Scrutinizing fashion as a socio-economic process must be an integral part of the post-paris discourse. How we make clothes influences how we wear them and affects how we are as a people. Today – fittingly, on International Workers Day – we begin an ongoing convo with a hashtag #SlowDownFashion that will continue to examine ethics of everyday couture. Many of the designers reviewed here so far feature various “commitment statements” on their websites. For example, Canada’s most stylish beekeeper (and our very first reviewee!) David C. Wigly runs “an eco-conscious company” while Brazil’s freshest knitwear brand Grama is “born with an ecological DNA.” I salute-n-applaud! Also, remind myself not to conflate eco-sustainability with labor practices but to aspire to a holistic approach to fashion. I also desire to inspire post-paris audiences to be judicious designers-manufacturers-retailers-consumers. If you have not thought much about it or want a refresher, here are some great primers on the issues plaguing mass fashion production as we know it.

Satirist John Oliver at Last Week Tonight on HBO asks what conditions enable an average American shopper to buy 64 garments per year?! The answers are (not) funny.

Norwegian reality show Sweatshop: Deadly Fashion sent young fashion bloggers to work for a month in a Bangladesh clothing factory. You can imagine how that went … Actually, you cannot. This must-see series is available with English subtitles now.

For a more interactive exploration of the topic, check out FAST FASHION exhibition at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg/Germany on display through September 20 (should you get a chance, of course, and if you would, do share your impressions with me!) #SlowDownFashion