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Reviews - Regenerate Your Wardrobe
What would you do if you discovered that your friend's child worked in a factory in appalling conditions, with little to no wages and no official regulations on cleanliness and how staff are treated? I often wonder why it is that even though I know most high street stores stock clothes that have not been ethically-traded, I continue to buy them. Is it because the fairly-traded clothes cost an arm and a leg? Or I am just another person immune to the terrible sufferings of my fellow humans - even more immune when they live in another country, far, far away from my comfortable life, home and family. If it was someone I knew enduring this level of torment, surely I would intervene?
Since I watched BBC3's three-part documentary, Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts, I have also been confronted with yet another factor to consider. If we stop buying clothes that have been produced in sweat-shops, what will happen to the workers there who rely on these wages - poor as they may be - to feed and clothe their own families? When interviewed, some workers said they knew the conditions were poor but they didn't mind the long hours - as long as they could bring food to the table. It's not such a black and white issue really - there are complicated twists and turns and I was left feeling that what really needs to happen is for these sweat-shops to be transformed so that workers can still go there to work. What also seemed apparent is each country's government needs to wake up and pay attention, enforcing certain regulations such as a decent minimum wage and clean and sanitary working conditions.
But in the current fashion industry what are people putting into action to ensure we are offered clothes that come from ethically-sourced places? One individual is making a massive difference by showing us that we can wear gorgeous clothes that are affordable and fashionable but that haven't been made by someone who has almost certainly undergone some form of abuse during production. And that person is May Cortazzi, founder of Regenerate Clothing - Ethical Wear for Men and Women.
Her collection is fresh and beautiful and I was excited to receive my flock of birds hoody the other day - that I have been wearing ever since! (see modeled above!) I would like to find out more about ethical fashion - and hear from people who ONLY wear clothes that are guaranteed to have produced fairly and where the human rights of the workers are not only considered but made a priority.
In the meantime, do check out Regenerate. May the Fashionista is going to be BiG! Visit her new site today!
