You may recall that a while ago I offered to be your personal eco-fashion stylist and create a fabulous new wardrobe just for you at fast fashion prices:
Well my lovelies I’m pleased to share my first sustainable style wardrobe creations + a look at the breakdown of the costs involved in creating made-to-order clothing & accessories at fast fashion prices.
I gave a sneak peek of my refashioning ingredients as I was making over on instagram:
Here’s the groovy results:
“I know this is probably going to be a challenge due to my size (about a 5x in US plus sizes), as far as style, I have to dress boring for work and I would like something more fun for the weekend. I like a touch of goth and 50’s full skirts and styles. I like flowing clothes as opposed to fitted and skirts more of a maxi length.” – Kathryn (my first groovtastic client)
I created a modified version of my DIY Pillowcase Top from vintage East German fabric & traditional embroidered edelweiss trim.
and a rockin’ upcycled caged stone necklace!
The Cost Breakdown for the One of a Kind Top & Necklace:
Material Costs: €16
Postage & Packaging: €8
Total monetary costs: €24
Brainstorming idea/design + Sourcing materials + creating template/pattern + preparing materials + sewing/ assembling = 11 hours labour
Package Cost €30 – Material & Postage Cost €24 = €6
€6 ÷ 11 hours labour = €0.55 per hour
This is the unfortunate reality of the costs involved in ethically producing made-to-measure, unique, sustainable garments for the fast fashion prices consumers have come to expect as acceptable.
Fifty-five cents an hour is not anywhere near to a living wage and if this were my only source of income I would most certainly not be able to put food on the table or a roof over our heads.
So why the hell did I do it if I’m not making any money?
That is a fabulous question best answered with a counterquestion:
Why the hell don’t consumers want to pay garment makers a living wage?
Sadly, the average consumer simply cannot afford the “designer” prices of ethically produced sustainable fashion and the corporations behind fast fashion brands most certainly take advantage of that fact in addition to fueling the nonstop “need for new” that has become so prevalent in our throwaway society.
That said, I honestly cannot comprehend how paying a reasonable price for the materials, time & talents that go into making a garment (regardless of where & by whom it is made) has become such an unimaginable concept for so many.
It’s most certainly time for consumers to stop supporting unethically produced fashion and I shall continue offering sustainable, unique and ethically produced style at fast fashion prices in an effort to encourage average shoppers step away from unscrupulous brands:
Find all of my ethical fashion articles here then check out my E-courses right over here:
and transform your entire wardrobe for pennies with my groovy CoaR tutorial E-book collections right here:
The items are really nice – well done.
Once I saw your cost breakdown, it really made me think. The sad part is even the higher end designers are going that route. I like going back to slow fashion and upcycling, because the stuff is one of a kind, and it fits great because it’s made for my shape.
Attempting to compete with fast fashion and earn a living wage in this throwaway society is impossible…sadly even thrift & charity shops are now criticized by consumers as being too expensive when compared to the prices of big box stores and fast fashion brands – an absolutely horrific statement that reflects just how little the average shopper actually thinks about or cares where, how and by whom their cheap goods are made…
This is an excellent illustration of what is wrong with the price of clothing. The ‘norm’ of cheaper than cheap new clothing is really distasteful.
Lots of us comment all the time about how our children have a few favourites that they always wear. At some stage in our lives society teaches us this is wrong, which is so sad. A few treasured items that we look good in, are comfortable in and get maximum wear out of – we wouldn’t mind paying for that. But somehow you are deemed socially irrelevant if you don’t have enough variety in your wardrobe – insane!
Without going into the long story, my daughter needed an item to be hardwearing, so I was trying to suggest denim. I already knew she doesn’t like denim because it’s not ‘pretty’. I tried to persuade her by saying I could make it look very fashionable. She looked at me in slightly horrified confusion. “Fashion?! Fashion is just someone else telling you what to wear. I decide what I look like. I don’t like fashion. No, I definitely don’t want it now.” That’s my girl! Argument lost, but battle is winning? (Let’s hope it lasts!)
I sincerely hope that my sharing of the exact costs, time & talents involved in creating one of kind garments at fast fashion prices will perhaps lead consumers to stop and think about how & by whom that fast fashion bargain is made before they snap it up, wear it once (or not at all) and toss it away.
Why is it that people are willing to pay for certain kinds of technical and/or creative work that they cannot do themselves but not others? If they have car trouble, they’ll gladly pay a mechanic – In need of a trim? Head to the hair stylist – Sink blockage? Call a plumber BUT for clothing & accessories, which take just as much time, talent, know-how, materials & the correct tools to create, cheaper is better regardless of the human cost.
*You definitely have a clever daughter, with a great head on her shoulders! And now I know to choose my words very carefully as my girlie gets older – instead of “I can make it fashionable” I shall say “We can make it look however you’d like” 😀