Fashion Bloggers, Blogshops & Fast Fashion: The Rise of the Asian, Middle-Class Consumers

Handprint, a short film aimed at raising awareness of the challenges of 

garment workers and jewellery producers around the world. 

Several months ago, I attended a workshop called 'I Want A Fashion Blog' hosted by a famous local fashion blogger and her photographer friend. I have no intention of being a fashion blogger in the conventional sense. I wanted to be a fair trade advocate that writes about fashion.Why fashion? Because just about everyone I know associate fair trade with commodities such as coffee, sugar and tea. Not surprising since these fair trade products are easily available in the supermarkets though not as diverse as what one might get in a Western nation. The proliferation of trendy cafes that embrace the Third Wave Coffee Movement with its emphasis on direct trade with socially responsible farms also means that consumers here have greater access to ethically-sourced produce.

I am also motivated by the fact that most resources I found from books such as 'Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion' to online articles and lifestyle blogs articulate the issues surrounding fast fashion from a Western consumer perspective. They talk about how physical and cultural distances eliminate any empathy towards the exploited garment workers and ensures disregard towards the environmental impact of fast-fashion. Often, they also try to advocate for locally made fashion. But the problem here is I live in Singapore so these arguments don't necessarily apply. How I see it, these things are happening in my backyard and yet most are still oblivious to the situation.

More alarmingly, the rise of middle-class consumers across Asia and particularly China means that the level of consumption is set to rise dramatically in this part of the world. According to the UNDP's 2013 Human Development Report, two-third of the global middle-class will be found in Asia by 2030. Coupled with lower awareness of sustainability issues as compared to Western consumers, this is a potential recipe for social and environmental disasters.

Consumer expenditure growth (% change) clothing and footwear
Region	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Asia and Australasia	3.4	8.7	10.4	10.5	10.4
Western Europe	0.8	0.6	1.5	1.5	2.9
North America	2.3	3.2	2.9	3.0	3.3
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit

Already, a wide variety of sources including this article from The Wall Street Journal have indicated a strong correlation between a rise in the Asian middle-class with the rapid expansion of fast-fashion retailers. An article from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) details aggressive expansion plans across Asia by fast-fashion retailers such as Asos, H&M, Wal-Mart, Uniqlo, Gap and TopShop. The EIU article also provides a projection of consumer expenditure growth in the apparel sector across the world. The table above clearly shows that Asia Pacific is leading the pack with double digit growth forecast between 2015 and 2017.

To make matters worse, retail landlords in China are even aggressively luring fast fashion retailers to set up shops in their malls through lucrative deals such as waiving base rent in return for a percentage of the store's turnover. The success of international fast fashion brands have also encouraged Asian retailers such as the Metersbonwe Group to speed up their production process and inventory turnover thus contributing to existing problems that includes the pollution of Yangtze and Pearl Rivers.

Aside from fast-fashion retailers, high technology adoption across the region has also led to the growth of widely-read fashion blogs and blogshops that further fuel the demand for short-lived fashion fads. For the uninformed, a blogshop is an online retail business that leverages on blogging platforms such as Blogger, LiveJournal and WordPress to sell highly affordable products. It is an extremely popular retail platform in Singapore that allows thousands to make side incomes. According to Blogshopsingapore.sg, there were over 50,000 blogshops in 2011, the estimated average income of a blogshop is around S$1440 and the estimated retail price of a blogshop product is S$20. The website also wax lyrical about the advantages of blogshop shopping.

As with fast fashion retailers, blogshops rely heavily on high stock turnover and low cost garments for their business model. Blogshop owners usually source cheap clothing from the region or City Plaza, a fashion wholesale mall although increasingly many owners have taken on the role of designer to give themselves an edge in the competitive blogshop-sphere. Given their unsustainable retail model, I wanted to research on the social and environmental impacts of blogshops. There were none. Instead, what I found were glowing articles praising the entrepreneurial spirits of these blogshop owners such as the blogshop couple that own MGP (My Glamour Place) that reportedly makes S$30,000 a month in 2011 selling dresses that retail for about S$30.

