Wear Nothing New

The Price of Cheap Fashion: Garment Factory Collapse in Bangladesh

By Hannah

Last week, 386 garment workers died and many more were hurt when a building collapsed in Savar, Bangladesh.  Three-hundred eighty-six lives.  For what?  So that brands like Walmart, Disney, and JC Penny can make a little more profit.

Bangladesh Factory Collapse: Is there blood on your shirt?

I wanted to share an interesting perspective on the recent tragedy in Bangladesh and how it's a reminder of the price of cheap fashion.   My sister posted this link on Facebook: 

Ethical Fashion: Is The Tragedy In Bangladesh A Final Straw?

Author Elizabeth Cline talks about the high price of cheap fashion and how our clothing is increasing coming from countries like China and Bangladesh.  She addresses the issue of shopping ethically on a budget.  Her advice?  Shop where you want to shop, but get more out of your clothing and don't treat it as disposable. 

 

Ballard Goodwill: Shoe and dress heaven

By Hannah

Last weekend, I made my second pilgrimage to the Ballard Goodwill and confirmed that they really do have the best dress selection of any Goodwill I've been to.  

This versatile black dress is by London Times. It falls to about the knee and has a ruffled detail along the neckline.  I almost broke down and bought a new dress because I was looking for something like this for so long.  Thank god.

The Ballard Goodwill also has a great shoe section, which I judge by color range, unique styles, good brands, and percentage of shoes that aren't totally gross.

I found these Born sandals for about $7! 

And these unique ankle-strap sandals by Nickle, which look like they've been hand-painted...  

Bonus: The Blue Glass Cafe is directly across the street and has great food (small and large plates) and an interesting bar menu.  You can wash your hands in their stainless steel sink filled with glass pebbles.

Pick of the Week: March 25, 2012

The clouds parted, a beam of light shone down, and these shoes manifested themselves in all their vinyl glory.

I found these ridiculous platforms at the Plato's Closet right by Southcenter Mall.  For $8, I couldn't pass up the chance to break my ankle in something so bright and sunny.  They are actually quite stable, but clunky to walk in.  As you can, they're Fergalicious.

-Hannah

Pick of the Week: March 18, 2012

 

Fantastic knit.

Cosmic color arrangement.

Orange sweater skirt.

 

My new favorite.  Found yesterday at Bargain World with no label and a mysterious past.  Only poetry can express my love.

-Hannah

In Loving Memory of Nina

Nina is a longtime family friend who passed away on Wednesday.  She has left the world a more beautiful place with all of her artwork and wonderful creations.  

These are earrings that Nina made from Shrinky Dinks (of all things).  I remember sitting in her kitchen as a kid, using colored pencils to draw elaborate illustrations onto the plastic sheets.  We would then carefully cut them out and bake them in the oven.  

I just love the rich color of these butterflies...or moths, I suppose.  The texture on the back even feels like a wing.  I will always remember Nina when I look at these earrings.

-Hannah

The Golden Kameez: An embroidered treasure from Goodwill

By Hannah

Last year, my friend Sally gave me this beautiful kameez she found at Goodwill.  It's an Indian tunic usually worn over pants called salwar.  The outfit using the two items together is called salwar kameez.  

I wore this last spring with some flowy black pants, which seemed to work okay.

Pick of the Week: February 26, 2012

It's a little wear-nothing-new for my living room wall.  I found this postcard-sized painting at Bargain World in Tacoma.  It's actually quite nicely done--the only decent piece of art I've ever seen at a thrift store.  It also reminds me of the Anza Borrego desert in southern California.

-Hannah

Blood Diamonds and Valentines: Social impacts of gemstones

By Hannah

We're finally done with all those sappy pre-Valentine's Day jewerly store ads, indicating that a woman's happiness can be bought with gold and gemstones.  However, this time of year serves as a good reminder that your jewelry may come with far heavier a price than you suspected.

Blood Diamonds

Last year, Tanya wrote a post about how she exchanged her new diamond engagement ring for a unique setting for some family diamonds.  Besides serious environmental impacts of mining, many diamonds sold around the world finance brutal civil wars and human rights atrocities in countries like Sierra Leone and Angola.  

I found a recent story on the U.N.-backed Kimberly Process--an international watchdog group that certifies "conflict free" diamonds.  In December, Global Witness--one of the group's NGO partners--pulled out, citing a controversial decision to certify diamonds from Zimbabwe's notorious Marange diamond fields. 

In a nutshell, the newly-appointed U.S. chair of the Kimberly Process--Gillian Milovanovic--is pushing to redefine the meaning of the term "conflict diamond."  The complexity of this issue and the incredible extent of corruption and violence in diamond-producing countries makes it very difficult to find untainted diamonds.  So, rather than taking a firm stand, the group is proposing to allow questionable diamonds into the market.  

What to do about blood diamonds?

This is a tough one...diamonds are a rare purchase to begin with, which makes it difficult for the average consumer to effect change through boycotts.  The important thing is to let jewelry retailers know that consumers care.  

Don't let Robert Mugabe be your Valentine. 

Other groups like Amnesty International are working on this issue.  I would also consider giving the White House a call about Ms. Milovanovic's job performance.

Pick of the Week: February 19, 2012

The "spooky tree dress," as I refer to it.  I found this last October, right before Halloween.  If I recall correctly, it's from Bellevue Goodwill.  The brand is blacked out.  Spooky.

-Hannah

Pick of the Week: February 12, 2012

I love the orange ginkgo leaves on this stretchy XXI tunic/dress has I found at Urban Exchange in downtown Tacoma.  At $8 it was a little overpriced for something well-worn enough to be pilly, but it is unusual.

-Hannah