Taking a stand can be as simple as choosing what to wear

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good and wear the latest fashions, or create your own style, but it’s worth stopping and thinking about the impact that cool top or those designer jeans or hip shoes have on human or animal rights.

Has the garment been manufactured in countries where child labour is prevalent? And where factory conditions are appalling if not downright dangerous, with workers being paid a pittance in return for long hours spent stitching and cutting clothes for our consumption? It’s not only in Asia that workers are exploited.

According to the FairWear website, there are around 300,000 ‘outworkers’ or home workers in Australia earning as little at $2-$3 an hour. They are mainly migrant women who speak little English and are unaware of their rights. They often work 18-hour days, with many co-opting their young children to help them meet unrealistic deadlines.

Before you part with your dollars, do some research to find out whether the manufacturer or brand you propose to support has sound workers’ rights policies. Fairwear carries a list of manufacturers that are accredited to the Homeworkers Code of Practice.

This means the company verifies that all of the garments they produce in Australia are manufactured ethically and all workers involved in the production received at least Award wage rates and conditions. The companies have made their production lines transparent and are helping to end exploitation in the Australian fashion and clothing industry.

They include Collette Dinnigan, Harmony Fashions and Puma sportswear. Meanwhile retailers that are signatories of the Code include the likes of David Jones, Best & Less, Big W, Country Road, Jeans West, Myer and Target.

Another reason to avoid certain items is the cruelty involved in their manufacture. Fur of course has been the subject of many campaigns by animal rights activists due to the cruelty involved, including the trapping of wild animals who are kept in cages so tiny they can barely turn around, which sends them insane, anal electrocution and in China the skinning of cats and dogs alive.

The wool industry has also come under fire for ‘mulesing’, a barbaric practice of cutting chunks off lambs’ bottoms with no anaesthetic or painkillers. So think faux fur and acrylic for those winter accessories.

And for the kinky chicks among you who prefer to support cruelty-free alternatives to leather, the good news is you can still look stylish and sexy (as well as dominant and submissive!) in a range of hot rubber or vinyl outfits, as modelled by our gorgeous models in this month’s fashion shoot.

Enjoy shopping with a conscience!

www.fairwear.com.au
www.peta.org