Our Shared Shelf discussion

This month we're looking into Eco-feminsism which if you were not aware, is a movement born from the 1970's/1990's that sees a connection between the exploitation and degradation of the natural world and the subordination and oppression of women. "These parallels include but are not limited to seeing women and nature as property and how men dominate women and humans dominate nature."

For a long time, most of the eco-feminist ire was against male dominated or stylized industries that perpetuate a gender stereotype like that of the oil and gas industry with it's phallic wells penetrating the crust of Mother Earth. But with Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion we're exploring an industry that is considered a woman's domain - fashion.

This isn't the industry of the burly lumberjack cutting down trees, but rather women with walk in closets unconsciously exploiting mostly women of color bent over a sewing machine working well over 40 hours a week for well less than the minimum wage. This industry isn't just pillaging the earth of limited resources but one that is also covering it in thousands of tons of discarded and unusable textiles every year.

As consumers of fast fashion we are complicit with supporting and encouraging companies to continue these unsustainable practices. But as consumers, we also have the power to demand better.

Join Our Shared Shelf as we explore the business behind fast fashion and ways we can promote more sustainable alternatives.

Thank you and we'll see you on the forums,

-The OSS Mods

Great! I will Join It!