She writes:

[W]hat has been liberating for Western women is a system built literally on the backs of women in the developing world. How do Primark and its competitors in the West’s shopping malls and High Streets keep that cute frock so cheap? By starving and oppressing Bangladeshi, Chinese, Mexican, Haitian, and other women, that’s how.

We all know that cheap clothing is usually made in sweatshop conditions – and usually by women. And we know – or should know – that women in sweatshops around the world report being locked in and forbidden to use bathrooms for long periods, as well as sexual harassment, violent union-busting, and other forms of coercion.

If women around the world who are held in the bondage of sweated labor manage to win this crucial fight, that cute dress at Primark may cost a fair amount more. But it already costs too much to the women who can’t afford to feed and house themselves and their children.

In light of yesterday’s protest in Cambodia, Ms. Wolf’s thought-provoking article is timely indeed.

(via Feministe)

(TrixyPixie/DeviantArt.com)

Pardon us for the gratuitous back-patting, but yesterday we were listed at No. 3 on the 50 Fabulous Blogs for Green Fashionistas list.

We’re in darn good company, too, sharing space with our buddies Brad at Commerce with a Conscience, Starre at Eco-Chick, Grechen at GreenGrechen, and Celestyna and Mira at Green By Design.

Here’s what writer Amy Cook (no relation to our own Kara Cook) had to say about yours truly:

Upcycled, socially-conscious and green fashion stand in the spotlight at the utterly fabulous Ethical Style.

Thanks for the shout-out, Amy!

The “Sixers,” as they call themselves, have drawn some interesting and eco-applicable conclusions from the experiment:

[Stella] Brennan did sound ripe for some kind of fashion intervention. In a recent interview, she spoke of a rack of clothes in the back of her closet that still had the tags on them, and clothes that she has not worn in 15 years but that she cannot stand to part with, and her 72 pairs of “active” shoes (meaning those that she actively wears, not the ones still in the boxes), and a closet full of clothes for her 3-year-old daughter, and, lest she forget, a wardrobe of clothes for her dog.

“My daughter doesn’t care what she wears, and I’m turning her into a monster,” Ms. Brennan said. “We’re ruining the next generation of girls with fashion.”

And here I thought I was being hardcore by limiting myself to 10 pieces for the summer.

I like the message that refutes the idea that new always equals better, and that simple can still be stylish (as evidenced by Kate Moss’s put-together-but-basic ensemble at right).

So as I like to say: There’s always more room on the bandwagon! Join the Summer Light Challenge today — we may be a third of the way into summer already, but the last two months will surely be the toughest.

Tetta Matera, a writer for the Philippine Star, used her column inches today to explore what has become known as “purse parties,” social events at which upper-middle-class women in the Philippines enjoy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails while browsing counterfeit luxury merchandise. The practice is illegal, but that fact has done little to quell its popularity — not just overseas but in America as well.

Ms. Matera writes on the ripple effects of these parties:

A researcher named Renee Richardson Gosline became curious about the phenomenon and conducted research over a period of two and a half years. She followed purse parties and traveled through social networks to document the attendees’ behavior. She found that most of the women didn’t seem to mind the illegality of their behavior because of the friendly atmosphere at the parties. But what she didn’t expect was, over a period of time, these women began checking out the brands’ websites and became converts to the real thing. They reconciled their dishonest public behavior with their positive, private self-image and the latter one won over time. In the end these women realized that nothing could substitute for the real deal.

With gorgeous designer bags now at all price points — one new favorite of ours is the Michael Kors Hamilton, a bargain at under $300 — there’s no good reason to buy fake anymore.

—

When I first read about the Summer Light Challenge, I immediately thought to myself: “Bring it on.” The timing was perfect, as I’m not terribly inclined to overdress in the heat. But it also dovetailed with my latest preoccupation: changing priorities and how they have affected the way I approach shopping.

Full disclosure time. I’m 28 years old and I’ve been an avid shopper since high school (my mom can verify this fact – back-to-school shopping was a very big deal for me, even though I wore a uniform). Few things give me more pleasure than the smell of new clothes and the commitment of cutting the tags off a purchase. I love fashion and how it’s a manner of self-expression. Truly, under the right circumstances – a bad breakup, a new job – it can be downright transformative.

But between writing for EthicalStyle for going on two years and getting married last fall, I find lately that I’m more content with what I have instead of chasing an ever-evolving version of myself. I don’t know that I want to say that I’ve matured, but I’ve definitely become more comfortable in my own skin.

It’s certainly helped that I’m not in much of a shopping mood these days. Part of it, certainly, is that marriage makes me feel more responsible and less inclined to spend some double-digit percentage of my paycheck on clothes. But as collateral damage of the Great Recession, some of my favorite places to shop are no longer in business (most notably Martin and Osa, a brand that introduced me to soybean sweaters and the lion’s share of my polished casual basics).

