Author: Julia

My Go-To Sites for Fair Trade Shopping

1 Comment

I began my transition to ethical shopping habits in 2009. Since then, I’ve found myself returning over and over again to the same few websites for the majority of my fair trade purchases. These are the sites I’ve found that strike the right balance for me of ethics, price, and style. I want to share them with you in the hopes that they’ll be as helpful to you as they have been to me!

Fair Indigo

Fair Indigo is my first stop for work-appropriate clothing. They’re a small company that works closely with carefully-chosen suppliers to ensure fair pay and working conditions and sustainable environmental practices. (Read more about their values.) Their styles are classic and cute but not super-trendy, which means I’ll be able to wear the items I buy from them for a long time. I’m especially fond of their organic cotton dresses (I own four of them). Their regular prices are a little out of my budget, but they have frequent sales that make shopping there more affordable.

Fair indigo Organic Cotton Dress

Fair Indigo Organic Circle Neck Dress

SERRV

SERRV is my first stop for gifts. I’ve gotten several Christmas and birthday gifts for relatives from SERRV over the years, and they have something for almost everyone, including a helpful Gifts for Him collection. Prices vary greatly by item, so it’s easy to find something to fit your budget. (In addition to gift shopping, I also visit every so often to look at this blue leather purse in hopes that it has gone on sale… alas, it hasn’t yet.) SERRV is a non-profit organization and has major ethical cred as a founding member of both the World Fair Trade Organization and the Fair Trade Federation.

SERRV Cobalt Flower Plates

SERRV Cobalt Flower Plates

Made in USA Forever

I haven’t written very much about Made in USA shopping, but it is an option I use when I’m having trouble finding a fair trade version of an item. Made in USA Forever is a small company that chooses its suppliers carefully, so you can be confident they are truly American manufacturers, as opposed to poorly regulated factories in one of the many American territories (which can still use the Made in USA label). I’ve gotten jeans and socks here, and they offer much more.

Made in USA Forever Texas Jeans

Made in USA Forever Texas Jeans

American Apparel

I have a love-hate relationship with American Apparel. Their manufacturing ethics are second-to-none, but my feminist self has a hard time with their retail staff strategy and their photography style, which often seems to be more about objectifying the model than showcasing the product. Despite my reservations, I visit their site a lot when I’m in need of something basic. I haven’t bought a ton from them, but it makes me feel good to know that products like ethically-made work pants are out there. Plus, they’ve started making shoes!

American Apparel Unisex Tennis Shoe

American Apparel Unisex Tennis Shoe

What are your favorite ethical and fair trade shopping websites? Share them in the comments!

Fair Trade Wedding: The Dress

Leave a Comment

I went to two weddings last month, which naturally left me dreaming about what I want to do for my own (hypothetical) wedding. That includes thinking about how to do everything as ethically as possible. Since I use a certain set of fair trade principles to guide my everyday shopping, I figure it’s even more important to follow them for the biggest, most extravagant party I’ll probably ever throw.

This post is the first in a series about all aspects of a fair trade wedding. We’re starting with arguably the biggest decision every bride has to make: what to wear! Thankfully for the socially-conscious bride-to-be, there are many options for making your wedding dress match your values.

Celia-Grace-Wedding-Dress-Rosa

“The Rosa” by Celia Grace

Fair Trade

Celia Grace offers wedding dresses that are “hand made by women’s cooperatives, Fair Trade producers, and refugees rebuilding their lives in the United States.” They use natural silk fabrics, mostly hand-woven on traditional looms, and provide safe and fair working conditions to their seamstresses. And they’re a member of the Fair Trade Federation. I kind of want to buy one right now and save it for the future—except I also want to see what new gorgeous designs they come out with in the meantime. Here’s how I would wear their tea length dress:

Wedding dress style board1: Celia Grace tea length dress
2: Teardrop Pearl Pendant – Ten Thousand Villages
3: Mughal Gems Cuff Bracelet – Ten Thousand Villages
4: Sseko sandals – They’re available in white, but a pop of color would be fun too!

 

Olivia-Luca

Dresses by Olivia Luca

Custom-Made

Olivia Luca is a design-your-own custom dress boutique, which you could use for your wedding gown or for bridesmaids dresses. They offer some fair trade or organic fabric options and all dresses are sewn in their design studio in Portland, Ore. They pay living wages and provide a safe, clean work environment.

Conscious Elegance is another option for a custom-made dress. This small sweatshop-free company creates gowns to order using eco-friendly materials.

Vintage

A used or vintage dress can also be a great solution, giving an old dress a new life. (Plus, that’s your “something old” taken care of!) Tradesy, a large online resale shop, has a wedding section that includes gowns plus accessories and men’s formalwear. Check your local antique mall for wedding dresses, and don’t forget to look close to home—your mom’s or grandmother’s dress might fit perfectly with just a few alterations and updates.

Handmade

Etsy offers wedding dresses, but search carefully. A lot of the items under “wedding dress” appear to be factory-made imports, so be sure to sift through and find the truly vintage and handmade listings. Alternately, you could have a local seamstress create a handmade dress using sustainable fabric like organic cotton.

Would you consider skipping the traditional wedding dress shop to find an ethical wedding dress? If you’re married, how did you find your dress? Let us know in the comments!

Resource Spotlight: MeasureUp

Leave a Comment

MeasureUp logoMeasureUp.org.uk is a resource that evaluates brands based on their performance on ten ethical indicators, with the goal of helping consumers more easily compare brands and make sweatshop-free shopping decisions. Though the site is UK-based, many international brands have been evaluated, such as Nike, Gap, H&M, Adidas, and Zara. The information provided for each company is incredibly thorough, including excerpts from the brands’ websites and responses to emailed questions about their practices.

Some of MeasureUp’s ethical indicators include:

  • Does the company have a code of conduct that adheres to International Labor Organization standards, including payment of a living wage?
  • Is a full list of factory locations available to the public?
  • Are factories audited at least every two years?
  • Do audits include confidential interviews with employees chosen by the auditor rather than the employer?
  • Is a confidential complaint process in place to allow employees to raise concerns?

I highly recommend this resource a tool to better understand the practices of major brands. It’s especially enlightening to read some of the responses they received from companies as a primer on the ways brands often evade questions of ethics.

What are your favorite resources for finding sweatshop-free clothing? Share them in the comments!

News Roundup: July 2013

Leave a Comment

Scarf, wedding dress, swimsuit from July roundupIt’s hard to believe July is almost over! Here are some news stories and updates related to ethical shopping that I came across this month:

A Look at Fair Trade in the Wake of Bangladesh – An essay from Fair Trade USA about the impact of the Bangladesh building collapse. (Triple Pundit)

In Theory: What’s our responsibility toward sweatshops? – People from various religious traditions reflect on how we should respond to labor rights abuses. (Burbank Leader)

Will Sustainable Fashion Ever Be In Style? – Looking at fast fashion from a European perspective. (WorldCrunch)

Ethical One-Pieces and Ethical Bikinis – Jamillah did all of the work in finding ethical swimwear for this summer! (Made to Travel)

New fair trade shops online (via the Fair Trade Quilts & Crafts e-newsletter):

Did you find any new shops or interesting articles this month? Share them in the comments!