Mindanao Advice

My husband and I have now been seven weeks on El Hierro, a small island by the Atlantic Ocean that focuses on ecological and sustainable development. What they have done here is fantastic, and I have just realized the significant impact our daily choices have on the environment. I believe that we can all help to make it greener. It’s just a question of making the right choices, and to do so, we need information 🙂

Seven weeks here taught me to think about what I can do to improve my behavior toward the environment. Our electricity comes from the wind. We buy as much ecological food as possible. We don’t have a car. Our garbage is recycled, and some days ago, I discovered one more thing to do.

I love fashion, and after reading some articles about eco-fashion, my love has taken on a deeper meaning and purpose. Eco-fashion or sustainable fashion is often referred to as “slow fashion”. As an alternative to mainstream fast fashion, it maintains our connection to our humanitarian purpose and our environment. After reading a lot online, I can summarize its meaning as fashion created using environment-friendly materials and processes.

Traditional fashion is the second dirtiest industry in the world. I guess it is time to encourage everyone to stop contributing to that by being more conscious about our fashion choices and to think about the working conditions of the people making our clothes. Why should we buy those brands connected to manufacturing networks in developing countries known for unfair labor practices and terrible working conditions? I remember in 2013 when a garment factory in Rana Plaza, Bangladesh, collapsed and killed more than a thousand workers. In 2017, the issue of ethical fashion was still an issue, with slow improvement.

I am writing to raise awareness and empower my readers to consider eco-fashion and its by-products. After seeing how zero-waste eco-fashion initiatives like tonlé provided an excellent opportunity for underprivileged people in Cambodia, I feel I have a duty to talk about positive causes like that. Hopefully, it might inspire someone back home in Mindanao to start something similar.

My fashionista friends say that eco collections are not as fabulous as regular fashion and are more expensive because of small-scale production. I don’t find it true because the designs are combinations of classic, timeless, and modern. You can find valuable and unique pieces if you know how and where to look. Isn’t that what fashion is all about?

On the price topic, I guess it will be more affordable if we help each other inform our friends, so that demand will be higher. Eco-fashion should not just be a niche in the industry, but a mainstream fashion. Buying eco-fashion should not be too difficult for us, who are concerned about saving the planet. You will find many shops online. Let’s help ethical fashion companies create more so we can wear our clothes with dignity, the same dignity a worker in the Third World feels when getting decent pay and being treated fairly.