Erinne Paisley - Can Your Outfit Change the World?

The first sketch I ever drew of the paper dress. UTE MULLER/ERINNE PAISLEY

The more questions I answered about my paper dress and the reason I was wearing it, the more I thought about the story behind all my clothing. The dress had started life as a tree, and then it became the paper I wrote on in a classroom. But where had my favorite pair of jeans come from originally? When I put on jeans and a graphic T-shirt the day after prom, I noticed how soft the material felt against my skin compared to paper, but I also wondered what the story of this outfit was. The T-shirt had a message on it tooit said Less and Local. What message and type of company was I supporting by wearing it? Did I agree with what that company stood for?

We all wear clothing of some sort every day. What you choose to wear becomes part of your identity, but it doesnt affect just you. Our clothing sends a message to the world around us, whether we want it to or not. But often we dont know what that message truly is. What we wear comes from some materialeither natural or synthetic. How that material was grown or manufactured, how it was processed and how far it was shipped all have an impact on the earths environment. The treatment, working conditions and salaries of the people who make our clothing have an unmeasurable effect on these workers and their families. The items we wear often display logos, slogans, phrases and labels. Do you support what they say about the world or the company that makes the clothing? Your outfit has a lot more power than you might have realized!

Buying ethically doesnt mean never buying anything new again. What its really about is making your shopping decisions in a more globally conscious way even when you buy something new. I remember when I first realized how important it is to understand the full history of the clothing most of us wearwhere it comes from, who makes it, how its made, how far its traveled, its impact. I was supposed to buy a new pair of rain boots with my mom. We were in the store, and I started looking at where the rain boots were made. None of the labels told me anything about the conditions under which the boots were made or their environmental impact. There was no way to know whether any of these boots were ethically made, and I was very upset. I remember being overwhelmed by the thought of all the things I had bought in the past and all the things I would buy in the future that were not 100 percent ethically made. How was I ever going to shop for clothes again if I wanted to be kind to the earth and everyone who lives on it?