Balancing the Scales

I try to be an ethical shopper.  Not just for my own sense of peace but for the greater good.  I know that I am not perfect and I do not hold myself up as an example but I do feel a sense of responsibility. 

But I am finding in the way our retail society is structured, that is very challenging to balance all the scales and to reconcile all of my interests with one another.

Let me give you an example. 

Currently there is a huge nationwide boycott on against Target (and Best Buy) due to their funding of anti-LGTB rights politicians.

I fully support this boycott and have done zero shopping in there since it began.  For the past several months I have spent my money in other places when I've need an item. Not that I'm desperate but I loved Target so it's taken some adjustment to not default to shopping there. I mean, I remember the first time I went into a Target store in college and haven't stepped foot in a KMart or Walmart since then.  So to go somewhere else, I hope, has been impactful, especially if others are doing the same.

But I'm still tempted.

I was in the store on Friday night (I have a Target card and had to make a payment.  This pains me.) and for some reason decided to walk around.  I probably justified it in my mind as "looking for inspiration" that I would source somewhere else, but more likely I missed walking around the store and seeing what new cute things were there.

I bypassed all the clothes but did go into the tights section.  In 10 minutes I had 3 pairs of tights that I "really needed" and they were so cheap and right there.  What harm would come from spending $15 on some tights?  

I made it around the store, peeking at the Halloween stuff, cosmetics and stationary, and then put the tights back.  I left the store without buying anything. I knew it would be easy to get tights some where else and I will be doing that.

Yeah!  Good work and will power, right?  Well... not so fast...

I'm in another quandary and I'm going to use a particular example.  It does seem ridiculous to give give this so much emphasis but bear with me, I'm hoping for a larger discussion here.

I've been looking for and wanting a black patent purse for over a year.  Being somewhat particular about what I had in mind, I haven't bought anything yet.  I wanted a medium sized bag, simple lines, minimal hardware and cute.  Ideally, I wouldn't have to spend a lot.  Oh, yeah, and not be a knockoff as far as I can tell or be made of animal materials.

Got all that?  No wonder I haven't found anything.

Then I saw the black patent satchel by Mulberry for Target.

Yep, it ticked all the boxes, even the materials and price.  I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars at Mulberry, not that I cared about the brand, just the design.   So it's hitting most of my monetary, desire and ethical boxes.  Except one.

Target.

Sigh.  So what to do?  As I mentioned before, I'm not aspiring to be perfect but rather to do the best that I can.  I know that no business is going to be perfect, just like I'm not and I'm not looking for absolution.  Of course I can live with out the purse which would solve the dilemma. I haven't decided either way if I would get it or not.  All of these factor are still being weighed in my mind.  I thought this would be an interesting discussion because I'm curious how you make your own choices.  Do you give yourself a green light if an item has more pros than cons?  Or are you more absolute?

Apartment Therapy has a good article on The Ethics of Shopping Cheap which is a whole other layer to shopping criteria.

Urban Outfitters - We say "Fifty Percent*"

I am not a fan of Urban Outfitters.

In the beginning I merely felt apathetic about them. I didn't really shop there but I didn't actively avoid them either. But now it is becoming an outright dislike, if not hatred, and not just because they are pushing their giant chain into one of my favorite unique towns.

As home of the ironic hipster, pseudo-designers and blatent knock-offs, Urban Outfitters does more harm than good. But I think their true slimy underbelly, typically hidden under a facade of "cool", sometimes slips out. They show their blatent misogyny, racism and bigotry.

It started when they pulled an "I support Same-Sex Marriage" shirt off the shelves after a week. But here are more recent examples:

First is a simple henley, but with the color options as "white/charcoal" and "Obama/Black"



Then there is the call to "preserve your daughters' sacred virginity", which is currently still for sale on the site. (I'm not giving them the benefit of a link out)



Now they have a shirt that mandates "Eat Less". Their description reads: "Eat less or more or however much you'd like in this seriously soft knit tee cut long and topped with a v-neck." but not sure that is the real message.




Of course, there are those that will say that these shirts are meant to be funny or, yes, ironic, but are they really? When coupled with the hurtful and hateful politicians supported by the owner, I'm not quite sure.

I know that many many people love this store. But you also have to know that when you buy that shirt or scarf or pants, you are directly supporting and promoting more than just what you are wearing. There are so many individual designers and better options where you can spend your money... and promote a more inclusive way of life.

*"Fifty Percent" is a belief that we subscribe to around here. It is the belief that, even when you are joking, you mean about 50% of what you are actually saying.

SUCCESS!!!!

After trying for weeks and weeks to get some answers regarding the fur trim used on these boots (refresher: they were listed as ocelot but then the MB rep said they were rabbit), I saw yesterday that the Humane Society was also focusing their attention on the questionable fur used.



Well, finally there have been updates and progress! Per the AP:

Neiman Marcus: mistake led to 'ocelot' descriptor
(AP) – 14 hours ago

DALLAS — Neiman Marcus says an editing mistake led to some women's boots being described on Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman Web sites as trimmed with the fur of an endangered species.