I guess you could say that fashion used to be the way I demonstrated my personal evolution, and after a few years of tinkering with it, I’m no in a place where I don’t feel I need to reinvent myself every three months. Is it possible I’ve evolved to a point where I am actually happy with how I look?

I remember being in college and feeling like this day would never come. I would grab my lower belly and lament how poochy I was, despite being an athletic size six. I would change my hair color with my mood, from Punky Bleach’s banana yellow to Clairol’s simmering dark espresso. I bought way too many clothes at H&M during this era, trying out a variety of fashion styles from preppy to punky as if they were boyfriends I never took seriously.

Yet as I’ve entered my late 20s, I’ve felt myself settle down like a house into its foundations. Having seen what my body is capable of and how much my husband loves it now matter what shape it’s in, I refuse to ever again tell myself that I’m fat; in fact, I’m currently training for my first triathlon. I’ve stuck with the same shade of blonde since 2008, breaking my own personal record. And I’m comfortable with the idea of limiting my closet to ten pieces for a whole summer. Because now I know it’s not the dress that wears the woman.

My 10 pieces, clockwise from upper left:

Dark grey ruffle-front tank top from J. Crew

White v-neck tee from J. Crew

Orange and white striped nautical tank top from Martin and Osa

Black three-quarter sleeved organic cotton Henley from C&C California

Colorblocked tank dress from Crossroads, my favorite consignment shop in Los Angeles

Dressy black tunic-length tank by Vince (doubles as a dress if worn with leggings)

Oatmeal-colored vintage jersey hoodie by Splendid

Ash grey skinny jeans from a thrift shop on Lake Tahoe (only $6!)

Dark-wash trouser jeans from Martin and Osa

Khaki “Aviator” skirt with cargo details from Martin and Osa

(M.J. Prest/EthicalStyle.com)

Good morning, greenies! Over the weekend, Green by Design ran a post by yours truly on why I’ve joined the blog’s Summer Light Challenge, reducing my wardrobe to ten easy pieces for the duration of the summer. We’re at the beginning of Week 4 right now, and it’s turned out to be easier than I thought it would be.

You can read my piece here, and find out more about the challenge on the SLC’s Facebook page. If nothing else, it will inspire you to dig old favorites out of the closet!

Just stumbled across Ecouterre’s list of the five hottest trends in green fashion to rock this summer, and it’s making us so excited for upcoming beach weekends and barbecues.

In a nutshell, now’s the time to break out your:

• Prints
• Nautical wear
• Ruffles
• Military details
• Girly sandals

Want to know how to wear them with eco-panache? Click on over to Treehugger.

” Traveling Denim ” Recording color fade for two years from Takayuki Akachi on Vimeo.

One of my favorite song quotes of all time is from Ani DiFranco’s 1991 debut album:

“I am looking for the holes
The holes in your jeans
Because I want to know
Are they worn out in the seat
Or are they worn out in the knees?”

Such a simple metaphor speaks to a life well lived. And a similar sentiment is also captured in this beautiful video by Japanese artist Takayuki Akachi, which chronicles two years in the life of a beloved pair of blue jeans. She wore them in 50 countries, documenting every rip and faded fiber. It’s a powerful testament to how your wardrobe — the longer you keep it — becomes a part of your history. Watch and learn.

(via Green by Design)

All you’ll need is to scrounge up some vintage baubles from the thrift store or your grandmother’s dresser, a pair of needle-nose pliers, and some chain and jewelry wire to hold everything in place. (A mannequin to get the layers to sit right as you work wouldn’t hurt either.)

When collecting your necklaces, visualize your final product. Do you want something blingy? Seek out rhinestones. Ethnic? Then you want necklaces set with turquoise and other rough-hewn or semi-precious stones. Mixing metals? Look for bronze and rose gold chains in addition to the standard silver and gold. You can also use the same technique to create a matching bracelet, as modeled to the left.

For the full photo tutorial, click here.

In the newest magazine issue of EthicalStyle.com, we cut right to the chase:

• Who’s dominating the advertising industry, anyway? Are they being straight with us, or do they have a secret agenda? You might be surprised what you read here.
• Contributing writer Adrian Desbarats, owner of green website FashionAndEarth.com, tells us how to recognize greenwashing when we see it and what we can do to protect ourselves from scurrilous marketing.
• To research the science of shopping, I dug into my college psychology and anthropology textbooks to explain how stores, displays, and sales are designed to entice us to buy.
• Reusable shopping bags are ubiquitous these days, and to capitalize on all that free advertising space, more and more companies are plastering their logos and slogans on them. But does that sully the intent of reducing waste?
• And since vintage photos are always a hit, here’s a slideshow of how advertising has altered its tactics over the past 75 years.
• Finally, if you are craving more on advertising, check out five more stories from the blog, reposted on Seam Ripper.