Comments | purldrop: question for those of you interested in fashion:

purldrop

question for those of you interested in fashion:

Sep 13, 2006 00:30

how do you feel about all of these big-named designers doing lines for major discount chain stores? i just read today's daily candy about Abaeté doing a line for Payless Shoes. isn't it still crap produced in crappy conditions in some crappy sweatshop??? isn't that one of the reasons we like fancy designers?...because designer items are produced by ( Read more... )

Comments 33

A north american prospective comming from Bolivia gringo_news September 15 2006, 03:33:10 UTC

Since the title of this is those of you interested in fashion I am not the most qualified person to speak, but as a maker of things I like to observe fashion from a distance. As proof of my inadequacy I don't own anything from any of the designers mentioned above and I wouldn't be able to pick them out of a crowd ( ... )

melissa_stajda September 15 2006, 15:42:29 UTC

I agree with alot of everyone's points. Some things that really stand out for me are:

Just because something is from a designer label doesn't mean it's sweatshop free!

These chain stores want to make money off of the big designer names, and the big designer names want to make money from a new audience. It's all about profit and marketing. Don't give them too much credit folks.

It sounds really hopeful to think that if people stop buying so much "crap", that it will leave them money to buy higher quality goods. But the fact is that families struggle to make ends meet.

An average working mom, who is barely living above the poverty line these days, can dress her kids for the entire school year at Target. Do you want to argue with her that she's buying crap and just being a wasteful consumer?

Try sewing your entire family's wardobe, and only buying sweatshop free clothing when you work 40+ hours a week and make minimum wage.

purldrop September 16 2006, 18:07:14 UTC

well, in one sense, i totally agree with you, and my family grew up wearing clothing from "Hill's" (which i don't think exists anymore, but was pretty much like K-Mart.) but...this is cyclical thinking and i think it justifies some kind of consumer apathy. i don't begrudge anyone for doing what they do, but i think that we're all cogs in a much bigger problem, even welfare moms. i guess i'd like to see more awareness, starting from the consumer level...

melissa_stajda September 16 2006, 19:38:55 UTC

I think that all consumers are plenty aware. Everyone wants high quality goods, produced with fair wages, and under fair conditions.

It just seems that everyone is pointing their finger, saying "People who buy cheap stuff don't realize their impact. They need to be more aware."

But those people who are buying the crap we're talking about, are the same people who are being paid crap to produce it.

So, what I'm saying is:

Give them some credit, because they are more aware than anyone.

purldrop September 18 2006, 05:12:44 UTC

i don't think anyone's blaming the poor for being unaware, or not giving credit to people's awareness of unsavory business practices. but i don't think that large companies are going to change these things until there is a huge grassroots push towards demanding fair labor practices, better quality, better labeling, etc. all these things are so interconnected, and of course big business want to keep consumers feeling trapped in this cycle ( ... )

Thread 6

complication nation... anti_factory September 16 2006, 03:05:59 UTC

Hey erin, great question and fabulous resulting replies ( ... )

Re: complication nation... purldrop September 16 2006, 18:12:37 UTC

totally! and i agree about the thrifting out of necessity... when you're poor it's definitely not "cool" to be conspicuosly dressed from thrift stores, handmade, or hand-me-downs. when i was in school, the worst insult was telling someone that they shopped at salvation army and ate at the rainbow kitchen (soup kitchen) i grew up in a very blue-collar neighborhood in pittsburgh post-steel mills being shut down. being poor was not something you embraced.

Re: complication nation... anti_factory September 17 2006, 17:02:14 UTC

ay ay ay! i feel like i got on a lengthy pontification high horse with my previous post--whoops. :p ( ... )

Re: complication nation... purldrop September 18 2006, 03:32:33 UTC

i wonder how long we(America) can sustain our current appetite for consumption? is it changing even a little bit do you think? how much worse will it get???
i do think it will get worse, and i do think most of us(myself included) are pretty apathetic about the economy and general political climate on the most part.

Thread 5

psincessbike January 29 2013, 23:28:14 UTC

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