Returning back to the workshop, I was curious if anyone would raise the issue of ethical fashion or whether I had the guts to raise my hand and disrupt the workshop by asking the blogger if she ever thought of the hidden costs of fast fashion but I thought better of it. As much as I'd like to, I could tell they had put in a lot of effort to organise the workshop and it would be terrible of me to ruin it. That said, I hope that - even if the possibility is remote - some of the girls I met at the workshop might come across my blog and re-think their fashion stance and embrace the ethical fashion ethos.

Beautiful Clothes, Ugly Reality: Cambodian Garment Workers Turned Models to Fight for Rights

Garment factory workers model clothes for the 'Beautiful Clothes, Ugly Reality' fashion show in Phnom Penh.
Photo courtesy of Nicolas Axelrod/Roum

Two weeks ago, the Workers Information Centre (WIC), an organization striving to improve working conditions for women garment workers, held a fashion show in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. However, the women donning these clothes were not your usual 6 foot-tall, waif-like models. Rather, the fashion show engaged the very same people who toiled under deplorable conditions and paltry wages to model the clothes they make for well-known, global brands to spotlight the social injustice facing them.

The aptly themed 'Beautiful Clothes, Ugly Reality' fashion show serves as a platform to highlight the huge income disparities between garment workers and apparel brand owners as well as to advocate for a living wage and better working conditions for these workers. Garment workers in Cambodia not only face poor working conditions and low pay but also live in fear due to violent government clampdowns that have killed five garment workers. Ruom Collective, a Cambodian-based social journalism platform, provides an excellent coverage of the fashion show including the issues facing these garment workers.

The Workers Information Centre is a partner organisation of the International Women's Development Agency (IWDA), a Melbourne-based NGO that I support. Above is a video made by IWDA to educate consumers on the unfair and often exploitative treatments of Cambodian garment workers, of which 90 percent comprises of women. It serves to highlight the good work carried out by WIC to empower women garment workers in Cambodia by helping them fight for a fairer wage and working conditions.

According to reports carried by just-style and Shanghai Daily, global brands including H&M, GAP and the Inditex Group (Mango, Zara etc.) have indicated that they support higher minimum wages for Cambodian garment workers. As consumers with voting rights i.e. purchasing power, let's hold these highly-profitable labels accountable for the promises they have made.

Blueprint: Supporting Emerging, Ethical Designers

Forty Red Bangles

Several weeks ago, I visited BLUEPRINT an annual fashion trade show that showcases emerging and established Asian designers as well as international brands looking to enter the Asian retail markets. Obviously, my primary purpose was really to suss out new ethical labels that are making a difference to their communities and the world at large. I'm happy to report that I've found several stylish, sustainable brands gracing the 5th Edition of the event.

One of the brands I was looking forward to check out was Forty Red Bangles, a socially conscious fashion brand from India that sells a wide-range of products from organic apparels to upcycled accessories from the House of Wandering Silk as well as handmade toys. They also have an adorable kids line called Four Red Bangles that sells kurta pyjamas made from certified organic cotton and printed with low impact GOTS certified dyes. Since I have so many friends with young ones, I can foresee Four Red Bangles being a major source of gifts for their kids.

The story behind the brand fascinates me. Ramona Saboo, the founder of Forty Red Bangles, hails from Australia and migrated to India after marriage and has since moved to Singapore. The name Forty Red Bangles was inspired by the forty red and white bangles traditionally worn by Indian brides as a symbol of luck and safety. For Ramona, the bangles represent the connection between her past and her future. The brand was established as a way for her to showcase the beauty of India's craftsmanship and design with sustainability in mind.

Community development is a major part of Forty Red Bangles philosophy.They work with small artisan communities in India as well as non-governmental organisations. They are heavily involved in projects that focus on the empowerment of marginalised women such as the Sambhali Trust in Jodhpur and Gramshree in Gujarat. These organisations provide women, especially those from the lower-caste, with the means to achieve financial independence as well as preserve traditional skills and craftsmanship.

