question for those of you interested in fashion:

[purldrop]

how do you feel about all of these big-named designers doing lines for major discount chain stores? i just read today's daily candy about Abaeté doing a line for Payless Shoes. isn't it still crap produced in crappy conditions in some crappy sweatshop??? isn't that one of the reasons we like fancy designers?...because designer items are produced by

Comments

[floridfauna]

when i first heard about the idea of the big designers teaming up with target, i was totally psyched, thinking (foolishly) that for once there would be some quality stuff offered to more, for less. but so far all of the items i've perused have not only been less-than-interesting design-wise, they've been of the same crappy craftsmanship as the rest of the target ilk. it definitely smacks of cashing-in (on the part of the desingners and the big companies) on the average status-obsessive's need for more...bling. tho bling it does not.

i think though, that while the problem exists in large part because of companies sacrificing quality/common morality in order to make millions, they wouldn't do so if it didn't work. it's wrong to place all of the blame on consumers for a number of reasons but it's obvious that en masse, there is a serious lack of interest in the subject. i don't know if it's laziness or apathy or preoccupation with what are considered to be larger issues (though we know it's all interconnected) but i feel like most people really don't place a high priority on quality. and those who do are seen as elitists--there are definitely some class issues at work here.
anyway, i think the solution exists through spreading awareness, so yeah. thanks for the outlet, erin! now how do we voice this on a larger scale?

[purldrop]

i don't know! i hope that my shop does this a bit, but who am i kidding? i own a cute "boutique" in Brooklyn, NYC! that's not very subversive or political. but i still get my fair share of people wandering out loud why things are so expensive (my shop is way less expensive than your average NYC boutique, by the way) when they direct this question at me, i tell them exactly why... and they usually take a different tone and seem interested. but usually they're just being rude and talking to a friend. just yesterday, 2 women were looking at my crochet earrings and asking about them, price, material, etc...and when i asked if they'd like me to take them out of the case, one girl said, "no, i think i can make those" so, yeah, a little bit off topic...but still- consumer awareness of how things are made/by whom is really, really low. i don't necessarily blame consumers directly, but it seems like that's where change is gonna have to come from. it's encouraging to find that there is a growing consumer demand for eco-fabrics and sweatshop free clothing...but there's still a really long road ahead...