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Ethics and Fashion

Last Updated on February 26, 2019 by Nare - Johns Hopkins University
This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you purchase through our links. Please read our full disclosure here.
Compass

Where does your moral compass point? | Photo Credit

Let’s consult Merriam and Webster for the definition of the word “Ethics:” an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior. Ethics is on the crossroad of fashion and politics. It deals with topics like PR, outsourcing, customer coercion, cultural appropriation, taxes, etc., but ultimately, the questions elevate themselves to the bigger ones: for or against capitalism and for or against censorship?

Ethical Consumption

“There is no ethical consumption under late capitalism” has almost turned into a meme recently. Popular t-shirts with “this is what a feminist looks like” written on them, a result of collaboration between ELLE UK and Fawcett Society – Britain’s largest women’s advocacy group – turned out to be made in a sweatshop in Mauritius, where workers got paid about a dollar an hour and slept 16 to a room.

The initial response was to be outraged: liberal feminism had failed to be inclusive again. Then it got worse, because the problem turned out to be bigger. You are probably wearing something made in a sweatshop right now, because, as mentioned earlier, “there is no ethical consumption under late capitalism.” In order to keep prices as low as they are in America now, businesses have to outsource for cheap labor.

F 21 tee bitter sweet

What buying fast fashion feels like. | Photo Credit

So, should we be angelic in our shopping habits and simply quit buying dubiously cheap jeans? Maybe this isn’t a bad idea. There are many ethical shopping guides available online and it has been proven that experiences, rather than ownership of material things, cause happiness in life.

Getting one quality t-shirt may be better than three different cheap designs, even regardless the terrible working conditions, but the question of whether we as consumers, as broke college students, are responsible for ethical consumption remains. In part, it is the corporations’ responsibility to be ethical, and in part, Departments of Labor should be better at their jobs.

According to Zizek, choosing ethically made products is a way to soothe our conscience without directly addressing the problem. It also may be a form of customer coercion: TOMS may not be the best shoe producer, but it helps shoeless children, so you buy a pair.

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t always be alert and responsible in our buying choices, because all choices would be ethical, but for now, unless we are ready to start a revolution and treat the citizens of developing countries with the same respect we treat ours, some form of anti-consumerist ethical shopping is encouraged. Everyone says, “personal is political.” To hell with $5 tees made by Indian children.

Offensive Fashion

Social justice warriors get offended all the time and rightfully so, but the fact doesn’t matter much. To quote Stephen Fry:

“It’s now very common to hear people say, ‘I’m rather offended by that,’ as if that gives them certain rights. It’s no more than a whine. It has no meaning, it has no purpose, it has no reason to be respected as a phrase.”

Nothing has universal meaning: neither religion nor orientation, neither history nor trauma.

On one hand, the world, of course, doesn’t owe you the comfort of “not offended:” I may believe in the religion of the Great Purple Elf King, and if someone decides to print it on toilet paper that will be offensive, but I will understand that my set of values shouldn’t match others’ to be important.

On the other hand, social justice is a mere suggestion to reconsider. “So many people feel bad about this,” it says, “maybe you should consider not being mean.” It asks us to examine the sources of our opinions and on which accepted axioms they rest. It is not censorship; it’s an invitation not to be a bigot.

For example, in Louie: It’s not saying that you can’t say the word “faggot,” it’s suggesting you understand what it means for other people and only then make your choice to use it. Asking Nicki Minaj to remove her Nazi-inspired music video is censorship and isn’t acceptable because of the fundamental right of free speech, but asking her to reconsider and apologize is only ethical.

Nicki Minaj Only

Sweet odor of provocation. | Photo: Screenshot

Another case of supposedly unethical behavior is cultural appropriation: the use of elements of another, usually oppressed culture by the dominant culture. Here, I agree with its criticism: culture is something to be shared. Artists play a thousand different roles; it’s usually about unity of cultures, a tribute, a play that has little to do with stealing traditions or complicated pasts. After all, wars are purely political and use humans as tools. Sharing of cultures can be a protest against it, too.

While everyone can have an opinion on the issues of offensive fashion, we must not forget that, in the end, it is for the offended group to decide if something crosses the line of acceptable.

Ethical PR

Feminism potty mouthed

Hmm… “Using feminism and a shock element to sell uninspired tees?” | Photo: Screenshot

A danger of our fixation on social justice is the companies’ use of it for PR. If a release is on the border of offensive, it is bound to cause conversations both pro and against.

A recent example is children cursing to promote feminism and sell t-shirts. It is a paradox to talk about it, thus helping the company’s not-so-noble cause of selling ideas without actually benefiting the political movement in any way, but this is only one example of businesses monetizing the recent popularity of social justice. Have they found the one common millennial hook called quasi-libertarian equality? Should we let them use it?

