Have you ever thought about where our clothes come from?

Fashion today has a major impact on today's economy. As we all know, the economy isn't as stable as it used to be.

The way in which we obtain clothing has changed over the course of 20 years and the way we view fashion and its importance has too. Fashion holds a higher importance in our lives than it did before and garments are becoming more extortionately priced, however, do any of us stop to think about who is  making these products in the masses that we demand them in? Every time your tights/jeans tear what do you do? You go the cheapest store to get more, why, because they tear all the time, what's the point of buying really expensive ones? Have you ever thought about how the company gets so many at one time? Well, I think everyone should stop and think about it sometimes, because there are people around the world who work vast amounts of hours in the worst possible conditions just to bring us our favourite clothes line.
At the age of 12, what worries should a child typically have? What colour ribbon their going to wear to school the next day? Which doll they want for Christmas? Whether or not they want to give their mum and dad the run around for their bath? I'm sure you will agree that children should not be thinking about work, and the responsibility of their household, or their futures for that matter. But yet again, there are still children all over the world who are working for ridiculous amounts of hours to get the clothes that we wear on the shelves. There have been many investigations into the problem of child labour, some of which would bring tears to your eyes, urging you to do something about it yourself. When child labour is investigated, the children are interviewed and asked questions. When they say they are 'working for the sake of my family','to grow up and be a working man for my family,' it breaks your heart. To think that we live real childhoods, not spending hours in a factory, in a cramped place sewing beads on to dresses or clearing thread form the floor. Children younger than 8 work shifts of 16-20 hours at once. That is not the age for children to be working. They should be outside! Riding bikes, falling over, exploring the world outside of their home.

But what is the most that we can do? We could just stop buying items from stores which are known to use child labour. And you can't say that you don't know of any, seeing as they are all over the news at times or the pricing of the clothing are low enough to raise some suspicion. No ones saying that a formal protest must be carried out and that we must storm the stores, replicating the riots of summer 2011. The problem lies within ourselves, where we look at our wallets first and then at the source of our clothing. No one can really blame us, looking at the state of our economy, but that still does not give reason to buy clothes from places which are exploiting child labour. To cater for our high demands of cheap clothing, the orders get bigger in these countries therefore they must work harder, for longer hours. Something I personally hate, is when someone who has an opinion, but  it's just not worth sharing; 'Well it gives them jobs, we are giving them work to do.' I agree to the point of where adults are concerned but children? How would we like it if the children of our nation were working shifts of 12 hours, not attending school, or playing outside?

According to the International Labour Organisation, around 215 million children work, many of them full-time, not attending school. Some of them must under go hazardous conditions in their work places, when we sit back and enjoy our brand new jacket or pair of shiny new trainers. Being children, they are not paid at the same rate as adults, which makes their labour cheaper therefore used more frequently. It's a disgraceful truth but it must be addressed.
As a nation who buys, therefore promotes such exploitation of children, we should be deeply ashamed and should strive to help these children be it through donations or by picking up a pair of trainers which are little bit more expensive but have a reliable source.

We could make a difference, its the difference between pure ignorance, and paying attention.

research for child labour article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour

Not the most reliable source, but it contains quite a few statistics, which I am going to check on further to make sure they're actually real.

http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-worst-child-labor-risks-2012-1?op=1

a ranking of the 10 worst countries which exploit child labour. It is actually horrific that more than 10 countries actually use children to create such items that many people of the working and upper class take for granted.

http://jezebel.com/5868395/what-is-victorias-secret-actually-its-child-labor

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/child-labour

a whole page is the on line guardian dedicated to child labour and the events which go on around the world to stop or inhibit the use of child labour around the world.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/oct/28/ethicalbusiness.india

article about a designer brand who use child labour to create their products.

http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm

statistics from this official page

'Camel-hump' hijab?!

Let us begin with a brief explanation of what the hijab is for all those readers who have no idea what it is. The hijab is the extra piece of clothing which Muslim women wear on their heads to cover their hair and neck for reasons of modesty. That’s a pretty simple, watered down version of the exact purpose behind the hijab, however that does not mean it holds any less importance.

We are all pretty aware of the recent hairstyles which are quite popular at the moment; the messy-bun or a puff which seems to grow out of the back of ones head. What has happened is that the highly volumised  hairstyles have evolved and adapted in the form of extra big, I quote "volumised hijabs", which are layers of material, one on top of the other. Everyone has their own opinions on how nice or not nice this version of head dress looks. Personally, I prefer the simple hijab, which serves its purpose perfectly without the need to stand infront of the mirror for hours every morning trying to get it done perfectly, just as you would have to with your hair. I think one of the greatest advantages of the hijab is that you don't have to worry about your hair every five minutes, or worry about it getting wet in the rain. If you're wearing something that requires hair spray in some places, you are initially screwed in that sense.

It has many religious purposes and is compulsory to be worn by women in Islam. The secondary purpose, however useless is seems to be at this moment in time is that the hijab has now began to speak out as a fashion statement.  Of course there is nothing majorly wrong with wearing the hijab and looking nice at the same time, but the amount to which some girls are literally mounting their hijabs on to their heads in the morning, is becoming ridiculous. How could one seriously wear a hijab of that size and not feel absurd? I’m pretty sure that a hijab that climbs at least half a metre above their head, cannot be as comfortable as they make it out to be. Not to mention the fact that there is a problem of hearing, sometimes even with the simple head dress that we wear, so how on God's green earth can they wear such a thing on their head AND hear things clearly?!

