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Why Care? Ethical Brands All Brands Discounts DIY Accessories Activewear Bags Basics Beauty Denim Everyday Wear Food Footwear Intimates & Pyjamas Online Marketplaces Swimwear Zero Waste Alternatives Yoga Interviews Movers & Shakers Resources all apps books watch podcasts About What is Ethical Made Easy? Contact

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Read: Wardrobe Crisis

Read: Wardrobe Crisis

booksKate HallFebruary 13, 2019Comment

Read: Rise & Resist

Read: Rise & Resist

booksKate HallFebruary 1, 2019Comment

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I started Ethical Made Easy as a place for myself to have all brands that care about the quality of the people who make their clothes lives, in one easy to navigate space. This year, we're adding in extra features - values based & location based are big ones that are going to be added, but I wonder, how do you search for clothes that are ethically made?

Is it value based, location-based or price? Is it businesses that talk about the positive stories that take place as part of what they create? Are you still struggling to work it out, and want to know where to start?
What you comment below, will help shape this platform for how it's used, and what we spend time creating in the future. So share away below, and help shape the future of this site👇🏼

“You’ll be so proud of me, I just dropped off four bags full of clothes to the op shop!” She says, as she grabs another skirt off the sale rack ‘just coz’. When you gather a pile of unwanted clothes, the usual response these days, is to drop them at the op shop, or shove them in those wide mouthed metal donation bins. Although you may think this is the best option for unwanted items, think again.
Op shops have become the new landfill.

They’re a reason for feeling good about fast fashion habits, and the cause behind the startling hidden world of the second-hand clothing trade. What? So, I’m not a saint for giving my stained t-shirts to the salvation army?
In Australia, The Salvation Army alone spends $6 million a year on landfill fees.
Only about 5% of donated goods actually make it to the shop floor: the rest is sent to landfill (at a huge cost to the charity), or shipped overseas to third world countries.
Phew, you may be thinking, at least those in need get our seconds! Nope: the story gets worse. The second-hand clothing trade in places such as Haiti and parts of Africa, has become so dominating, that locally trading seamstresses have been forced out of work. Traditional sewing techniques have been lost, and individuals can no longer live off the stable income of tailoring and making. Instead, they live in a daily gamble with the variable quality of second-hand clothes; they never know what will arrive on their shores, and what will be in sellable condition. And where do their unsold clothes end up? In landfill.
Sorry to burst your bubble for a second time, but donating to an op shop does not give you a free pass to purchase five miniskirts in one afternoon.
To learn more about Op Shop Etiquette, head on over to the link in bio, hit why care and find this image. It'll be sure to both shock, and give you practical solutions.

Honest: exactly how we like our clothing and the companies we spend our money with.
via the absolute legends @thehonestjones.

The minimum wage for garment factory workers in Bangladesh, was raised by 51% in December 2018. You may read this and consider it a huge win, a giant success, and complete accomplishment for Bangladeshi garment workers. Sure, it’s a huge step in the right direction, but rather than leap for joy, we’re unimpressed.

A minimum wage is not humane. A minimum wage does not represent a fair compensation for making clothes, working 100+ hours of overtime every month, all while being exposed to unsafe and unpleasant working conditions. A minimum wage is not something for fashion companies to be proud of.

A minimum wage keeps a fashion company above the law; a living wage keeps a fashion company respectful of its people.

We broke down the difference between a minimum and living wage, and why it’s important to know the difference over on the site. Head to the link in bio, hit why care and find this picture to get clued up on all things fair wages.