Clockwise, Zariin Jewelry, Betel Life and Kolombiana

Apart from Forty Red Bangles, several other ethical brands that also caught my attention at the trade show includes Zariin Jewelry, Betel Life and Kolombiana. Zariin Jewelry sells semi-precious jewellery fairly made by Indian artisans with a portion of the proceed for every piece of jewellery sold going to the SOS Children's Villages India. Betel Life from Taiwan, on the other hand, sells eco-friendly slippers made of betel leaves which creates jobs for Taiwanese farmers as well as Taiwanese aboriginal weavers. Meanwhile, Kolombiana sells tribal bags handmade by artisans from indigenous communities across South America to provide them with means of livelihood and allowing them to preserve their hand weaving traditions. Kolombiana also has a brick-and-mortar shop in Haji Lane so drop by their store when you're in the Kampong Glam district.

Fair Trade Finds: Boutiques at The Pit Building

Clockwise: AsiaAmour, Bisous La and Baliza Shop

Boutiques Singapore is a biannual shopping event geared towards the expatriate community. For its 2014 spring edition, it featured over 100 independent vendors that sell original designs as well as artisanal goods made from all over the world. Most importantly for me, it is probably one of the few boutique fairs in Singapore that feature a wide-range of fairly traded goods from apparels to home decor. Fair trade vendors present at the fair include: AsiaAmour that sells classic, tropical resort wear fairly made by Cambodian seamstresses; Bisous La that sells accessories and home decor items made by craftsmen across South East Asia; and Baliza Shop that sells Bali and Ibiza inspired resort wear.

Colourful tassels made by the children at Ladli. Photo courtesy of Baliza Shop.

Gema Santander, a spunky, petite Spanish lady runs Baliza Shop and she enthusiastically told me that all the products are made in Ladli, a vocational training program for street children in Jaipur, India. Children as young as ten assemble the tassels whereas older kids are tasked with the sewing. Without Ladli, many of these kids are left to fend for themselves and have to resort to begging, child slavery or prostitution. Ladli is run by i-india, an NGO that provides education, artisan training, nutrition, healthcare, counselling and accommodation for these street children. Baliza currently reinvests all its profits to develop and promote its production at Ladli.

I bought a kaftan from Baliza Shop for my upcoming Mediterranean trip (my sad wardrobe is mostly filled with work clothes) and I have to say I am very impressed by both the quality and unique design patterns, made through traditional techniques of hand dyeing and printing. The last time I bought a kaftan was over a year ago through the Victoria's Secret website and was very disappointed with the quality. It was flimsy and crumpled easily, only supermodels like Miranda Kerr can carry it off.

To buy from any of the above mentioned retailers, you can subscribe to their facebook pages to receive the latest news on their upcoming events. If you're lucky, you can also set up appointments to visit their showroom.

Fair Trade People: The Fashion Context

A Wall Street Journal Ad by Zady, an ethical online retailer

Last Saturday was like any other weekend for shopping obsessed Singapore. But in other parts of the world, various activities were organised to celebrate World Fair Trade Day, an annual event initiated by the World Fair Trade Organization. Closer to home, a competition was held at Mitra Bali Fair Trade to promote fair trade and better working environment.

This year's theme was 'Fair Trade People' and aimed to celebrate everyone involved in the social movement. So I thought it would be good to take this opportunity to delve deeper as to why I support fair trade and ethical fashion. 

I lived in Australia for close to a decade, initially to study and eventually to work before returning to Singapore at the end of 2010. The Singapore I left and the Singapore I came back to were world's apart. The scenery had changed dramatically, what with Marina Bay Sands and the Downtown Core permanently altering the skyline of the CBD area. 

Orchard Road, Singapore's shopping mecca, had also undergone a drastic transformation with new malls such as ION Orchard and Somerset 313 dotting the swanky, tree-lined streets and older malls, evidently threatened by the new entrants have undergone major facelifts to lure in well-heeled customers.   

Now, what has this got to do with fair trade you say? Along with the dazzling array of designer brands, many fast-fashion retailers including H&M, Forever 21 & Cotton On have also set up shop in Orchard Road. Working in Orchard Road, I often observe white-collar workers leaving the office midday for lunch and returning back with a shopping bag or two. Mindless consumption, that's what it has become. Because the apparels are so affordable these days that shopping is no longer consigned to a weekend workout but rather a lunch pit-stop. I myself, have been guilty on several occasions though luckily not frequent enough to be consumed by it.  

