Is locally made the simple approach to ethical shopping we’ve all been looking for
Why should we be adding locally made to the shopping list of criteria we now have for our clothing purchases? Do we really need another concept to consider? The short answer is yes.
Words for The Honest Edit by Project Bowman Co-founder, Bella Nolan
Conscious consumerism is no-doubt a minefield. We know fast fashion is bad, hemp is good and second hand is best but that’s never just it. The list of boxes to tick and contradictions that follow are never ending.
So why should we be adding locally made to the shopping list of criteria we now have for our clothing purchases? Do we really need another concept to consider? The short answer is yes – hell, I think it should be the very first item on the agenda.
If you want to stick around for the long answer, let’s jump into it.
Ethical production (the no-brainer)
When we started Project Bowman, being locally made was a non negotiable. We wanted to be able to form a real life relationship with our makers, collaborate with them and pop in whenever we pleased. Most of all, we wanted to ensure our garments were ethically produced.
While you can ethically produce overseas, making locally means we know everyone who works on our garments are being paid and treated in accordance to Australian standards. We not only see this in action every time we visit our manufacturer but utilise platforms available to us here, such as Ethical Clothing Australia, to help us guarantee businesses are practicing what they preach.
We know that people can feel priced out of shopping ethically but it’s important to remember that if you’re buying something on the cheap this means that often detrimental cuts have been made along the supply chain. Seeing conscious purchase decisions as a way to help mitigate the devastating effects of fast fashion and your wallet is necessary to changing this viewpoint. Buy only when you know a piece is a long term keeper, do your research and shop from non-exploitive brands. In turn, this will save you money spent on poor quality clothing that you need to continuously replace.
The ability to be slow
The second reason we decided to manufacture locally was our commitment to slow fashion.
For us, a big part of being a slow fashion label is producing in small quantities. We don’t want to cultivate large amounts of stock that we have to put on sale to quickly move it out the door. That kind of technique leads customers to make impulse purchases that will only be worn once and end up in landfill, all because of the thrill of the cheaper item. Instead, we want our garments to be intentional and hold a well loved position in wardrobes for years.
Small run production is extremely difficult overseas. Most overseas manufacturers have high minimum order quantities that are unattainable for small labels. Local manufacturers are much more flexible towards low order quantities. Our amazing manufacturer in Brunswick, Melbourne, allows us to make as little as we like and as slow as we like, enabling us to truly live out our ethos and help our customers move away from fast fashion.
Unnecessary Emissions
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions and it’s on an upwards trajectory, with emissions projected to reach nearly 2.8 billion tons per year by 2030. As both consumers and producers of the industry, these numbers make our team deeply uncomfortable.
Before Project Bowman I had never really thought about the breakdown of that environmental impact and how the location of where garments are made might fit into that ten percent. Up until then, local manufacturing was all about the societal benefits.
Excuse the hyperbole, but manufacturing in a country away from our base felt like a highly unnecessary environmental crime to us. Flying alone contributes to 2.4% of CO2 emissions per year, so taking into consideration international flights for meetings, sending samples and materials back and forth and ongoing shipments of stock across the ocean, our carbon footprint would reach exorbitant heights in no time. It’d be a cost we’d be too guilty to front.
By making a mere 20 minutes down the road we are able to limit travel related emissions immensely and ensure our garments aren’t contributing additional environmental stressors.
Community Support
Lastly, shopping locally means so much to your community. It is putting your money where your mouth is, supporting small businesses, contributing to your local and national economy and helping keep the fashion industry alive here in Australia and skilled people employed. I also think it’s pretty damn nice.
To summarise, shift your focus to locally made (not just locally owned) as the first thing you look for when practicing conscious consumerism. Why? Because if a business is producing locally it’s highly likely that they care about the same things you do: sustainability, ethical production and the demise of fast fashion.
If you don’t know where a brand is made, just ask. Home grown businesses are proud of their practices, it’s the ones that shy away from transparency that you’ll need to be careful of.
“The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions and it’s on an upwards trajectory”