Neiman Marcus spokeswoman Ginger Reeder says the Dallas-based company is looking into the matter. The Humane Society of the U.S. on Wednesday said it was asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate.

The Humane Society says fur from an ocelot, a wild cat with tawny fur and black spots, would be illegal to sell under the Endangered Species Act.

Reeder says Neiman has pulled the boots off the market pending an investigation. She says it appears the trim actually is goat hide dyed with an ocelot print.

The Humane Society's Pierre Grzybowski says they still would like the FTC to investigate.

The FTC did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday.

I am sooo happy to hear there is going to be an investigation into these boots. It proves that there are shady practices going on, especially in the fur industry. Basically, you can never be sure where and what kind of fur is being used, because even high-end products and retailers are not going to disclose that information. In this instance it may be goat skins but most of the time it's cats, dogs and rabbits. And because of how most products in the fashion world (even those labeled as Made in Italy or where ever - a whole other post... just read Deluxe) are made in China, if you are buying something with fur you are supporting horrific abuses.

Every year, millions of individual animals, including more than 2 million cats and hundreds of thousands of dogs, are killed for their fur in China. Some are strays, and countless others are companions who once shared homes with people who loved and cared for them before the animals were rounded up—often with metal tongs around their necks—and tossed, screaming, into a crate.

China is one of the world's largest fur suppliers, and more than 95 percent of the country's finished garments are exported—with many ending up in North America. And as we now know, Chinese companies have been known to deliberately mislabel cat and dog fur as "Asian jackal," "rabbit," or "raccoon" to fool consumers. Every fur-trimmed collar or other fur item from China, regardless of the kind of animal slaughtered to manufacture it, is the product of cruelty on a truly massive scale.

As I've said before. I detest fur. Plus, how can you ever wear something that came from sweet babies like my Tulip and Petal...



If you are buying fur you are taking animals like my baby Petal here and having them killed for something completely unnecessary and, in the case of these boots, ugly as hell.



Make contributions to the Humane Society, PETA, Compassion over Killing or World Society for the Protection of Animals to help stop these abuses.

Eeeewwww!!!! to the infinite power

As I was looking through the BG site, I came upon these horror shows.

They are the Manolo Blahnik Cava Fur Trim boot.



It's not bad enough that they are ugly and make you look like something out of 1 Million Years B.C. (and not in a good way like Raquel here).



No, the worst part is that the fur element, which is bad enough, is ocelot fur.

Ocelots are endangered species.*

Endangered because of loss of habitat and due to hunting them for their fur. Supposedly they are legally protected. I'm not sure how the Manolo Blahnik company was able to get fur for these boots.



I know I talk a lot about shoes on here most of which are made of leather. This is a transition I am personally working through.

But I put fur on another level altogether. And the fact that this fur comes from a threatened species just makes it all the worse.

I have written a letter to Manolo Blahnik via the contact form on their site addressing my displeasure and disgust at this practice. I also think I will be taking an additional step.

I will be boycotting Manolo Blahnik.

I hope I get some sort of response from the company. I'm not sure if I will or not. I suggested they recall the boots. Will they? I don't know. I'd like to hope so.

I'll let you know what they say.

If you want to write to them, the easiest way is to use the contact form on the site. Let's see if we can reach them!

UPDATE: Ocelots are officially listed as "Near Threatened" with their population trend as "Decreasing" by the IUCN Red List. However, the use of this animal's skin and fur could potentially still violate the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is being looked at by a lawyer, so more info to come.

Your Shopping May Now Resume

Let's all congratulate Zappos for listening to their customers and adopting a policy to no longer sell fur products.

According to the PETA article -

Back in August, we wrote to the company about this, urging it to adopt a fur-free policy. At the time, the company said that it would look into the issue to gauge people's thoughts on it. So, to help speed that process up, we launched an online marketing campaign, getting members of the public to write to Zappos.com's CEO and urge him to send the pelts packing—and more than 11,000 of you did! The campaign became totally viral and social networking played a huge part—many people posted tweets on Twitter, passed around our petition on Facebook, and much more.

I mean, seriously, is this the first campaign in history ever to be won by tweeting and the slick use of other online tools? It's pretty exciting if you ask me—and also pretty novel! We are paving the way of the future, my friends.

Well, it seems that Zappos.com got the message that people hate fur, because yesterday, the company officially adopted a permanent policy never to sell any products containing the fur of an animal!

Thank you SO much, all you fantastic online activists, for helping—and thank you, Zappos.com, for making the kind decision to forgo fur now and in the future. This will help spare countless minks, rabbits, foxes, and other animals all the horrors of fur farming and trapping, such as being electrocuted, bludgeoned, and skinned alive.


Read the full article here.

All of us shoppers can now get back to give so many of our dollars to one of the best retailers around!

Thank you Zappos!

Selfish Vanity and Absolute Horror

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/p2_rabbit_fur_investigation

I've never been a fan of fur. I know there are those who will argue with me about this, especially as many shoes are made of leather, an equally horrific industry. But in my opinion there is one big difference.

Wearing fur is pure selfish cruel vanity.

