SUSTAINABLE STYLE(^) V
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A Conscious Shift
Ethical fashion is more than knowing where materials are sourced. It’s also about
the people who make the items and their impact on the environment
BY NZINGA CHRISTINE BLAKE AND YESHA CALLAHAN
W
hen you shop for fashion items, do you ever
wonder what materials were used to make
them and where they came from? Who’s actu-
ally producing the material? And under what conditions
are people working to get you those designer items? If
you’re trying to be more socially conscious about the
clothing and accessories you wear, then you have to con-
sider the steps fashion brands are taking to protect the
planet and people involved in the design, production,
distribution and disposal of apparel and accessories. The
aim should be to reduce the negative environmental and
social impact of each brand’s overall systems, processes,
practices and supply chain.
The ethical fair-trade fashion industry, which seemed
to be a niche market ten years ago, is now becoming
mainstream. Consumers are increasingly becoming socially
aware. Among designers, Tracy Reese is one who has
recently taken a leap into more responsibly produced
fashion. With her newly launched label, Hope for Flowers,
based in Detroit, Reese is all about social consciousness.
In an interview with Vogue, she explained, “The more I
learned about fast fashion and cheap production in gen-
eral, I just knew that was the antithesis to everything I
was thinking about. If you’re selling a garment for $10,
let’s just do the math and understand what that means
for all the people along that supply chain. It’s like slavery.
Bombchel
employees in
Liberia
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ESSENCE.COM I 84 I SEPTEMBER 2019