On Monday, I went to The Mall for the first time since coming home (our local out-of-town shopping mall). Ironically, on my first day back I was in one at least three times the size when we went to meet up with Rozzie in Manchester, but it didn't hit me then. On Monday, it was like someone had punched me in the stomach. And that's why I'm writing this, because I can't get it off my mind and it is still making me so angry and so sad whenever I think too deeply about it.
The first thing I noticed was how rushed everyone was - running from shop to shop, mums trying to get back to school stuff for uncooperative kids, gangs of teenagers seeking out the newest trend at the lowest price, dads trudging behind whichever female relative was forcing him through his very own hell on earth. When did we all get so busy? Why are we so busy? No one noticed me, no one made eye contact with me. I have struggled a load with this unsociable and self-centred culture since returning from the warm, relaxed, extreme friendliness of Uganda. I miss people talking to you out of the blue for no reason, I miss kids holding my hands when I walk even though I've never seen them before, and I miss how everyone smiles at everyone. And I hate it because I'm so easily falling back into the English way of 'don't make eye contact'! I can walk around my town and not smile at anyone; I'm doing my best not to, but if people don't look at me, I don't make the effort. Why are we like this? We're so bundled up in ourselves and our problems and our schedules and our to-do lists that we forget everything around us, even though there is so much to smile at, be thankful of, and bring joy to. I challenge you to think about it. I'm sure some of you can't relate at all, because you're so extroverted and friendly, and good for you, keep it up! But can we all please slow down a few notches and look up a bit more? I promise, it's good for the soul.
For university, I have to buy a specific outfit for certain occasions, so I was on the search for a white shirt and black skirt, figuring I would have to do this someday, so why not today? Because I am so not the same girl that I used to be! I've always thought I was quite ethically conscious and all, but Monday was a wake up call. I was in Next and as I walked down the stairs and looked over the sea of clothes covering their shop floor, all I could see were the men, women and children who made these clothes in less that adequate conditions (this isn't specific to Next, but to the whole generalised fashion industry). And I couldn't do it, I couldn't bring myself to buy something which will make their lives worse by keeping them in those sweat shops.
This is what I can't get my head around: on the one hand, how do you know that anything is 'ethical' and doing good instead of bad? But on the other hand, how can we flippantly buy things for just a few pounds when someone half my age could have made it? Too many times I've heard the argument that 'at least they're getting some money as they have a job. If we didn't buy the clothes then they'd have no job at all'. I disagree. Surely, if we buy more and more ethical clothes, then demand for them will increase and these ethical companies will expand, creating more jobs to make up for the ones which are being cut by the cheap, non-ethical companies who are having to downsize because demand has decreased. I admit, I haven't done a whole load of research on this, but doesn't that make basic sense? I cannot bring myself to buy a Topshop t-shirt for £10 because I know that it will keep the person who made it in their horrendous job.
Driving home I was despairing at our world! It's so globalised that you can never completely know where your clothes have come from - where the raw materials were grown, what environmental regulations are/ aren't enforced there, who made the material, who shipped it from place to place, on what pay, under what conditions was it stitched, how old was the man or woman sewing it, how did it get to that shop floor? You can never fully know. I felt lost and helpless and confused! But I've spent the last couple of days doing a bit of research into ethical brands and my hope for humanity is being restored. Seeing all the alternative ways to positively use your consumer power (and it is powerful!) has made me so excited (as well as wince at the thought of how small my bank account already is and the dent ethical shopping will make in it). Yes, you can probably never know everything about your clothes, but isn't it great if you know it's got a positive part to it at least?
And so, I've made a deal with myself about my shopping habits (for clothes to start with) from now on: I will only shop in charity shops or from ethically certified companies. I'm determined. Even though I have never seen a sweatshop or children missing school to sew sequins on a dress, God has awakened something. Maybe having met victims of south east Asia's sex trade, it's easier to imagine a victim of the fashion industry. I don't know. But I do know that whoever made my jumper, or jeans, or whatever, that their life is as equally valuable as mine and yours. It would never be acceptable for sweat shops to exist here, 'employing' teenagers to make garments for wages under the legal minimum. So why do we accept and support it when it's happening in another country? Aren't we all equal? Fully believing that every single human is equal to the next and that we all have worth and value, I can't support the belittling and devaluing exploitations which occur all over our world to provide me with a £4 t-shirt. Can you?
P.S. As I continue to research and explore the alternative and more ethical options out there, I am planning on sharing it all with you, so you can try to shop in a way which will make the world a better place too, if you like!
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