I remember sitting in front of the television as a child and crying my eyes out about the Canadian seal hunt... then asking everyone I knew to sign the petition against it. Thirty years later the seal hunt is going on... but the boycotts against it and the Canadian fishing industry are growing. We may see this ending in our time.

Fur, to me, is the worst form of animal abuse and exploitation. Mostly because it is so avoidable and unnecessary. There is simply no good reason to wear it.

Right now, there is a campaign to get Zappos to stop selling fur products and to have Armani fulfill his promise to stop using fur. If you can support that, and communicate it, that would be great.

If you can stomach it, you should watch the video embedded above. If that doesn't convince you to never wear fur, I don't know what will. And if you think fur is okay, you should be OBLIGATED to watch it.

Then, if you can find an argument FOR wearing fur or fur products and supporting this amazingly cruel industry, I'd love to hear it.

Store Focus: SoleStruck

I just realized that I hadn't posted a few of the other outfits that I wore last week.

I wore one of my favorite Target dresses. This was actually one of the first dresses in my "Dress Reintroduction" plan. It's a nice heathered grey wool with a two-tone green herringbone accent. inside the collar, cuffs and the reverse of the belt. I like to roll the cuffs up so you get to see the green and then I paired it with my vintage La Rose green velvet heels (which are more olive-y green) and my vintage locket.



Then, when it actually got a bit chilly I whipped out my Gap cashmere grey and black stripe dress and added lavender We Love Color tights. I also wore a matching lavender wrap so I at least had some thing to tie those tights too. And I added another new Paraphernalia piece - my Kiss pin. Oh yeah, and my Facade heels. These are my new #1 most versatile heels of the year. I'm going to wear them at least once a week I think. I seriously should have bought 2 pairs.



Not that either of those outfits have anything to do with the title of this post, but, hey, I did the Polyvores. I'm going to use them!

Anyway...

SoleStruck.

I hadn't shopped with them before. There are so many great stores out there, especially online, that I don't get a chance to go to all of them... if you can believe that! I tend to get lazy and go to the sites I use a lot. So I'm glad when other bloggers, friends and even the companies themselves make recommendations of places to check out. Also, there is a bit of a boycott going on against one of my typical shoe haunts, so I'm probably not going to be shopping there for a while.

I was actually contacted by Sole Struck about testing out their site and service, so I quickly popped over to see what I could see. And I have to say I was very interested, indeed. Like many sites, they offer free shipping which makes it much more convenient for shoe shopping. In my opinion you should not worry about ordering shoes online anymore, especially once you have a few favorite brands that you are familiar with.

Just order the shoes, they come to your house and, if they don't fit, just send them back. Free shipping, free returns... how much easier could it be? Well, my mailman (and the hubby too, I'm sure) might be sick of me and the packages but, eh, there aren't a lot of options here in Fashion Exile so, whatever.

Anyway, Sole Struck graciously offered me the opportunity to choose a pair of shoes. Hello! Kid in a candy store!

After spending a while on the site, I narrowed it down to seven pairs.

First up were this pair of Campers Twins. I liked the shiny overlapping dots and that each shoe is different. I thought they would be cute with a whole slew of tight colors for Fall.




And they have a nice sturdy rubber sole which would be good for winter weather.



But who am I kidding?

I've worn stilettos during a sleet storm in New York (okay, yes it was stupid I know that but it was more than 10 years ago and I was caught out in the storm unexpectedly. I did almost kill myself!)

So I thought I would be more practical and get a fun pair of Hunters, because I've been having a hell of a time finding some rain boots in my size and in a cute look. Wouldn't these but nice and sturdy and great for running around in the yard?



Yes, I do need a pair of boots but there were also cute girly shoes to think about so maybe I'll hold out on those this time.

I mean look at these adorable Betsey Johnson peep-toes. Bows! Peep-toes! Scalloped edges and contrast stitching! I likey!



But of course I get distracted again looking at other pink and red heels including these Jessica Bennett buckle pumps. I love love love pink and red together.




Then I see they come in a green and blue combination and now I really can't choose.



So I went back to Betsey Johnson Betseyville section to see the red and white pair and saw these wedges and knew that I was completely smitten.



I mean, seriously, look at the shape. And the adorable chunky zipper-edged patent bow. But black and green or....




or black and turquoise? I still can't choose. Maybe I should just flip a coin.



In the end, I asked for these Vince Camuto leather knot heels with contrast stitching. My favorite element of the design is how the body of the shoe is sewn to the sole. It gives them a unique and hand crafted look.



These are very comfortable, classic and well-made shoes. I was so happy with them in person that I immediately wore them on Friday to work. They are great with jeans because they are a warm medium camel color and will work well with a whole slew of colors.

I paired mine with my new Gap Classic jeans (which I'm obsessed with, by the way. They fit soooo well!) and my medium green argyle sweater from Target. I also pinned my new crest pin from my last antiques festival excursion to the hem of the sweater.



All in all, I'd recommend checking out Sole Struck. They carry a number of really great lines, including favorites of mine like Chinese Laundry, Charles David, Report and a bunch more. And they have great customer service.

Personally I'm keeping those other pairs in my shopping cart. I think I'm going to have to go back in there and get those wedges. Green? Blue? Both?

Yes!