After dinner, I sat to watch CBC's the Fifth Estate; it always makes me think about societal issues. Tonight they're talking about the garment factories in India and other places, all so that Joe Fresh and Walmart can import cheap clothes for us.
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2013-2014/made-in-bangladesh
That got me thinking - would I be willing to pay more for "ethical" clothes? Yes. I would pay more if I could be convinced that they truly were "ethically" made. I've experienced clothing stores where designer labels were placed over the regular labels and tags, to misrepresent the garment.
It's like fish in Canada. Nobody wants to eat fish from China, so they stopped buying all fish where the packaging said "Imported from China" or "Processed in China". Now all they'll say is Imported for ABC Foods, Burlington, ON (for example). It's impossible to see the country of origin anymore - and that is SOOO wrong. I'm not being racist (I don't think) if I vehemently state that I don't want to eat food that's been produced or processed in what is pretty much the dirtiest country in the world. These are the people who put Lead Paint into infant formula and milk, to make them more white. That proved to me that China has very little control over the food industry there. Oh sure, once found guilty, I believe they're put to death, but that's little consolation after you find out that you've been drinking lead for 2 years. Really.
I've been looking at an online clothing store - Holy Clothing Company. Theoretically, their clothes are handmade in India and the workers are ethically paid. The clothing is beautiful, and very reasonably priced. Maybe too reasonably priced. I'd love to buy a few items, but I need to do more research first.
I might write another post later and tell you what I found out.
Or I might not.
This work by Suzette Leeming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.
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