Ethical and Affordable Retailers to Shop During This Time
There is a lot going on surrounding the fashion industry during these times of the pandemic and BLM. Recently more well known brands are receiving harsh criticism as they have come into the spotlight around ethics, which currently relates to mostly racism and unethical behavior in the supply chain. Whether the brands are not paying for the clothes which have already been manufactured by garment factories or trying to broker a deal to lower the price than contracted prior to the pandemic. It is amazing that these brands are finally getting called out and I think they deserve it! However, that leaves us (concerned citizens) with a choice. We can either find new businesses to support when buying OR we can continue supporting these brands who are not honorable, despite the price on a tag. I highly recommend taking the pandemic ‘pause’ to find some new, ethical and affordable places to shop. If you need some inspiration I am here to help.
I want to start off by shedding light on some known brands NOT to shop because they are unethical. I am not going into detail about why they are not brands to shop at, but I will have a hyperlink attached to the brands name which goes into detail. If you are interested in reading more about brands making poor decisions, there are many more on this website: Sportswear International
Reformation: Reformation has been called out on their recent racism in connection to the BLM.
Urban Outfitters/Free People/ Anthropologie: The URBN inc companies have also participated in the racism throughout their stores.
American Eagle: American Eagle has not been paying their factories fairly throughout this quarantine.
Revolve: Revolve is not diverse in the company
Abercrombie: Abercrombie has made racist remarks in their retail stores to African American employees.
Shein: Shein has been unethical in the way their clothes are made in the factories with poor workers rights.
Aritzia: Aritzia has been racist with the recent BLM movement with offensive social media.
Levis: Levis is not committed to paying their factory workers the right amount of money for what they have produced.
Now, here are some stores who are doing the right thing during this time and comply within ethical rules (researched by Travel&Leisure and Sportswear International):
Inditex: despite being fast fashion, they have made efforts to both pay their factory orders completely and support inclusivity
If you are looking for some smaller affordable brands to support during this time in addition to the big brands listed above, here are some good brands to shop: ( Here)
I hope my insights and providing you a very lengthy list of responsible retailers which you can support, will help grow these businesses instead of rewarding the unethical ones for their behaviors throughout the pandemic. As consumers, we have the power to support businesses that are doing good and punish the ones that are not. It is our choice as global citizens. If you are looking for a way to help, this is one way.