Thoughts?

Is it a personal responsibility to be ethical? Can culture always be shared? Is it ethical to use feminism like a brand? Tell us in the comments.

Tags : Culture, ethical fashion, Feminism, Politics

8 Comments
Originally published on November 13, 2014
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Comments

  1. Kira says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:47 pm

    I’d like to make a point about your “culture is for sharing” opinion on cultural appropriation.

    I don’t think anyone who is frustrated with cultural appropriation wants every culture to stay locked within a perfect box and never changed. The issue with cultural appropriation is twofold:

    1) Dominant culture taking the signifiers of a culture (clothing, religious items, ceremonies) and praising them, but specifically degrading people from whom the items originate. The look of the culture matters, but not the people who actually live with it. For example, if wearing a kimono makes you “cool and exotic” if you’re part of the majority and “fresh off the boat and a stupid foreigner” if you’re a minority, that’s cultural appropriation.

    2) “Taking” culture versus “embracing” culture. When cultural signifiers have the culture stripped out by majority culture, it’s hard for minorities to not feel robbed of an important part of their identity. An example of this would be the Catrina from the Day of the Dead. Reducing symbol of death, remembrance, and even political satire to a “sexy sugar skull from Mexican Halloween” is extremely disrespectful, and cultural appropriation.

    To use your own words, the critique of cultural appropriation an invitation not to be a bigot. I’ve never met someone of any culture who doesn’t get excited at someone wanting to participate in a different culture. Go forth and attend Diwali festivals, watch Chinese opera, celebrate Kwanzaa, and march in a Dia de Muertos parade, no matter what culture you come from. Just be sure you’re actually interested in learning about another culture, not exocitizing it.

    Reply
  2. Jasmine says

    April 15, 2019 at 11:32 am

    Round of applause for Kira!!!

    Reply
  3. Mariah says

    April 15, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    I just want to say thanks to people in the comments for properly explaining what cultural appropriation is to me. Ever since the issue has come up in the media, I have been so beyond confused about what it actually is because people were saying different things everywhere I looked. Thank you.

    Reply
  4. Ashley says

    April 15, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    Yes^

    Reply
  5. mariam says

    April 15, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    ^agree with above

    (my first thought upon reading this was …”she’s white” because there’s that brand of social justice advocates who are white middle class and not intersectional and bleh that’s what some parts of this article reminded me of)

    Reply
  6. Simona says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:38 pm

    Love your posts Nare! Thanks for discussing challenging issues which are so equivocal but also intellectually stimulating and thought provoking. they always stand out among other trivial posts on how to look great for less! Also written with such a poignant style of yours.

    Reply
  7. lulu says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:38 pm

    as a chicana woman i completely agree with kira. most of the time, people who dont understand cultural appropriation think that we simply dont want other people enjoying our culture, but it goes beyond that. all we want is respect.

    in my experience, when i have talked about dia de muertos in the past, i have been labeled and insulted by people from other cultures who didnt understand why us crazy mexicans celebrate death (their words not mine). but since recently sugar skulls have become popular, people tend to reduce the whole celebration to the makeup and dont even try to understand the origin or symbolism of the entire celebration. the most disrespectful thing that has come out of it is that it has even become a halloween costume. let me get this straight: DIA DE MUERTOS IS NOT HALLOWEEN! if you truly respect my culture and want to share the experience with us then you will see no problem in educating yourselves and listening to us when we say something is offensive/disrespectful.

    anyway sorry not sorry for the rant. its just that i have experienced discrimination for appreciating and celebrating my own culture while at the same time white people get praised for looking edgy or unique when they do sugar skull makeup, wear embroidered dresses/shirts/dress like cholas, etc.

    on another note, thank you for including the link for the guide on ethical consumption. this has been on my mind recently so this was very helpful 🙂

    Reply
  8. Sheeba says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:39 pm

    I agree with Kira completely. We welcome people from outside our culture into our culture. But please don’t use it as a marketing stratergy else where

    And with the article writer as well.
    I am from India which even to many outside of the Indian subcontinent is a land of monkey, snake charmers and spices. But it isnt just that you know. Not every woman carries a pot on her head. Not every man wears a turban. And not every Indian has a skin tone of caramel or other darker shades. People in North India are extremely fair you know!

    But one thing I’d like to share is that, I agree that labour laws arent strictly being followed and there are people earning a $1 = Rs 65 wage a day. But boycotting such products doesn’t do any harm to the company selling them you know? They affect those labourers who then won’t even get a proper day’s wage and then starve. The only way one can hope to tackle such a situation is to directly go to the company and tell them to make amends and increase wages.

    Hope I wasn’t too rude. I can sometimes get carried away. Thank you for reading my comment! Hope I helped in some way.

    Reply

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