Coming back to fair trade,I used to buy fair trade products for the feel good vibe; knowing that somewhere, someone in the third world is benefiting from my tokenistic purchase. But as I sought to educate myself further on this issue, I was not only saddened by the exploitation within the retail industry but more horrified by the fact that we as consumers are perpetuating the socio-economic divide and environmental degradation solely through our consumption habits and lifestyles. 

You know how most of us complain about how the rich gets richer while the poor gets poorer? How our bosses are overpaid when we do most of the work? You know what? We're equally as guilty. By choosing to buy goods sold by high-street labels with little regards for human rights, we are making a decision to line the pockets of billionaires such as Zara's founder Amancio Ortega Gaona rather than ensure the poor farmers and workers are paid a living wage that enable them to buy nutritious food, pay their children's school fees etc. 

Now, I can fully understand how difficult it can be for consumers fed on a diet of fast-fashion to adjust their mindset and pay more for their apparels. I'm also painfully aware of the fact that there are many whose livelihoods depend on these retailers. My simple suggestion is that we could all strive to be more thoughtful and responsible consumers. Minimise any unnecessary purchases and question the ethics of the products at hand before parting with your money. Think quality not quantity. 

Revisiting Fashion Revolution Day and the incident that triggered this movement - the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh - shed further light on the plight of garment workers. 'The Shirt On Your Back', a moving interactive produced by The Guardian, uses video footage, compelling images and revealing info-graphics to create a powerful, multi-layered narrative on the human cost of the garment industry. A ticker tape runs throughout as a sobering reminder on the paltry wages of these garment workers as compared to the massive revenues made by UK retailers on the back of their labour. I took close to 28 minutes to watch the entire interactive and in that timeframe, Mahmuda (the interactive's protagonist) would have earned 48 pence whereas UK retailers would have made £2060k in sales.

Above is another short documentary featured in the New York Times called 'The Deadly Cost of Fashion'. It seeks to draw the connections between apparel brands sold in New York to the clothing tags found in the rubble of the Rana Plaza collapse. Connections that are all but lost to consumers when they purchase their apparels in well-lit, beautifully designed stores. Companies and brands link to Rana Plaza include Joe Fresh, Benetton and Mango. 

Even a year after the incident, many survivors and victims' families have yet to receive adequate compensations. Not only that, it seems that very little have changed in the working conditions of garment workers as exemplified by the mass fainting in Cambodia and continued instabilities in Bangladeshi factories. 

To show your support, you can sign the Clean Clothes Campaign petition to urge retailers to pay garment workers a living wage. And obviously, buy fair:)

Help Anna: Style It Forward

Have any gently-used designer apparel and accessories to give away? If so, head to the Hilton Hotel between 29 May and 1 June to donate them as part of Club 21 Cares initiative. The donations will be used to fund the Singapore Committee for UN Women's Help Anna campaign through its charity sale. The campaign serves as part of its wider initiative on ending violence against women across the region.

Lotus Culture: From Sexual Slavery to Seamstress

My Lotus Culture Purchase (Clockwise): Clutch Bag, Boho Bag, Door Stopper, Tote Bag

Lotus Culture's Brand Tag

Over the Labour Day holiday, I went to the 3rd anniversary sale of Lotus Culture, a social enterprise working to rebuild the lives of sex trafficking victims in Cambodia. Lotus Culture supports AFESIP Cambodia, an NGO that rescues and rehabilitates sex slaves, through three key areas - education, mental healthcare and social enterprise. The social enterprise component saw Lotus Culture fund a business called Kumnit Thmey that hires former victims to work as seamstresses. 

Lotus Culture is co-founded by Sylvia Lee who is also the founder of EmancipAsia, a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to raise awareness and advocate action against human trafficking. She proudly told me that they managed to keep the overhead costs low thanks to the help of skilled volunteers as well as self-funded trips to Cambodia. This is to ensure that most of the donations go directly to the beneficiaries. The low overheads are also reflected in the price-point of their well-made products. The three bags I bought (at less than $100) remind me of the bags you can get at fast-fashion retain chains minus the abusive, sweatshop manufacturing conditions. 

