Fashion Is A Feminist Issue

I have long considered myself a feminist, but have only recently realized the deep ties between intersectional feminism and fashion. Before becoming a conscious consumer, when I thought about fashion I only thought about the clothes. But since becoming a conscious consumer I think about how clothes are made, what they’re made of, and who makes them. Women – especially young women – play an integral role in the global fashion industry. It is important to make sure your approach to feminism is intersectional. Gender equality cannot be truly reached until the most disenfranchised women have equal opportunities as well.

What Role Do Women Have In The Fashion Industry?

First, let’s put things in perspective. There are 75 million garment workers worldwide and 80% of them are women between the ages of 18 and 34. According to the Clean Clothes Campaign, garment workers receive only 0.6% of the cost of a standard T-shirt; “the persistent global gender gap in pay—on average women earn only 60 percent to 75 percent of men’s wages—is reflected in high poverty levels for women in garment jobs”. Last year I read Ashlee Piper’s book “Give A Sh*t”, which was mostly about adopting a zero/low-waste lifestyle and living more consciously. This paragraph about female garment workers is what inspired this post: “Even though the garment sector is composed of 80 percent women, making it the largest employer of females globally, such employment is at the bottom of the hierarchy, and less than 2 percent of those women earn a living wage“. In an interview with Bangladeshi female garment workers, the War On Want said “three quarters of the women workers we spoke to had been verbally abused at work and half had been beaten”. Sexual harassment is woven in the very veins of the garment industry. It can even become a part of a factory’s incentive structure when tolerated, ignored, or perpetuated by managers.

The last thing Ashlee Piper said in her book on the topic of women in fashion was “with statistics indicating over three quarters of garment workers worldwide are women, it’s time we started considering fashion as an industry intrinsically linked with the rights of women – from the lowest-paid factory jobs right up to corporate positions“.

The Connection Between Intersectional Feminism And Fashion

I have been a lot more conscious about making sure my feminism is intersectional over the past few years. “Intersectional” essentially means “that discrimination doesn’t exist in a bubble – different kinds of prejudice can be amplified in different ways when put together”. The idea of intersectional feminism is recognizing that Black women, trans women, indigenous women, Muslim women, and disabled women (among others) face more systematic discrimination than white women. A quote I often reflect on when thinking about intersectional feminism is this quote by Audre Lorde – “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own”.

Though I think about intersectional feminism and ethical fashion regularly, it was not until recently that I realized how these two things are intrinsically linked. If your feminist tee shirt was made possible by the exploitation of female garment workers, can you really call it a feminist tee shirt? No, you can’t.

Empowered women empower women – including the female garment workers who make their feminist tees with this exact slogan.

Now What?

This post is NOT meant to make you feel bad about the unethically made feminist tees you already own. By all means, wear those tees until they are falling apart at the seams. And when they’ve reached their last legs, turn them into a tee shirt blanket to use for the rest of your life. I own about 7 tees with feminist slogans and more than half were not made ethically. I will wear them until they cannot be worn again.

My goal is to make you think more critically about feminism, ethical fashion, and the intersection between the two. In the future, when you are thinking of purchasing a feminist tee, think about who made it. Does that brand have any transparency about their manufacturing standards? If not, ask them. Comment on their social media platforms, send a customer service email, post a photo tagging the brand with the hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes. These practices show companies that you care and that you plan to hold them accountable.

Additional Resources About Intersectional Feminism And Fashion

Want some cool ethically made feminist tees? Here are some of my favorite ethical shops that sell feminist stuff:

• The Outrage – their tees are ethically sourced and WRAP certified (World Responsible Accredited Production). Also the place where I got the shirt I wore in this post!
• The F Word Gift Shop – all of their tees come from Next Level Apparel, who is dedicated to the highest standards of social responsibility, including: no sweatshops, no child labor, and a WRAP certification.
• Shrill Society – all tees are made ethically and intentionally by women, with the environment and people in mind. though I will admit their information is a bit vague compared to the two above, accredited brands.
• Dazey LA – all tees are made to order in Los Angeles and all employees in the factory are paid a living wage

Look out for brands that are certified by outside organizations like WRAP or the Fair Labor Association. At the very least look for brands that discuss ethics in their mission statement or on their about page. If a brand has no information about their supply chain, manufacturing ethics, or factory standards, that’s a bad sign.

Want to know more about the connection between fashion and women’s rights? Check out these resources:

• The True Cost documentary
• Human Rights Watch “Follow The Thread: The Need For Supply Chain Transparency in the Garment and Footwear Industry“
• BSR “Empowering Female Workers in the Apparel Industry“
• Ashlee Piper’s book “Give A Sh*t”
• The Clean Clothes Campaign Tailored Wages
• Fashion Revolution (especially their garment worker diaries)
• HuffPost “Does Your Feminist T-Shirt Empower The Women Who Made It?“
• Get involved by joining Fashion Revolution’s “Fashion Revolution Week” by asking brands #WhoMadeMyClothes

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