Over the past few years, there has been a steady increase in the awareness of sustainable fashion initiatives and a transition from fast fashion to a more ethical and environmentally conscious approach. This fashion revolution has caused great uncertainty for some of the larger brands as they shuffle to restructure their supply chain in order to appease the new mentality of consumers. Many big name brands, such as Patagonia, can attribute their success to establishing these initiatives from the beginning and remaining committed to this approach. However, do we really know what goes on behind the scenes? Some of the largest brands on the planet, in fact almost all of the largest brands on the planet, all play a role in negatively impacting the lives and local communities of their manufacturers as well as the global environment as a whole. As time goes on and consumer awareness grows, it is astonishing some of the practices being uncovered by these household names. More importantly, it raises the following questions:
1. As a consumer, would you rather have full transparency on where and how your clothes are made, and by whom?
2. Would you want to know the steps each company takes to minimize their environmental impact and better the lives of their employees and laborers?
3. Would you be willing to pay slightly more for your products knowing that you have done a good deed in purchasing from a transparent brand instead of one that hides the answers to these questions?
See, the crazy thing is, almost all of the most successful clothing retailers in the world go to great lengths to hide the answers to these questions. More astonishingly, they often disseminate false information to the public by using very ambiguous terms to convey their use of ethical and eco-friendly initiatives when in all actuality they do the exact opposite. Tricks like only reporting the wages and working conditions on the final production line of a factory, but with-holding those same statistics for the entire production line have become common place for big business retail brands. As you dig, the tactics in place become more disheartening and something needs to be done to make a change.
As consumers, it's more important now than ever to stand up to these retail giants and shut down these bad practices for the health and well being of the global community. How can you do this? Using resources like www.goodonyou.eco is a good place to start to learn about the ethical and environmental initiatives that your favorite brands may or may not have in place. But more importantly, the way to really make a change is by supporting brands that are transparent. Start by supporting small businesses that combat these industry standards in order to make a change in the world. We are one of those brands and we take great pride in our transparency and initiatives to not only make great products from 100% natural fibers at an affordable price, but we make an effort to better the world and the lives of those we are in business with each and every way we can. This is what EKZO is all about, and we greatly appreciate your support as we continue to grow our brand and spread our message. Treat yourself to some new threads, grab a gift for someone else, and know that every little bit helps us make a positive change in our industry and in the world as a whole.
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