                                                                       Singapore Committee for UN Women Gala Screening of 3.50 The Movie 

                                                                                               (Please excuse the terrible resolution!)

Shopping at Lotus Culture reminded me of a local movie I recently caught called 3.50 The Movie which spotlights the sex trafficking trade in Cambodia, in particular the lucrative virgin market. Due to abject poverty, young girls were sold by their parents or tricked by promises of well-paid work in the city, only to be forced into sex slavery. I can still recall a very disturbing scene whereby a victim's hymen was sewed by a dodgy doctor to make her a "virgin" again in order to raise her street value. I cannot even begin to imagine how it would feel like to be put through such pain and suffering. 

Social enterprises such as Lotus Culture work with aid organisations to provide employment for these survivors so they can rebuild their lives and create a better future for themselves. Products sold by Lotus Culture include an assortment of bags such as handbags, totes and clutches as well as home decor items. The enterprise also produce custom-made gifts for corporate clients. You can purchase their products from The Shop at The Arts House, online via Shop For Social or you can add them onto Facebook to receive notices on upcoming sales events. 

May Day Perspective: Fair Trade & Labour Rights

Photo Courtesy of Loesje International

Today is Labour Day so I think it would be fitting to talk about the connection between fair trade and labour rights. 

First thing first, what is fair trade?

According to the World Fair Trade Organisation, fair trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. In simple terms, fair trade ensures that people involved in the production process in the developing nations are fairly paid for their work and provided with decent working environment. 

Fair trade seeks to protect labour rights in the following ways: 

Fair trade means fair pay

Fair trade cuts out the middlemen that exploit producers and works directly with them. This means that producers have a say on what constitute a fair price for their commodities or goods. 

Fair trade means better working conditions

Organisations are required to comply with local labour legislations on working hours and safety standards as well as the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on health and safety. 

Fair trade means no child labour

Organisations have to adhere to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and local laws on the employment of children. Organisations must ensure that no child labour is used in the production process to be certified as fair trade. 

Fair trade means jobs for marginalised workers

Fair trade usually creates jobs and economic opportunities by partnering with cooperatives or associations that are committed to the social, health and economic well-being of members. In addition, fair trade organisations also work with other marginalised communities such as the disabled, human trafficking victims and refugees that may otherwise have difficulty securing employment. 

Fair trade means no discrimination 

Fair trade works to ensure equal pay for equal work for both men and women. Organisations cannot discriminate based on gender, race, caste, nationality, religion, disability, age and various other non-performance related factors.

Fair trade means women are empowered

Fair trade by definition seeks to eliminate discriminatory labour practices which generally affects women. On top of fair wages and labour protection, fair trade cooperatives also afford women opportunities for education, leadership roles and entrepreneurships.

One Day Without Shoes, Can You?

Photo courtesy of TOMS

April 29 this year is designated as One Day Without Shoes  by none other than TOMS, the shoes company that popularised the One-for-One movement whereby for every pair of shoes bought, another is given to a child in need. In line with the brand's mission, the campaign aims to raise awareness on children's health and education in impoverished nations by highlighting the roles shoes play in health prevention and educational access.

Unlike previous years, there are no public events in Singapore to support this campaign. Rockstar Singapore put up a pretty cool campaign at their store last year and what appears to be a grassroot campaign was organised in 2012.

Admittedly, I didn't spend the entire a day without shoes, maybe just one-third of my day (and most of it at home!). But what brought to my attention with this campaign was how most of us take so many things for granted. Things such as fresh air, clean water, three square meals a day and even yes...even the shoes on our feet.

Bryan Manuel from Guatemala had his eyesight restored with the support of TOMS eyewear purchase.
Photo courtesy of TOMS.

