HUMANITY IN FASHION
It has latey come to the attention of myself and the rest of the world that outdoor fashion giant: The North Face has been using feather down from force fed geese in Hungary.
When first presented with this information I was not only angry but sickened to my very core. However after a little research I am now aware of the bigger picture. Bi-products from the meat industry such as leather, and in this case down, have been through a process which is very difficult to trace however it seems that we can assume that in most cases, the creatures who have given there lives to sustain ours, have almost always suffered.
It does not in any way justify one act of cruelty over another, but it highlights a change in human kind. It seems that over time we are forgetting what is important, we are loosing respect for the living and turning them into soulless machines from which we harvest product and label them “Luxury”.
My main focus is of course the fashion industry, an industry increasingly under scrutiny for its lack of basic humanity. An industry that not only encourages human starvation in the name of beauty, that uses under age models, turns the other cheek on animal cruelty and openly accepts racism, slavery and drug use.
This is why i often find myself wondering why i am associating myself with such an industry. After years of pondering what I can do to change things, I have desided to start with the basics of Human acceptance.
My next project will be inclusive of all women, not only the skinny model types, not only white, blonde 16 year olds but all women of various age, race and body type. Once i have established myself as a humane designer, in human terms i will then have the struggle of establishing myself as an animal friendly brand. This will of course take time as sourcing and supply chain is the most difficult element of production for small brands but rest assured that this remains a focus for me and my brand.
xoxo LLM
(Source: Daily Mail)