Monday, November 05, 2018

Features for Fall 2018


FEATURES

  • Fast Fashion "One day you're in, the next day you're out" by Sahar Mahmood
  • To Fur or not To Fur by Catherine Robertson Bailey
  • Black Market Sales in a Burgeoning Dark World by Sara Anuseva
  • The Thrifting Gods: 96 Tears by Yara Bourgi

BACKUPS

  • Veganism: Should you? Should you not? by Nicole Viccica
  • The Future of Fashion

Possibilities for George in the City:


  • Joshua Emmanuel: Designing the Future Trends for Canadian Men’s Fashion
  • The interview of a former student of George Brown College by Agnes Epele

Is Fast Fashion Dirty Fashion ?

As fashionistas we are all trying to be on top of the latest trends by strutting our “new” pieces. In 2018 the retro vintage look has swept our nation with trying to achieve the grooviest looks. By shopping vintage or thrift we can set ourselves apart from the rest of the crowd with individualism and fun unique looks. However, thrift shopping can be very time consuming and the customer has to know all the good spots but reusing clothing is actually helping the environment by slowing down the demand for fast fashion therefore reducing the damaging effects on the earth. Fast fashion also has a huge strain on the people who are actually making the garments in below average working conditionals in third world countries.

The Clothing industry is actually in second place for the world’s biggest polluters next to the oil industry. That issue alone should be on our minds a lot more as consumers of everyday shopping.When shopping we need to be more conscious about the end use of all our products we buy, although we have all been in the tight position of not knowing what to wear out on a Saturday night where we find ourselves running out to the mall to get a one time wear outfit. Sometimes it’s not avoidable. We are faced with fast fashion everyday even by being on our phones with all the Instagram promotional pages of new “cheap” brands that you cannot get in store.

We basically don’t even need to go shopping, shopping comes to us nowadays. Dressing ourselves has never been more controversial. Do we strictly shop ethical or do you shop accessible? Even the most environmentally conscious people cannot be ethical 100% of the time it’s just the world we live in unfortunately. We have all purchased that jacket on sale at Zara one time or another!

As we focus on prices that go with ethical clothing brands its can be a little outrageous at times. Are we willing to pay more for an ethical piece of clothing? I think we need to take this into consideration when buying our next stand out piece. Maybe spending more on products that will have a better life cycle and have a less impact on the environment is the way to go. In this economy prices of everything are going up so this really shouldn’t be a huge shock. Plus I believe that this is the direction that the industry is going, making pieces more unique and specialized with tactics such a dyeing clothing with all natural compounds like turmeric.

Talking to a style specialist at Nordstrom, Julian Jamie has this to say about fast fashion, “I hate fast fashion, I think it’s boring and predictable. I don’t see the charm in wearing a piece that everyone else in the city has that’s not setting ourselves apart. As the young generation of the world we have to take matters into our hands and take responsibility of our actions. As clothes enthusiast we need invest in our day to day outfits that will have a longer timeless lifecycle. Supporting brands that are locally made or even in our own country with people we are being paid at least minimum wage is very important to me."

In retrospect we don’t want to take away jobs from people who are making our clothing overseas, and most of our population cannot afford to be spending a huge sum on a jacket or a pair of jeans so fast fashion stores like Forever 21 and H&M have more welcoming prices. This is an everyday struggle we face whether we choose to think about it or not. I know a lot of people have the mindset of having more pieces of clothing at a lower price than less clothing for a higher price. With age I know this way of thinking will change, as we grow up and learn more about the world around us I think the idea of being more minimalistic and reducing our end waste is something that will come to the ultimate forefront.

A few steps we have take into a better fashion future is combining science and technology such as growing our materials out of algae and bacteria. An amazing startup company in Australia called “1 Million Women” are making yarn out of food waste! This startup is starting an amazing conversation around the world on living a low-carbon life. This can be a huge contributor to the waste problem and has such potential to be the sole renewable outlet for making clothing. The more we talk about the fashion waste issues we are having and bringing it to light I believe we can make a difference for our planet earth that we call home and take back the ugly from day to day beauty.

The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry


Imagine finding out your favourite foundation; the one you spent months trying out different formulas and shades, was tested on animals. Would you make the switch to a cruelty free brand or would you continue using it?

Many feel very strongly about only using cruelty free products and others feel that all cosmetic products must be tested on animals in order to properly determine if a product is safe for human use. I got my makeup done at Sephora Eaton Centre, I interviewed my makeup artist Natalie on her own personal views on the topic of animal testing.

Natalie (who’s real name has been changed for privacy purposes) has been working at Sephora for the past three years as a Beauty Advisor. She only uses cruelty free products on herself and takes advantage of the wide range of options that Sephora has to offer. She’s been vegan for four years and decided to make the switch to use animal friendly products upon discovering that many of her own were not vegan. Natalie mentioned that it was not easy to give up some of her products, but she quickly found substitutes and new favourites. She mentioned the Body Shop and Tarte to be some of her go to brands, which are generally very popular among the conscious consumers.

While Natalie only uses cruelty free products herself, she still uses all brands on her clients when providing a makeup application service or recommending products to customers. Although it goes against her personal preferences, she is a professional makeup artist and always satisfies the wants and needs of her clients.

Natalie feels it is not right to test products on animals and that it is inhumane to put them through undeserving pain and suffering. Canada is on the road to ban animal testing and the Senate has passed Bill S-214 otherwise known as the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act. It is in the process of moving forward to the House of Commons to become an official law. Once made a law, the cosmetics sold must be cruelty free or else they will be prohibited in Canada.

While this is a major win for those opposed to animal testing, let’s look at the percentage of the population who are pro animal testing.

Some feel that we must test on animals because the use of live human subjects is inhumane and unethical. Animals are used to test the toxicity levels of a product, meaning how much can be ingested before death occurs. Surely no human would willingly volunteer for such a test. As well, one could argue that the test animals have enough in place to ensure that they are not abused, for example the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). These institutions and acts ensure that test animals have access to clean food and water, comfortable enclosures and human treatment.

Probably one of the strongest arguments made by the pro animal testing community is that they have helped us cure and find treatments for thousands of diseases and conditions that effect millions of people. For example, the use of animals was essential in the development of the Polio vaccine and insulin used to treat diabetes.

Although, there are different ways to test products that do not involve animals, such as in vitro which is used to study cells in a petri dish. This is often used because human cells can be tested to see the direct effects a substance would have.

This is really a matter if personal opinion and preferences. Regardless of your position on the matter, there are benefits to both sides of the issue. Testing on animals allows us to test the risks of a product before truing it on humans and then can make adjustments accordingly given the results. However, that comes with its own lists of problems such as animal suffering. Resorting to other means of testing like in vitro testing or using artificial human skin allows us to see the results on human cells and tissue. The effects however are then not tested on live tissue and the results could be a misrepresentation of how it would affect the human body.

It is important to know where you stand on the issue and educate yourself on the pros and cons of each side. Being informed is the best way to insure that you’re standing for something you believe in. It is also important to make and form your own opinions and not just go along with what your peers think.

THE THRIFTING GODS: 96 TEARS

The interview of a former student of George Brown College