As winter draws in and the nights become shorter, the mornings colder and last years coat old and worn, we all desire the winter fashion statement that will keep us looking better than the next guy or girl. What we never want and especially this winter, is the wallet or card hit that usually comes with the purchase of our winter wardrobe revival. What I am about to tell you will if you scan your minds come as no surprise, however in times of economic prosperity we ignore it, perhaps because we are care free, or perhaps because we are lazy or, and I am sure this is the case for most of us, perhaps the lure of the high street and the fresh smell and feel of that new purchase is far too appealing.
The following advice will help mix the old with the new,
1. Clothing Swap, ultimately we all have friends, who like us have too many clothes that we have bought in rushes of excitement. Sometimes these clothes just don’t get worn, either they don’t fit just right or we just change our mind. Get together with a group of friends and bring clothes old or new that are of good quality and obviously clean. See what you can swap your friends. It is just like shopping but far less expensive and a lot of fun for an evening event.
2. Shop Online. If you have access to the internet at home and let’s face it, if you have time to read this you probably do. Look on the internet for new clothes as opposed to the high street. There are a number of advantages to this. First when you shop online you will not feel pressured into buying the garment if you are not absolutely sure, even if you leave the online shop it will be there when you log back on again. Also when you shop online you avoid the cost of making your way to the local high street, with fuel prices high, this can save valuable pounds. Finally the last advantage of shopping online is that it will save you cash in incidental costs. Undoubtedly when you go to the high street you will purchase a snack, a coffee or some food at highly inflated prices. If you shop online you can drink your perfectly good coffee and food from your own fridge at very reasonable prices. High street shopping costs you a lot more than you think.
3. Don’t over wash your clothes. With your existing clothes or new clothes, don’t over wash them. Obviously if they smell or are dirty you must wash them, but before you wash your garments check if they actually require to be washed. Over washing garments will make them look old long before their time.
4. Wait for the Christmas Sales. This advice is not me being a grinch, it is just simple logic. So many items of clothing will be reduced in the after Christmas sales that there are some great savings to be made. This isn’t to say go out on Boxing Day and face the crush. Wait until January and there will be equally as good bargains to be found.
5. Buy next year’s winter coat and clothes in the Christmas Sales and save them for next winter. Just as finding some great bargains for now, there are some great items that are available in the sales that you can pick up and put away in the back of the wardrobe and pull them out next winter. The savings you can make are huge.
6. Accessorise. It is a far cheaper way to funk up your wardrobe. Items of clothing clearly cost more than hats, scarves, bangles, necklaces, bags and gloves. Shop online for accessories and there is a double saving.
7. Spread your social circle. This may well be a little more expensive than the other options, but if you spend time with different people, they will not know the age of your clothing. The clothing is new again, you will receive compliments about clothing you have had for many months and it will give you a real confidence boost.
8. Buy neutral colours. When you buy major pieces of clothing this winter, purchase neutral colours that will match with many things that you already own. Usually a winter coat is a major purchase, if you buy a coat that fits with all your items then although other items may not be new, by wearing your shining new coat it will make all your other items feel fantastic.
This winter can be fun, festive and fruitful for us all in all areas of our life. There is no need to break the bank to stay looking wonderful, just spice things up a little with a few different ideas and have a cracking Christmas.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
7 Top tips on how to avoid ethically unfriendly clothing
Fashion is enjoyed by billions of people across the globe, it brightens people’s days, it fills magazines, it dominates whole channels of television and our everyday life is affected and exposed to fashion and its offspring all day everyday.
We the consumer see the public face of fashion, the glitz, the glam, the models, the promotion and the hype. What we don’t see is where it comes from? Recently it has become a far more topical issue. With ever more budget ranges of clothing appearing.
This question is not as new as you might expect, there were similar questions raised in the late 1980’s early 1990’s but they were in my personal opinion forgotten in the recession of 1992 in the UK. Since then although regenerating with new charge and impetus; a charge that I believe will see such issues weather the storm of our current downturn in economic conditions, they could easily get lost in the financial troubles that we see ourselves in currently. What we must be careful to remember is that while we seek bargains on the high street, those bargains could be fuelling someone else’s economic woes. This may seem very distant to us on the high street when we are suffering ourselves, however by fuelling others economic woes by purchasing garments that are produced without reference to ethics we are fuelling the system that has brought us to our knees.
We should be looking to create a system that is fit to provide a future of economic stability for all countries and economies. The result will be a system that is not so prone to cracks and problems.
It is all well and good to gasp when the economic hardships of others appear on our television sets, starving populations, diseased nations, over worked and under paid factory workers, disgraceful working conditions, but when we leave our sofas regardless of what level of income or social status we believe we could be categorised within in the UK, we have a lot more than those who have nothing. It is important to note that we do not have to do so much to avoid unethical clothing, it will not burden us greatly, we must just open our eyes and ears to the vast amount of information available to us and force those involved with fuelling such processes to curtail their greed and spread their good fortune.
First I must dispel two myths
“Ethically friendly clothing doesn’t always come with a huge price tag” and “Unethical clothing isn’t always accompanied by a low price tag.”
7 Top tips on how to avoid ethically unfriendly clothing
1. Search the internet. The internet contains a vast spectrum of information about everything including information on most clothing brands and their production practices. I would say with 95% assurance that if a brand is not behaving in an ethically correct manner they will have been ousted in a news story that can be found on the internet. Simply insert the brand you would like to investigate and the sub heading ‘ethically friendly.’
