Bring Back God
One of the 'fleshly' appetites I have to try hard to keep in check is my love of designer clothes - I'm not into flash but I really love quality and I have some brands that I'm pretty loyal to. This is now compounded by the fact that fashion is an industry not exactly renowned for its ethical record - right now as I speak GAP are reeling from recently being busted (again) for using factories that employ child labour. But check this out - a designer with not only an ethical but also a spiritual conscience! London based Katherine Hamnett made her name in the 80's with those oversize T-Shirts saying 'CHOOSE LIFE' as worn by Wham. As with everything in fashion what goes around comes around but in the last 25 years the cultural goalposts have shifted. The new range of slogans include the superb 'BRING BACK GOD'. Her website describes the idea like this:
"Why isn’t there just nothing? Nobody knows how life started. Darwinism is just part of the answer and all other possibilities have to be considered equally valid including a supernatural one, including a creator. The right to believe in a God is one of our civil liberties."
So will I soon be cleansing my label conscience in one of these organic cotton tees, printed in the UK with water-based, environmentally friendly printing inks? Not at £40 a pop I won't!
4 comments:
Matt,
Are GAP really going to be reeling from being 'exposed' for using child labour? There never seems to be an end to the multiple tarnishing of companies through unethical behaviour. Anyone remember Nestle in the 80's? Nike in the 90's? How true and to what depths fact becomes myth is anyone's guess.
But that's not the real point here. Nestle are still around, Nike is still going strong and I'm guessing so will GAP. As long as there is a demand for quality clothing with a swoosh there will always be someone who provides and profits from it. It is the same with Fairtrade. Are we to start labelling every other product unfairly traded? As long as there are people wanting a Nescafe cup of 'coffee at it's best' then there will always be Nescafe. The conundrum in ethical trading lies in the balance between responsibilty lying with the companies versus responsibility lying with the consumer. The company will not provide a product that's not wanted. If a product is demanded the company will provide..."so will I soon be cleansing my label conscience in one of these organic cotton tees, printed in the UK with water-based, environmentally friendly printing inks? Not at £40 a pop I won't"...it leaves me wondering what is an acceptable price for demanding ethical behaviour?
...for a t-shirt, about 20 quid!
update: ASDA are now selling certified organic cotton jeans for £20 (right opposite the row of £3 'smartprice' jeans which just cannot be kosher!)
A Bring Back God shirt but a pro-choice supporter?
Sounds a bit ironic, how we want God, but we are willing to kill the most defenseless of all: the unborn.
I just can't support someone who has shirts that are in direct conflict with each other.
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