If next week you spot someone walking round the office, down the street or driving past you with their clothes on inside out, don’t be freaked. You’ll likely see #fashrev trending in the next few weeks as we get closer to Fashion Revolution day, which is set for the 24^th of April. The rationale is that consumers wearing their clothes inside out want to ask big brands – who made my clothes?

After the infamous Bangladesh factory collapse and the lightning fast social media shares soon after, it’s evident that we care where our clothes come from. And it sucks to say it, but sweatshops are not just Nike in the 90s. It’s still happening, and it’s still not cool and it keeps on happening. It happens in Asia, in Eastern Europe and in Italy, where Chinese factories produce fake bags and accessories. I have been guilty of the sin of buying a fake LV bag and shopping at Primark out of boredom during a trip in Dublin. I was young, and I wanted to buy something I wanted in the cheapest possible way. 

Luckily things have changed and I have developed a pet hate for what I call fast food fashion: you buy an item, which is not going to make it to the next season. Poor quality doesn’t last, so you buy a lot and low quality. Amongst my generation, there is an increasing number of people who are more conscious about their fashion choices, and it is not all about wearing the latest kit.

Luckily things have changed and I have developed a pet hate for what I call fast food fashion: you buy an item, which is not going to make it to the next season. Poor quality doesn’t last, so you buy a lot and low quality. Amongst my generation, there is an increasing number of people who are more conscious about their fashion choices, and it is not all about wearing the latest kit.

Luckily things have changed and I have developed a pet hate for what I call fast food fashion: you buy an item, which is not going to make it to the next season. Poor quality doesn’t last, so you buy a lot and low quality. Amongst my generation, there is an increasing number of people who are more conscious about their fashion choices, and it is not all about wearing the latest kit.

Wherever we shop for groceries, when we buy our meat and eggs, we are offered a free range or factory produced product. The same option doesn’t apply to clothes. You might think that – by shopping at the upper end of the market – you would be protected from subsidising terrible work conditions in factories, but unfortunately this is not true. There are ranges of ethical clothes in organic cottons and natural fibres, but they look like a good fit for hugging trees hippies and not compatible with office attire.                                                       Amongst the fashion houses, I can only think about Stella McCarthy as someone who took clear position about the ethical clothes, and I salute her for this. You would think that everything Made in Italy doesn’t involve poor work conditions, but you cannot really be sure. A product get the stamp of approval “made in Italy” if only a small percentage of its production happens in Italy, so most companies outsource the largest amount of their production elsewhere, leaving to final touches to the Italians.