How Dressember’s Ethical Fashion Directory can help you on your ethical fashion journey
It’s the weekend, I’m downtown with my friends, and we’re about to do some major retail therapy. As we walk down the street, I suddenly stop in my tracks. In the window, I behold the most beautiful pair of gold statement earrings I’ve ever seen. We walk into the shop and I try them on. In my head, I picture myself wearing them with every outfit I own.
Just then, my friend whispers, “Hey, I heard that this brand has some shady business practices. Maybe don’t give them your money.”
Way to burst my bubble. But I look it up and she’s right. So, I shed a tear and put the earrings back.
When shopping, it’s sometimes hard to know what brands and products we should avoid. Because our society is so increasingly connected through the internet, it’s not hard to see how the choices we make affect others—directly or indirectly. When we buy items from companies whose products are manufactured by people in sweatshops, we are condoning their practices. As a consumer, it’s difficult to know which brands we can support with a clean conscience.
The game changed for me, however, when I discovered Dressember’s Ethical Fashion Directory.
The directory was created to take the guesswork out of ethical shopping. The homepage features shops that are committed to ethical practices—and as an added bonus, some shops offer a discount code at checkout! You can browse the featured shops, or find a specific product using the search bar. You can also narrow down your search by applying filters. Look for products within a category, style or price range. And the directory is not limited to clothing—find ethically-sourced and made craft supplies, toys, and home goods as well!
When researching the directory’s featured brands, Dressember uses the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) four fundamental principles and rights at work:
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
Elimination of all forms of forced labor.
Effective abolition of child labor.
Elimination of discrimination at work.
Madeline Kronenberg, Dressember’s Communications Manager, said that whenever a brand requests to be listed on the Ethical Fashion Directory, Dressember does the homework to figure out if that brand is compliant with ILO's four fundamental principles.
Madeline Kronenberg, Dressember’s Communication Manager
“Most brands who are compliant will indicate this on their website whether that is having a page on their website about their values, sharing the factories they work with, displaying a fair trade badge, or stating their compliance explicitly,” Kronenberg said. “If we have doubts that a brand is compliant, we will reach out to them directly to ask.”
Kronenberg shared the additional criteria that Dressember looks for when researching ethical brands.
“In addition to ILO's four fundamental principles, we're looking for brands who know where their clothes are made, what the factory conditions are like, and have relationships with the artisans they work with,” she said. “We believe this should be the standard in the fashion industry which is why it is important for us to highlight brands who are leading the way.”
Kronenberg said that she feels that the Ethical Fashion Directory has just scratched the surface. “We're looking forward to watching it grow as we receive recommendations from our community,” she said. “There are truly ethical alternatives to nearly everything we buy.”
And she’s right.
While browsing Dressember’s Ethical Fashion Directory, I came across a perfect pair of gold-and-silver statement earrings from the Starfish Project, a Dressember-featured website—and they were just as cute as the unethically made ones at the downtown shop.
The Starfish Project helps free exploited women and girls in Asia and equips them with vocational training, healthcare, shelter, counseling and education grants through a holistic care program. In addition, they have a social enterprise program where women create jewelry and become managers, accountants, graphic designers, and photographers. On the brand’s website, you can read “stories of hope” from the women whose lives have been changed through the program.
Using the Ethical Fashion Directory, I don’t have to wonder if a product I want to buy is ethical—I know it is!
And I know it can help you on your ethical fashion journey, too.
About the Author
Micaela Ricaforte is a senior journalism major at Azusa Pacific University. In addition to writing, she is passionate about storytelling through photography and design.