WHAT IS BLAEK STORE'S DEFINITION OF 'ETHICAL' SHOPPING?

This one can be scary too, we get it. Right off the bat it's a bit hard to make sense of when thinking about 'ethical' shopping right?

Ethical shopping is knowing that no human beings have suffered in the making of your purchase. It sounds like that should be obvious but unfortunately a huge amount of clothing, homewares and necessities are made in what are describe as 'sweat shops'; where people are underpaid, forced to work inhumane hours and in terrible conditions. It's a very unreal concept for us, but unfortunately a very real situation for a lot of brands trying to cut corners and maximise profits, at any cost.

If a brand or item is ethically made then it is made by happy people and that's the best way to think about it. Happy, valued, cared for people. 

- 20 million people are currently estimated to be in labour slavery worldwide. Almost 7 million of these people are children. 

- The average American CEO's wage = over 16,000 Bangladesh garment workers' wages. 

- In Australia, some garment workers earn as little as $7 an hour, which is well below the minimum wage of $21.38 per hour.

HOW CAN YOU SHOP ETHICALLY?

So how can you be sure you're buying ethical (happy) products?

The general rule is that if a brand or product is talking about this on their website and sharing the names of their factories and their locations, then they have nothing to hide. There is a certification called 'Fair Trade' which certifies that your product is ethical but it's tough and takes time.

Brands like Patagonia and Nudie Jeans Co. are leading the way here, but take our word for it that if a brand is saying nothing on their website about their factories and workers then they have nothing 'happy' to say!

OUR ETHICAL BRANDS

As mentioned, the brands leading the way in terms of producing certified ethical products are Patagonia and Nudie Jeans Co. However, many others are, they're just not quite certified which does take time.