Okay, maybe I am being a little harsh. There are a few people who can pull off the look and make it look decent, but some people need to really pull down that construction site off their head. It looks like a remake of the Eiffel Tower but for something ridiculous like the first World Record of the 'head-Eiffel Tower'. I can't help it, I'm sorry but a lot of these styles are ridculous and screamed to be ridiculed.

Article revised

article has been test edited by Amber Townsley

Why is it that everyone has decided to adopt the same style? Not even variations of a certain style, but the EXACT same style. Every girl is wearing an army green coat, scruffy hair, Vans and leggings. This is just ludicrous! Where has individualism gone? It’s as if a huge white van came around and uniformed everybody. It’s like everyone miraculously became part of a not-so-secret cult.

This is a free country, you can wear what you want, and you don’t have to follow the ridiculous fashions of our society. Yes, it is true that shops tend to sell every item that is currently ‘in fashion’ but you can mix it up. Liberate yourselves children! Get out of the vicious circle of awful dress codes and make your own style! Be an individual, be who you are! Unless you are one of those people who cannot find a style that ‘suits you’, then go see a therapist and boost your self-confidence. It’s mainly down to the lack of self-confidence that has caused our generation an inability to think for themselves. It’s a shame really because there is a potential for many creative choices in our society, but the absence of individuality really brings us down - hearing the odd few older people painting us all with the same brush, ‘they’re all hooligans,’ ‘can’t even dress themselves,’ well for your information I am perfectly fine dressing myself, thank you.
Conformity is a huge problem in our society and there are places where we need to really start making a difference in order to stand out in the crowd. Common thinking in fashion creates common thinking which then goes on to create a domino effect of everyone thinking the same, hence the country ending in this demeaning state.<dafuq!? Maybe it’s a little harsh to blame it all on fashion and it’s ceaseless fire of commoners, but it is the lack of individual thinking which creates such problem which then creates the ever growing problems.<which are?
There a million ways to stand out,<e.g? and through personal experience I have come to the conclusion <conclusion = repetitive word, fool! that what you wear may be the cherry on the cake when it comes to standing out. What you wear defines you, so dress how you feel, not how society dictates. Wake up and smell the linen because today may be the day, you break the trend!

article revised:
Why is it that everyone has decided to adopt the same style? Not even variations of a certain style, but the EXACT same style. Every girl is wearing an army green coat, scruffy hair, Vans and leggings. This is just ludicrous! Where has individualism gone? It’s as if a huge white van came around and uniformed everybody. It’s like everyone miraculously became part of a not-so-secret cult.

This is a free country, you can wear what you want, and you don’t have to follow the ridiculous fashions of our society. Yes, it is true that shops tend to sell every item that is currently ‘in fashion’ but you can mix it up. Liberate yourselves children! Get out of the vicious circle of awful dress codes and make your own style! Be an individual, be who you are! Unless you are one of those people who cannot find a style that ‘suits you’, then go see a therapist and boost your self-confidence. It’s mainly down to the lack of self-confidence that has caused our generation an inability to think for themselves. It’s a shame really because there is a potential for many creative choices in our society, but the absence of individuality really brings us down - hearing the odd few older people painting us all with the same brush, ‘they’re all hooligans,’ ‘can’t even dress themselves,’ well for your information I am perfectly fine dressing myself, thank you.
Conformity is a huge problem in our society and there are places where we need to really start making a difference in order to stand out in the crowd. If everyones dressing the same, its clear that they all have the pretty similar views on the almost everything as they have quite common-based thinking.
Maybe it’s a little harsh to blame it all on fashion and it’s ceaseless fire of commoners, but it is the lack of individual thinking which creates the problems we face today,; in the youth, in the government, maybe even the wrold!
There a million ways to stand out, and through personal experience I have come to the conclusion that what you wear may be the cherry on the cake when it comes to standing out. What you wear defines you, so dress how you feel, not how society dictates. Wake up and smell the linen because today may be the day, you break the trend!

my first anti-fashion article

Takeover of the Clones

Why is it that everyone has decided to adopt the same style? Not even variations of a certain style, but the EXACT same style. Every girl is wearing an army green coat, scruffy hair, Vans and leggings. This is just ludicrous! Where has individualism gone? It’s as if a huge white van came around and uniformed everybody. It’s like everyone miraculously became part of a not-so-secret cult.

 This is a free country, you can wear what you want, and you don’t have to follow the ridiculous fashions of today. Yes, it is true that shops tend to sell every item that it currently regarded to be ‘in fashion’ but you can mix it up. Liberate yourselves children! Get out of the vicious circle of awful dress codes and make your own style! Be an individual. Be who you are! Unless you are one of those people who cannot find a style that ‘suits you’, then go see a therapist and boost your self-confidence. It’s mainly down to the lack of self-confidence that our generation has and that they are at some points unable to think for themselves. It’s a shame really because there is a potential for many things in our generation but the absence of individuality really brings us down. You hear a few older people all painting us with the same brush, ‘they’re all hooligans,’ ‘can’t even dress themselves,’ well for your information I am perfectly fine dressing myself, thank you.

Conformity is a huge problem in our society and there are places where we need to really start making a difference and stepping out of the crowd. Common thinking in fashion creates common thinking which then goes on to create a domino effect of everyone thinking the same, hence the country ending in this demeaning state. Maybe it’s a little harsh to blame it all on fashion and its ceaseless fire of commoners, but it is the lack of individual thinking which creates such problem which then creates the ever growing problems.

There a million ways to stand out, and through personal experience I have come to the conclusion that what you wear may be the cherry on the cake when it comes to standing out. What you wear defines you, so dress how you feel, not how society dictates. Wake up and smell the linen because today may be the day, you break the trend!