2. Price. The price of the garment can help us assess whether or not the piece of clothing has been bought for a reasonable unit price from the manufacturer and hence if the worker who made that garment is getting a fair wage for the work that has to go into producing the garment. Although this does not necessarily apply to sale items, if the price of the garment originally is so low to make you gasp at what appears to be great value, it probably isn’t providing great value to the worker who produced it.
3. Ask the shop manager. The shop manager although possibly not informed of the full details is legally obliged to tell you in his knowledge the truth about how the products the shop sells are produced and if the brand has an ethically friendly and compliant policy. Often surprising the manager with such a question will get an honest and accurate response.
4. Don’t be fooled by the well known brand. Although well known brands and high end labels are aware of their ethical responsibility, the fact that the price is high and reputation good, doesn’t mean their ethical record is excellent. It also doesn’t mean it is bad, do your research ask the questions.
5. Don’t be fooled by the hype. Just like above don’t be fooled by the claims of brands new or old that they are ethically responsible, they may be telling the truth, they may not, do your research ask the questions.
6. Check the labels. The labels of some brands may contain information about their product and policies. If they offer printed information about their ethical policies with their products, it is most likely to be accurate because if it is not they will have opened themselves up to some serious criticism and or possible prosecution for false advertising.
7. Check the company website and email a representative. This is probably without doubt the fail safe way of getting the accurate information that we require about companies’ practices. In responding to a request for information about their products in relation to any number of issues, animal testing, manufacture, packaging etc., the company has a responsibility to respond accurately. Companies that provide open, honest and detailed responses are the ones to trust. Those who appear guarded, coy or don’t reply at all, well the answer is right there in their actions. Avoid
Ultimately we shall find clothing that is ethically friendly and reasonably priced, we also might find some brands that we thought where trustworthy that are not. The idea that good ethical practices comes with a huge price tag is simply not true.
Follow this advice and I am sure you will be wearing items that are ethically friendly.
We the consumer see the public face of fashion, the glitz, the glam, the models, the promotion and the hype. What we don’t see is where it comes from? Recently it has become a far more topical issue. With ever more budget ranges of clothing appearing.
This question is not as new as you might expect, there were similar questions raised in the late 1980’s early 1990’s but they were in my personal opinion forgotten in the recession of 1992 in the UK. Since then although regenerating with new charge and impetus; a charge that I believe will see such issues weather the storm of our current downturn in economic conditions, they could easily get lost in the financial troubles that we see ourselves in currently. What we must be careful to remember is that while we seek bargains on the high street, those bargains could be fuelling someone else’s economic woes. This may seem very distant to us on the high street when we are suffering ourselves, however by fuelling others economic woes by purchasing garments that are produced without reference to ethics we are fuelling the system that has brought us to our knees.
We should be looking to create a system that is fit to provide a future of economic stability for all countries and economies. The result will be a system that is not so prone to cracks and problems.
It is all well and good to gasp when the economic hardships of others appear on our television sets, starving populations, diseased nations, over worked and under paid factory workers, disgraceful working conditions, but when we leave our sofas regardless of what level of income or social status we believe we could be categorised within in the UK, we have a lot more than those who have nothing. It is important to note that we do not have to do so much to avoid unethical clothing, it will not burden us greatly, we must just open our eyes and ears to the vast amount of information available to us and force those involved with fuelling such processes to curtail their greed and spread their good fortune.
First I must dispel two myths
“Ethically friendly clothing doesn’t always come with a huge price tag” and “Unethical clothing isn’t always accompanied by a low price tag.”
7 Top tips on how to avoid ethically unfriendly clothing
1. Search the internet. The internet contains a vast spectrum of information about everything including information on most clothing brands and their production practices. I would say with 95% assurance that if a brand is not behaving in an ethically correct manner they will have been ousted in a news story that can be found on the internet. Simply insert the brand you would like to investigate and the sub heading ‘ethically friendly.’
2. Price. The price of the garment can help us assess whether or not the piece of clothing has been bought for a reasonable unit price from the manufacturer and hence if the worker who made that garment is getting a fair wage for the work that has to go into producing the garment. Although this does not necessarily apply to sale items, if the price of the garment originally is so low to make you gasp at what appears to be great value, it probably isn’t providing great value to the worker who produced it.
3. Ask the shop manager. The shop manager although possibly not informed of the full details is legally obliged to tell you in his knowledge the truth about how the products the shop sells are produced and if the brand has an ethically friendly and compliant policy. Often surprising the manager with such a question will get an honest and accurate response.
4. Don’t be fooled by the well known brand. Although well known brands and high end labels are aware of their ethical responsibility, the fact that the price is high and reputation good, doesn’t mean their ethical record is excellent. It also doesn’t mean it is bad, do your research ask the questions.
5. Don’t be fooled by the hype. Just like above don’t be fooled by the claims of brands new or old that they are ethically responsible, they may be telling the truth, they may not, do your research ask the questions.
6. Check the labels. The labels of some brands may contain information about their product and policies. If they offer printed information about their ethical policies with their products, it is most likely to be accurate because if it is not they will have opened themselves up to some serious criticism and or possible prosecution for false advertising.
7. Check the company website and email a representative. This is probably without doubt the fail safe way of getting the accurate information that we require about companies’ practices. In responding to a request for information about their products in relation to any number of issues, animal testing, manufacture, packaging etc., the company has a responsibility to respond accurately. Companies that provide open, honest and detailed responses are the ones to trust. Those who appear guarded, coy or don’t reply at all, well the answer is right there in their actions. Avoid
Ultimately we shall find clothing that is ethically friendly and reasonably priced, we also might find some brands that we thought where trustworthy that are not. The idea that good ethical practices comes with a huge price tag is simply not true.
Follow this advice and I am sure you will be wearing items that are ethically friendly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
