War of the t-shirts

If you follow me on Snapchat you would have seen me recently talk about two t-shirts I bought. These t-shirts, just your regular, no fuss kind of tees, got me thinking.

I know ethical fashion is not a new topic and I’m not here to lecture or preach but if I’m thinking about these things I wonder are you? Let me explain. I bought the first t-shirt from People Tree, a company that sells ‘Fair Trade and environmentally sustainable fashion’. All positives so far right? Yes. So what is my problem? Well, the price. I’m not actually much of a t-shirt wearer so the price tag was a little more than I expected to pay but considering the background and the fact that I liked the tee, of course I took the hit.

Enter then the second t-shirt which I bought from Penneys. Comfortable, available in a multitude of  colours and with a price of  €4, before I even got home I was already planning on buying some more. My problem here? In my haste to bathe in the glory of a bargain I kept coming back to one question; why was this t-shirt so cheap? Penneys (Primark) has an entire page on their website dedicated to their ethics and programs they are involved in. I’ll let you make up your own mind on that and even though that information is there for the public to read, as is that of People Tree, I don’t feel satisfied.

I started thinking about other companies I frequently buy from, my choices and purchases, fast fashion and the price of individuality and I can’t help but ask are we that interested in ethical fashion? Do I know enough about the clothes I buy, the human, economic and environmental impacts of my fashion choices? I must admit, I don’t think I do. I would like to be, perhaps should be more informed but what is it that makes me decide to buy a €4 t-shirt, no questions asked? 

This is obviously a very complex issue and I am not here to judge anyone’s choices other than my own but it’s more food for thought. It would be good to hear what you think about this topic or if you think about it at all.

xo