Fair trade business casual

[PamNY]

This is not useful to the OP, but here is an article that demonstrates just how complicated the ethical issues in clothing can be:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...hing-interview

[Melalvai]

This is not useful to the OP, but here is an article that demonstrates just how complicated the ethical issues in clothing can be:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...hing-interview

That's a great article. That's so cool that Walmart is at least thinking about trying to improve their practices, and that they look to a small company like Patagonia for their experience.

Patagonia actually is also fair trade, I don't know if they can claim that exact label but they do state on their web site the steps they take to ensure their products are made with fair labor. In fact they were one of the founding members of the Fair Labor Association (although they dropped out for a while).

Patagonia may be a partial solution. Their clothes are geared toward being active and they are a little more casual than what would be ideal. But the pants are slightly less casual than blue jeans. And the bike shop in Columbia (not exactly local but it's the closest bike shop) carries Patagonia. Of course it's pricey, but I knew that would be the case.

[OakLeaf]

AFAIK only food goods are certified fair trade (and as you may know, there are some serious ethical/philosophical/turf battles going on in that world right now). American Apparel is also problematic because of their sexist and size-ist advertising...

Good luck, I'll be interested to read what suggestions others have ... I'd love to have ONE pair of slacks that look half decent or ONE pair of shoes of any kind that fit, made with humane labor and environmental practices... (and I'm way too curvy for Patagonia, unfortunately)

[Trek420]

REI is one store that lets you search by "Made in USA"

http://www.rei.com/search?cat=450035...%2CMade+in+USA

Since my job's being off shored I appreciate the attention to locally sourced stuff (wherever in the world local is to you). Wherever you are now (this is an international board) or were before and whatever it is you do now your job can go away. There's someone somewhere who will do your job for less. Probably not as well as you do (my replacements do not do as well as I do, that's for d@mn sure).

But who cares!!! They will do it for less.

Think you're exempt from that because you are a ________ and that job can't go away? Think again.

So I do appreciate buying local, creating, saving jobs, sustainable work wherever local is for you.