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#whomademyclothes ?!

LA Fashion Festival theme for 2019 is Sustainability so its fitting that we are joining up with Sustainable Fashion Matterz for the Fashion Revolution campaign to bring attention to: WHO MADE MY CLOTHES?

LAFF Q&A on the fashion industry:

SFM: Why do you ask who made my clothes?

Maya: Knowing the source and history of something we enjoy is so important to understanding the social, environmental and economic impact our choices have on the world.

Justin: Why would you not? I want to know where my food comes from, how its harvested, are pesticides used - so I think its common sense that the threads we cover ourselves up with daily are asked the same: who made my clothes!

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SFM: Who do you want to ask who made my clothes?

Alex: To be honest I would love to see the information on the page of the clothing company, so I don't have to ask anyone. However if I do need to ask that would be the clothing company itself.

Maya: I want to ask the brands and distributors who made my clothes, but unfortunately, this degree of transparency is only offered by a few. Only by requiring transparency and honesty in reporting, can we begin to hold these players accountable for their labor, sourcing and production practices.

SFM: What brands are you wearing?

Justin: To be honest, I'm wearing clothes that are 5+ years old. I find a piece that I love and wear it till the end of its life. Ask anyone that knows me you'll find me most likely in one of a few black shirts I own or 3-4 short sleeve beach style button ups. My wardrobe is minimal and serves me quiet well. My vice if I have to admit would be shoes, which I wear Toms, Vans and any vegan brand I can come across.

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SFM: What does fair fashion mean to you?

Ines: I think that sustainable fashion means that the clothes are manufactured, marketed and used in the most sustainable manner possible, knowing both social and environmental aspects such as if the clothes are eco friendly or if their production will affect the future.

Alex: Fair fashion should benefit everyone: the workers/producer, the retail company and the consumer - not just the retail company.

SFM: What does sustainable fashion mean to you?

Beatriz: Because I believe one of the key elements for the fashion industry to grow and develop into a brand new concept, is transparency; or in other words, when a company shares this information with the world, it alerts and informs the brands about the abuses they're committing, "forcing" them to change for the better, not only for their own company's sake, but also for the environment and various legal issues, mostly connected to the workers rights, such as their well being and fair income.

Maya: Although fair fashion and sustainable fashion are terms that are used interchangeably, I think of sustainable fashion as fashion that causes no harm to the environment: avoiding harsh chemicals and dyes, using recycled textiles and packaging, reducing the amount of energy used in production, and safe waste removal practices.

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SFM: What would you like to see more of in the fashion industry?

Justin: Transparency to start with but more so affordability. Sustainability shouldn’t be a luxury; It should be a way of life.

Natasha: I'd like to see more of less. People are changing clothes too quickly according to seasons, I'd like to see how the styles are generated by people not by brands.

SFM: Why does sustainable/fair fashion matter to you?

Justin: We're living in precarious times, I'm convicted that we all have to do our part to both preserve all forms of life on this green earth as well leave a better future for the kids of today.

Alex: We have only one planet and we need it. I believe we can make this world a better place for our nature, the animals and humans... To do so we have to be more aware of our resources, the earth's limits and be fair to each other - nature, animals and humans.

Beatriz: Fashion itself is a huge part of today's world, it has a huge impact on our lives, our economy, pur culture and so on. It's also one of the biggest industries in terms of value and market power, since it creates jobs all over the world. With that, I think it's utterly urgent that such a immense part of out modern world, shifts to a more eco-friendly and "people-friendly" path in order to fulfill the needs of everyone in the present but also in the future.