Over and over in this comm, I read complaints about the price of clothing. I get that most people are on a budget, but it's a source of dismay that I have not once seen any pushback concerning the kinds of labor practices that make clothing cheap -- in particular, the kind of fast fashion that seems to be most popular here.
Here's a blog post
(
Read more... )
However, the choices for fatties and clothing is SO limited to begin with, if we wanted to shop ethically......there's almost no where to go. We cant run around naked (though, I suppose if we did people would start selling more plus size clothes, cause they'd be appalled by all the nekkid fatties lol)
I'd love to have a discussion about ethics and modes of production - and even better have some suggestions given for sustainable options for us to shop. "I've been reading this comm for over a year now and I have never seen anyone express the slightest concern about where the clothes come from or what impact purchasing them might have. It freaks me out more than a little." This comment feels, to me, very shame-inducing. For a community who deals with shame on a daily basis, I don't know if that was the right tone to take. If you had taken a different tone, one of open discussion instead of accusation I think you'd get a better response. (and my response here isn't meant to be flammey)
That said, us complaining about prices is a really complex issue. The clothing we CAN buy is made in these horrible factories and is still ridiculously expensive. There's a double standard - plus size clothing companies know they have a monopoly (because 'regular' stores like bigotry) so they can charge what they want. If I need to jeans and only two stores near me sell them in my size.....I HAVE to pay the $110 for them. Cause I need pants. This is in addition to the multiple compounded identity politics that can cause people to have fixed incomes, or strict budgets or a variety of reasons that make the cost of something an actual issue. And this is an international community and if you've been reading for a year you've probably noticed that there's a significant difference between countries and access to clothing for fatties. I'm Canadian and I've got 2 stores dedicated to plus sizes and then 2 1/2 other stores that offer a plus size section. And 3 of those stores are owned by the same parent company. lol
And I think we have a right to be upset about that.
Do you have any suggestions for ethical shopping?
Reply
Leave a comment