Anthropologie
October 8th, 2006 by Mollie
Anthropologie uses sweat shops (as well as engaging in other ethically sketchy behavior).
Huge sigh.
Jasmin over at Worsted Witch, who also shares my love for what she describes as “Anthroplogie’s sense of Old World sophistication”, broke the news to me a couple of days ago in a post. It is incredibly disturbing that Antropologie uses sweatshops. The use of sweatshops, at all, is incredibly disturbing.
Those of you who know me, or who have come to know me through my writing for one/change, may know the following about me:
- I have a huge appreciation for art, beauty, creativity, textiles, form, and function (and things that are feminine without being girly);
- I, for the most part, could care less about shopping.
Anthropolgie was basically the only exception to the latter because so much of what was in the store possessed the former’s qualities. To be honest, I can’t afford most of the goods Anthropologie sells, but that didn’t keep me from wandering aimlessly through the store, letting my creativity neurons fire at the speed of light and shamelessly being tempted to go into debt.
The grief I now feel about Anthropologie’s use of sweatshops is not because I will no longer shop at a store whose creativity I related to and appreciated. I understand enough to know that a store, that store, is ultimately not that important. The grief, saddness, and dissapointment I feel is the result of yet another store’s indifference to human rights. It is that the human beings, the men and women running that store could care less about the lives of other human beings, other men and women.
Check out Green Shift and Responsible Shopper to find out more information about the practices of the companies you are supporting.
It’s always better to know.
P.S. I am getting to know more independent designers whose craftsmanship and aesthetic are worthy of praise and support.
@onechange
October 11th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
yucky. Thanks for caring though Mollie, you are so honest and willing to take steps to live out your convictions, that’s amazing.
March 25th, 2008 at 5:25 am
hello Mollie- can I ask where you got your information from?
March 29th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
That is my question. What is the source of this information. It’s very challenging to sift through all the info that comes over the net without documentation.
March 30th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Hi Joanna and Marylou,
Thanks for asking about the source of this information. It is difficult to sift through ALL the information that is out there on the internet. I have been trying to do a better job at documenting the original source of the information (although I still have a long way to go), In this case the original source was a blog that is I believe a part of NYU journalism, at least that is what I understand from what it says. Here is another website you might be interested in.
Mollie
September 10th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Thank you for helping to bring this issue to light. more people need to know the truth about anthropologie and we need to find more and better documentation.
here is an article citing richard hayne, the owner of anthropologie directly:
http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/23867/
two thoughts and a question:
first, people need to understand there is a difference between a ‘green and fair trade businesses’ and a sweatshop…in the case of anthropologie they hypocritically fashion themselves to be green…if ‘green’ can be produced from a sweatshop.
second, it’s quite ironic how anthropologie ‘creates’ and perpetuates a class separate from ‘those people’….snubbing their nose at the very people but for whom they would not have their symbols of success…
who are some ‘independent designers whose craftsmanship and aesthetic are worthy of praise and support’?