Why I will still shop at the Gap; why I will buy less
The knee-jerk reaction of many socially conscious people (i.e., self-righteous lefties, including yours truly) to mention of brands like the Gap, Old Navy, and Nike is “Big Corporations BAD. Big Corporations = SWEATSHOPS. ” In fact, we buy into this mantra so wholeheartedly that we often fail to investigate its validity. Case in point: I had never actually read Gap’s stance on social responsibility. I had heard a few news stories about Gap getting busted for child labor use (they did. It was bad. But they addressed the problem), and assumed that there was nothing more to be said on the subject. In fact, Gap’s Code of Vendor Conduct almost identical to those of Topshop and other UK brands that I was raving about a few days ago. Of course, it is important to remember that this is all based on the Gap’s self-assessment, and it is virtually impossible to know how closely its practices are followed, or for that matter, how much control Gap has over their sourcing in the first place (they assent to as much on their site). The same is true for many of the companies that have decent rankings for social responsibility. But companies like Gap have a lot at stake, public image-wise, if they are caught violating their own code of ethics. And that shows the power of the consumer and the media to influence business practices, which is pretty inspiring.
Make it last, make it work
In my experience of shopping at the Gap (either directly or via consignment stores), their clothes do last. And their jeans fit. Really well. So if buying basics from the Gap means that I will have them for years and will be able to create more outfit options from clothes I already own, then I feel okay about that. So much of this journey (for me at least) will be about re-evaluating my relationship with stuff, versus buying more stuff just because it’s “green” or “sweatshop free” (coming soon is a closer look at what all of those labels even mean).
The first step in the re-evaluation process has been to get a handle on the things that I do have, and decide how I can restyle, tailor, alter, and otherwise revamp my current wardrobe. This inspired a some major closet re-organization, which forced me to:
A) take a good hard look at how much stuff I have and how little of it I actually wear;
B) find creative ways to make these items wearable OR otherwise put them to good use
The Great Closet Overhaul began last week with a much-dreaded trip to Ikea; a detailed narrative of the process and some (hopefully) useful solutions coming soon. In the meantime, here's a little more Fair Trade goodness brought to you by People Tree and the ever-adorable Emma Watson: