Where Calgary Magazine September / October 2018 | Page 39

Environmentally and morally conscious
consumers are also pushing producers by
demanding transparency in clothing sourcing
and manufacturing, leading to varying levels
of response by brands. Recently ASOS, the
global online curated shop, has committed
to dropping cashmere, silk, down and
feathers from its entire platform, and has
also announced that it will launch a
sustainable fashion training program for
its designers.
Despite steps forward, it is
difficult to determine what brands
mean when they use the words
“sustainable” and “ethical” to
market products. For example,
a manufacturer could source
recycled materials while still
overlooking the conditions of
workers. Transparency and
traceability in all aspects
of garment production
are challenging for
consumers to access,
which is perhaps why
the pressure to buy
sustainable or ethical
doesn’t seem to pack a
punch — the terms are
often just too ambiguous.
However, these complexities
don’t mean that efforts to be
conscientious of your shopping
habits should be abandoned. While
how to recycle or ethically source and
produce fabrics may for most of us
seem out of reach, reusing clothing
is not.
Blake Rawlinson, co-owner of
Vespucci, emphasizes that, due
to the high standard of curating
at her luxury consignment shop,
“a client doesn’t need to
compromise when shopping
consignment.” Just because a
garment may be pre-owned,
it does not mean “that it is in
some way lesser quality or
dated.”
On the contrary,
Rawlinson explains that
consignment may be the
best way for people to
access “high fashion”
pieces that they might
not otherwise be able
to afford.
“There are quite a
few pieces that come
into our hands that
are a part of fashion
history,” she says. “I really enjoy when we
find a piece from a designer and are able to
find the exact runway show or editorial that
it appeared in.”
Rawlinson also notices a clear shift in
consumer interest towards ethical fashion.
“Consignment has always been
around, but with people’s
consciousness moving
towards a more
sustainable future, it
has definitely made
us leaders in the
ethical fashion
conversation. The
biggest change, I’d
say, would be people
becoming
more knowledgeable about where their
clothes come from, and where fast fashion
goes once it doesn’t sell end of season.”
Whatever your budget or your style, you
can rest assured that shopping consignment
is not only a sustainable and ethical option,
but a fashionable choice — in more ways
than one.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
where.ca
39