rss rss rss
  • About
Fashion / Jun. 01, 2009 / by Amy DuFault / 0 Comments

Walking into Kamali’s Wal-Mart

organic-cotton1

Day 1

Many of us struggle with the ethical questions raised when eco-clothing gets cozy with mega-corporations like Wal-Mart, Target or Payless.

I stumbled across an article praising Norma Kamali for her work with casual and career clothing for women for Wal-Mart. While she’s doing organic tees for the retail giant right now, not all of her clothing is from sustainable fabrics.

Why not go all organic?

Kamali considers designing at a different price point (according to her site) perhaps “the most exciting opportunity of her career,” and a chance to promote women’s “self-esteem”. Huh?

Day 2

I stopped writing last night because I had to force my husband to understand Norma Kamali and why I think it’s a mistake that she has partnered with Wal-Mart.

It bothers me that Norma Kamali thinks Wal-Mart is a good fit for her designs, that there will now be more organic cotton that needs to be amassed way too quickly for a huge market, that nobody goes to Wal-Mart looking for organic anyway”¦

“But isn’t it better than not offering organic cotton at all? Would you rather they not do anything organic or sustainable?” my husband asks.

“Right,” I say.

I go to bed staring at the ceiling, wondering why we as Americans need to own so much.

Day 3

I wake up to my Starbucks French roast and remember my friend in Nederland, Colorado living in a yurt, making fun of me and how eco I am when I drink coffee from Starbucks. This is a friend who has marched on Wal-Mart (until I told him he should start by being nice to his girlfriend before getting in Wal-Mart’s business).

Moving coffee-time to the front porch, my 87-year-old neighbor comes out and asks me when am I going to fertilize my yard.

“Never!” I say, to which she grunts, turns and goes back inside.

My yard is all clover and moss and beautiful. Like growing organic cotton, it has its own moods and I like it that way. I wish everyone could have a natural yard like mine.

I sip my coffee and make sure I get every last bit of liquid consumed. Somebody worked hard for it.

I research the effects of organic cotton farming for a corporation as large as Wal-Mart, hoping I’m going to find the facts that back me when I come across this excerpt from Coral Rose of Eco Innovations in Future Fashion White Pages, “A collection of essays by a diverse and international group of contributors. Designers, manufacturers, farmers, professors, models, business owners and creative directors add their experiences and wisdom, producing a unique and multifaceted view of the apparel and textile industries. The book not only proposes solutions to environmental problems, but addresses the financial outcomes of sustainable practices and offers individual business perspectives.”

I will never be able to write this article for EcoSalon, I think.

We are all walking contradictions whether we’re Wal-Mart or Amy DuFault.

We all try to do our best and hope we’re going in the right direction.

We will never be perfect.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop writing about what we (I) need to do better. Maybe it’s good to call yourself or someone else on something once in a while. It just might make us a little more human.

Written by: Amy DuFault

Your Shopping Cart

Your cart is empty

Pages

  • About

Categories

  • Between The Lines
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • News and Culture
  • Series
  • The Tailor Project
  • Uncategorized
  • Video

Archives

  • November 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009

News and Culture

get-backed-book

The Great Fantastic on 3 Go-To Books For the Entrepreneur Wanting More

Mar. 04, 2019 / 0 Comments

How can an active entrepreneur stay in...

un-sustainable-development-goals

(A Holiday Reminder) The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Nov. 27, 2018 / 0 Comments

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are...

parkinsons-brain-copy

BF+DA Research Fellow Russell Joye To Focus on Helping Dad with Parkinsons

Oct. 30, 2018 / 0 Comments

When BF+DA Research Fellow Russell Joye first...

the-magic-of-tiny-business-sharon-rowe-768x877

Sharon Rowe Tackles Tiny Businesses Going Big in New Book

Aug. 16, 2018 / 0 Comments

Sharon Rowe tackles the big topic of...

laura-forlano

LISTEN: Laura Forlano on Designing Textiles for Equality & Justice

Jun. 19, 2018 / 0 Comments

Writer, social scientist and design researcher Laura Forlano...

computer-1.0-2

Digital Existentialism & the Jacquard Loom

May. 25, 2018 / 0 Comments

What happens when you let two people,...

vanessa siverls

One Woman’s Smart Sanitary Pad Helping Women Take Health Back

May. 21, 2018 / 0 Comments

Vanessa Siverls is the developer of BUP...

nadi-x

The BF+DA Kicks Off Futureworks Fashion Tech Residency

Dec. 12, 2017 / 0 Comments

The Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator is...

knitted rooms at pratt

Knitted Rooms at New York Textile Month

Sep. 25, 2017 / 0 Comments

TALENT! is an ongoing exhibition series featuring...

053017_Mordant_Dinner01-106

New York Textile Month’s ‘MORDANT’ Sets Table For Connecting

Sep. 06, 2017 / 0 Comments

In its second season, New York Textile...

Food

microspin

Microspin Founded By An Engineer to Curb Farmer Suicides

Mar. 29, 2018 / 0 Comments

Microspin is a start-up company based in...

180130-industrial-hemp-farmer-franny-2-700x467

For Food & Fiber, Hemp Garners New Interest Among Farmers

Mar. 15, 2018 / 0 Comments

Farmer Franny Tacy, farmer and owner of...

sea-silk-2-1024x576

Harvesting Secret Sea Silk From Clams

Sep. 11, 2017 / 0 Comments

Chiara Vigo’s family has been collecting Byssus,...

american farm tour

On a Rest Stop With The Great American Farm Tour

Aug. 08, 2017 / 0 Comments

I’ve been working with Sarah Kelley of...

food

CROSSOVER: The Unlikely Fusion of Fast Food & High Fashion

May. 10, 2015 / 0 Comments

Sometimes the lines in design are blurred....

foodie underground

21 Pickup Lines for Foodies with Seasonal Eating Depression

Mar. 10, 2014 / 0 Comments

All those root vegetables got you down?...

a

21 Pick Up Lines For Harvest Season

Oct. 21, 2013 / 0 Comments

Written by Amy DuFault and Anna Brones...

a

21 Pick Up Lines For People That Only Eat Organic

May. 10, 2013 / 0 Comments

Are you as pure as your kale?...

a

23 First World Foodie Problems

Apr. 25, 2013 / 0 Comments

Oh, you’re out of fresh basil again?...

a

This Mobile Food Canning Operation Goes Where It’s Needed Most

Mar. 25, 2013 / 0 Comments

What’s better than a group of friends...

Sites that inspire

  • Ecouterre
  • © Copyright Amy DuFault, Sustainable Fashion Writer, Consultant, Activist / All Rights Reserved.
  • Premium WordPress Themes / Theme by wpStyles.org