TOMS have also branched out to selling eyewear and coffee using the same, successful One for One business model. For their eyewear business, TOMS have pledged to use part of the profits to restore eyesights to those in need whereas TOMS coffee provides one week of clean water to a person in need. They also organise annual charity trips for volunteers and fans of TOMS to distribute the donated shoes through the help of their Giving Partners.

TOMS are not without their critics. Development organisations and fair trade activists have argued that the 'One for One' model is nothing more than marketing wizardry that makes consumers feel great but creates a culture of aid dependency and destroy economies of donor countries. In addition, their use of third-party manufacturers have also raised concerns about the ethics and transparency of their supply chain.

That said, it is heartening to know that TOMS are paying heed to these critics and have committed to not only address the risks in TOMS' supply chain but also create jobs in donor nations as exemplified by their Haiti Artist Collective. They are also offering shoes using raw and organic materials to limit their environmental impact. Also, in the context of Singapore and Asia in general, purchasing a pair of TOMS is probably heaps better than buying mass-manufactured shoes in the shopping mall where accountability and transparency is few and far between.

My pick: TOMS shoes collaboration with designer, Jonathan Adler

For those keen on getting a pair of TOMS' trendy slip-on shoes, you can head to Rockstar Singapore and Pedder Red (Ngee Ann City) or shop online via vPost. 

Design Up Asia - Empowering Single Mums to Become Jewellery Artisans

Photo courtesy of Design Up Asia

As part of the Fashion Revolution campaign, I attended an Upcycled Quality Jewellery Making Workshop conducted by Design Up Asia, a Singapore-based social enterprise with the mission to empower low-income, single mothers who are unable to afford childcare to earn a living through crafting jewellery from home.

The accessories are eco-friendly and sourced from recycled and vintage materials. Their main jewellery line is designed by highly-seasoned designers and looks like any trendy jewellery retailing in stores along the Orchard Road shopping belt. Prices are also affordable ranging from S$10 to S$50.

I spoke to Kim, one of the co-founders of Design Up Asia, who told me that the social enterprise was founded when they won the Arthur Guinness Fund Hackathon, a social innovation competition, organised to meet the needs of marginalised women in Singapore.

L. our trainer helping me secure the hooks on the bracelets

Muli-coloured recycled beads used in the jewellery-making process

The participants for this workshop were trained by L., a single mum under the Design Up Asia program. She painstakingly guided us amateurs to create stunning handmade pieces using recycled materials. After much frustration, fumbling around and reassembling the beads countless times, I finally made a classic 'pearl' bracelet and a clam-shell necklace inspired by a safari adventure and seaside escapade (?!!).

My safari adventure meets seaside escapade necklace

To view the main jewellery line, you can visit Design Up Asia online store or shop via Zalora SG. They also run jewellery making workshops for volunteers, corporations' team building sessions as well as personal events such as birthday parties. Design Up Asia can also create a customised line of jewellery upon request by clients. Do head to their website to check out the good work they are doing to support and empower single mums and also to pamper yourself (or your other half) with their trendy, handmade pieces.

Excuse me, miss....your clothes are #InsideOut?

"Excuse me, miss...your clothes are inside out?" were the first words spoken to me as I walked towards the office. 

"Yes, I know," I confidently responded. "You mean this is deliberate?" said the confused lady. I replied with an affirmative YES and proceeded to explain to her the significance of this campaign. 

Today is Fashion Revolution Day. It was created to commemorate the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh that killed over 1130 people, mostly garment factory workers and injured another 2500 other workers due to illegal extensions made to the building. 

It is a call for action to the fashion and retail industry to treat those who made our clothes better. From the machinist sewing our clothes to the farmers growing and harvesting the cottons. Each and everyone in the retail supply chain should be accorded with the respect and dignity they deserve. 

Given the global nature of the fashion and retail industry's supply chain, it may be difficult to effect change as retailers can easily shift their apparel productions to other low-cost countries with little labour rights and protection. It is, unfortunately, a race to the bottom as retailers chase their own bottom line. But we - as consumers - can take a stand through our purchasing power. By making an effort to support fairly traded goods, we send a signal to retailers that we will not stand for their exploitation of these poor workers. 

So, let's take a stand and start a fashion revolution. Ask them. Who Made Your Clothes?