There are two major things wrong with today’s throwaway fashion culture: the devastating impact on the environment and the neglected rights of exploited workers. Up to hundreds of thousands of people are involved in manufacturing the goods, many of whom are mistreated (1). This problem affects workers both overseas and in Australia. Frequent clothing trends means that manufacturers produce lots of waste and emissions and consume many resources to keep up with the high demand and fast turnover.

You can help by changing your buying habits. Every bit counts.

How is Heidi & Seek ethical?
Can you tell me more about exploited workers?
What can you tell me about eco friendly fashion?
Where can I find out more?

how is Heidi & Seek ethical?

To reduce the impact on the environment, each Heidi & Seek garment is made from salvaged or unwanted fabrics. Hayley handpicks quality second-hand materials for reconstruction and uses discarded factory manufacturing fabrics that are new. Most thread and all buttons and lace are also second-hand. Heidi & Seek swing tags are handmade from unwanted materials, business cards are printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper with vegetable based inks, and Hayley reuses post packs when they are available. Her studio is also powered by 100% green energy.

Secondly, Heidi & Seek avoids sweatshop manufacturing. Instead, each garment is handmade in Melbourne by Hayley.

Due to difficulty sourcing these second-hand, the following are purchased new:
• Double-sided applique paper
• 'Heidi & Seek' garment labels
• Post packs when they aren't available for reuse
• Some thread, when the right coloured second-hand thread is not on hand
• Freezer paper
• Self-cover button parts and pinbacks

can you tell me more about exploited workers?

Sure. Many retailers stock their shelves with garments made by workers who receive inadequate pay and conditions. Factories in low-wage countries that don’t meet worker’s rights laws are referred to as sweatshops. But they aren’t the only culprits. Workers in the garment industry in Australia are taken advantage of as well.

Outworkers, machinists that make garments in their homes in Australia, account for 40% of total employment in the textile, clothing and footwear industry (2). They are usually migrant women. Often outworkers’ conditions are worse than factory workers’ (3).

• Outworkers can be paid as little as $2.50 per hour.
• Many work entire days, 7 days a week, during peak times. Other weeks they may have no work.
• Their employers may demand that they meet unrealistic deadlines or lose their job.
• Sometimes workers must enlist the help of friends, family, and even their children.
• They can suffer work-related injuries without compensation.
• Their home may become hazardous due to their work environment.
• They are left with two options: continue or lose their job.

Why on earth is this still happening in Australia, you ask? Well, supply chains for fashion labels can involve so many different companies that the labels can deflect responsibility. Plus the industry isn't policed well enough. The fashion labels supply what we buy, so if we want a change we have to become conscientious consumers.

what can you tell me about eco friendly fashion?

Synthetic and natural fabrics and dyes take their toll on the environment. Factories emit greenhouse gases in the manufacture of synthetic fabrics, and natural fibres like cotton use lots of water and pesticides. In addition, transportation at each stage of production and sale lifts carbon emissions even further.

Synthetic poison:
Most synthetic fabrics are manufactured using toxic chemicals that pollute waterways and the atmosphere. They pose health risks to the people who produce them and they are non-biodegrade. When they are disposed of, they pollute the soil with chemicals.

The problem with cotton:
Vast amounts of water and pesticides are used for clothes production – especially cotton, which makes up 40% of clothes worldwide (4). The average pesticides used on cotton are some of the most toxic there is (5). They contaminate local water and soil and damage the health of those working on cotton farms.

An average pair of cotton jeans requires over 10,000 litres of water to make the end product. An average t-shirt requires over 2,500 (4). Organic cotton is grown without pesticides, but its production still contributes to massive water consumption.

where can I find out more?

Here are a few relevant links:

"First, all of us as consumers need to think about the way we buy clothes. We're not here to make you feel guilty for buying cheap clothes. We're here to make you angry, to raise issues, and to point to some constructive solutions that companies can and should be engaging with." - 'Who pays for cheap clothes?' PDF (UK)

"...the garment industry remains one of the world’s most exploitative sectors, both towards people and to the environment" - Ethical Fashion Forum FAQ (US)

"Growing enough cotton for one t-shirt requires 257 gallons of water. On top of that, bleaching and then dyeing the resulting fabric creates toxins that flow into our ecosystem." - Environmentally-friendly Fashion (Clothing and Textiles)

"Cotton is woven through your world, forming half the globe's textile sales. Most cotton is not as environmentally benign as you might expect." - Organic cotton handout PDF

An internet search will provide a wealth of information about ethical fashion. You could look up textile waste, disposable fashion, throwaway culture, cotton pesticides, eco fashion and recycled fashion, just to name a few. There are many issues to learn and do something about.

Footnotes

(1) Ethical Clothing Trades Council Report, 2004, viewed 14 May 2008, http://www.business.vic.gov.au/busvicwr/_assets/main/lib60052/ethicalclothingtradescouncilreport.pdf (2) Productivity Commission 2003, Review of TCF assistance, Report No 26, Canberra, viewed 14 May 2008, http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/26822/tcf.pdf
(3) Diviney, E & Lillywhite, S, 2007, Brotherhood of St Lawrence, Ethical Threads: corporate social responsibility in the Australian garment industry, viewed 14 May 2008, http://www.nosweatshoplabel.com/_media/Diviney&Lillywhite_ethical_threads.pdf
(4) The water footprint of cotton consumption, September 2005, viewed 25 July 2008,
http://www.waterfootprint.org/Reports/Report18.pdf
(5) Organic Cotton: Production and Marketing Trends in the U.S. and Globally, viewed 14 May 2008,
http://www.sustainablecotton.org/html/resources/articles03.html

Last updated 4 June 2009
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