDeleteOOooo love your top! So weird to see spring beginning on your side while here it's just getting colder and colder. I guess your photos'll keep me warm all through the winter :)
ReplyDeleteI love the skirt. It is so cute.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links. I've read the 2008 version of the one about the UK high street before. I'll keep it in mind as something to investigate for my Development Econ module. It's crazy how little workers get compared to the profits of the firms. The key would be finding a real incentive to make the firms want to give the workers better rights. (But the theory: better treated workers=higher quality of work=better for everyone does not seem to be cutting it)
My American friends really love fair trade chocolate because it's proper chocolate rather than chocolate flavoured candy.
It's good to read your posts as always :-)
Lovely!
ReplyDeletethese pictures are flat out gorgeous!
ReplyDeletei am crazy in love with your pictures. hmmm i try to thrift as much as i can...but oh gosh...i love everything from everywhere....it's difficulttttt
ReplyDeletePretty flabbergasted by what Chopstick shared. I think it's a big step to already be conscious and aware of such issues. Living by it is another thing altogether. We all try to do what we can, when we can. Great reminder to all of us tho, thanks for this post ana.
ReplyDeleteIs this Brooklyn in NY? You have some of the nicest headpieces and they go with your outfit seamlessly too.
It's really relaxing to watch your blog, pictures and you :) so I'm adding you to my links.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo collage!
ReplyDeleteFair trade is so the fashionable way to go.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just had to say...these photographs are breathtaking. I am printing them out and putting them on my inspiration board right now - they're too gorgeous to resist! :)
lovely photos ana, as always. your purple shoes against that green grass is simply gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteas for being a conscientious consumer, i agree that i am knowledgeable and have read many books on food ethics, clothing ethics etc and yet often i find myself going for the CHEAP and EASY option. i'm not sure i'm even middle class by u.s. standards but i'm surely richer than many in this world and i AM responsible for contributing to positive and negative standards we've set for ourselves. lovely post.
Pretty shots...love the florals!
ReplyDeleteThis outfit is just beautiful. And I struggle with acting out my retail principles, too.
ReplyDeleteA xx
The photos are charming Ana B! That meadow is so, so pretty as are you!
ReplyDeleteI know so what you're talking about here. Have you seen "The Corporation"? In one part it talks about the people who make Nike shoes and the disgusting wages they get...and the pure money driven evilness of any corporation - it made me feel sick actually....but what to do? As you say - what do we do? I don't know...however, I am never ever buying a diamond that's for sure after seeing "Blood Diamond"...
SIGH. you are so right. it is kind of like eating healthy -- it is a lot cheaper to eat junk food, and that just doesn't seem right, particularly for those that do not have much money at their disposal. it is hard to always make the right choices in life, particularly when budgets are tight. :(
ReplyDeleteGah, I struggle with this as well. Every so often I find myself struggling to put things into perspective, but like you I often fall down. Sometimes face first. Thank you, though, for such a thoughtful post. Making others aware is certainly not a lost cause.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that you recently enjoyed a lovely afternoon. Look at this field! I'd so love to be somewhere like this right now. I love my crispy, cool autumn weather, but today I'm just not feeling it. You're gorgeous, Ana! Have a good week :)
I totally understand where you are coming from with this...I often feel the same way!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I take the convenient way out...
you look lovely!
Very pretty pictures! Love it all!
ReplyDelete:( It's the chocolate that gets me. Ridiculous predicament, isn't it? You'd think it would be easy to put aside silly cravings after finding out what's behind the production, but I guess it just seems so innocent - it's everywhere! I wish there was more awareness about those sorts of things.
ReplyDeleteClothing's not as much a problem for me, though there are occasional impulse buys. Always so regrettable!
You're looking lovely! :)
Love your skirt and the narrow picture shots like this.
ReplyDeletei absolutely love the way you formatted the photos!
ReplyDeleteSince i am on my vegan/human friendly kick, I'm definitely going to be buying fair trade chocolate!
Cool photos. Thanks for sharing. have a wonderful day. ;D
ReplyDeleteSolo
Travel and Living
Job Hunt Pinoy
Gorgeous skirt! I love the print. All the spring I'm seeing in this post is so nice :)
ReplyDeleteI have trouble acting on that knowledge, too. I thrift a lot of clothes, but I can hardly imagine giving up H&M and Urban Outfitters and all.
Such a pretty skirt!
ReplyDeletewww.trustme-itsparadise.blogspot.com
this post is GORGEOUS!
ReplyDeletethat floral skirt is sooo pretty, its gonna be great with tights too now that its getting colder!!
ReplyDeleteah yes, i understand this issue too well. currently embarking on a paper about the dark side of the clothing industry...
ReplyDeleteTOTALLY I LOVE WITH YOUR SKIRT!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I always try to think of fair trade when I buy things.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel and I like that you refer to yourself as a chess piece. I used to read a lot about sweat shops and what companies like Old Navy and Disney to name a few have done in places like China. One story that I remember is about a woman who wrote a letter asking for a small raise and so Disney closed that shop up and moved locations and so all of those people lost their jobs. It is sad that now these people are relying on their very small pay and have to work super long hours just to get by.
ReplyDeleteWhat enchanting photographs!
ReplyDeleteThat skirt is CUTE, and you got it from Cotton On? Perhaps I need to start adding that to my to-shop-in list!
The sun looks nice : )
I hear you Ana... I'm so weak when it comes to certain things and no amount of moral of social reasons seem to stop me. Leather and beef are two of my biggest guilts.
ReplyDeleteBut on a much more pleasant note, such a gorgeous outfit!♥
very cool photos!! Love your blog<3
ReplyDeleteYour photos are so vibrant and gorgeous!! I adore your outfit.
ReplyDeletelululetty.blogspot.com
I love the skirt!
ReplyDeleteAnd I know exactly what you mean. When I learned about the conditions in China, I tried to not buy "Made in China" products before realizing that these products are the only ones I can afford...
I like the links; I'm definitely checking them out. And wondering... All my chocolate comes from good old Hershey... is that really bad?
Ana, thank you so much for your always-thoughtful, poetic posts...you really have a gift. It is so hard to live, buy, and make good decisions in this world sometimes when it seems that everything is connected with the exploitation of others...and th ebad thing is we are so disconnected in so many ways. It really is only through these little things that we can make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog and am totally in love! You have a wonderful style of writing and your pictures are so intriguing!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Priscila
littlemissheirlooms.blogspot.com
I love how you crop your photographs and post them, they tell a story all on their own, very beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou always write about such interesting things, I know how you feel, I try not to buy from shops where the clothes are made by cheap labor but its so hard when most shops do! x
So true! But with so little choices, it's just so hard to do :( People should definitely try to buy local made or thrift more!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I really feel like dark fair trade chocolate now! Yum.
Yes! I know what you mean, AnaB! I feel the same about it all- fair trade, fair labor practices, better for the environment, better for the local economy... it's all quite overwhelming at times. But baby steps of awareness must be the start down the right path.
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