Welcome to The Ethical Edit

Why I started an ethical lifestyle blog.

It was the summer of 2020. I was a 32-year-old wife and mom of 2 kiddos, living in Southern California, and life was pretty all right. I hadn't yet heard the term "fast fashion", and I had never given any thought to where the sale pieces I bought at major retailers ever came from - I just loved a good deal!

As a thrifty girl from childhood (my mother raised me right) I prided myself on finding bargains at second-hand stores and retailers alike. I remember how that summer, the clothing app SHEIN had rolled out and was quickly gaining popularity among some of my Gen Z friends and other young millennials. I had even just ordered my first little purchase from the app, hoping to verify that their stuff, though insanely cheap, was "decent quality". Little did I know that it would be the last time that I joyfully shopped a clothing sale at a mall, or on my phone, ever again.

Fast forward to just a few weeks later when my package arrived from SHEIN, and I opened the 'gram to post a pic or two of my affordable finds when an image appeared on my screen that forever changed my life:

It was simple but hit me like a punch in the gut.

I used to pride myself on the false belief that if I said I was against human trafficking, and I watched documentaries or read books about human trafficking, and I had conversations and watched YouTube videos, and even donated to causes that fought to end human trafficking – that I was somehow an activist against human trafficking. All the while, blissfully unaware that every consumption-driven purchase I was making from major fast fashion retailers was potentially to the detriment of another human being.

Naturally, I began to research. As I began to research, naturally, I became dumbfounded by the staggering evidence as the scales fell from my eyes and revealed this truth: the garment industry is being driven by forced labor, child labor, and human trafficking. But more astounding to me was that it had taken me so long to unearth such a blatant, in-my-face and on-my-body problem. Here we are, the most technologically advanced race in existence, and yet our capitalistic, consumer-driven economy was thriving on the backs of modern-day slavery. I was stunned.

We know that in the Bible, Jesus was constantly moved with compassion when he came across those in both physical and spiritual bondage. He was a defender of the helpless and cared for women, children, the outcasts, and the diseased. He was an abolitionist in every sense of the word and is absolute truth when it comes to ethical living, treatment of people, and mandating his followers to care for the well-being of all people, and pray for them.

As a mother, a woman of faith, and a woman of color, I can tell you that it hurt my heart to discover the type of world that my buying choices were casting a vote for. As a life-long learner and a passionate defender of diversity and of women and their thoughts and stories, this was a tough pill to swallow. But I also knew that I had to give myself the same grace that I now give to everyone else who is reading this, and just beginning the journey that I am on now; to live a beautiful, ethical lifestyle.

So, here I am starting my blog, and in many ways - my journey, with all of you. (Oh - in case you were wondering, I couldn't bring myself to keep the garments I bought from SHEIN. I donated them, vowing to never buy from them again after discovering that they are by FAR, the worst perpetrators of slavery-driven fast fashion.)

I want to thank you for arriving at this destination and this beginning with me. I have spent the last four years researching, discovering, and listening. Yes, I have been growing more and more outraged with the trends of the fashion industry, the disposable mindset of the average American regarding garments and lifestyle purchases. But I have also discovered so many wonderful brands, people, stories, and tips on how to live more intentionally and sustainably.

I want to share the fun ways that I'm learning to live more sustainably as a mom of three. I want to share brands and companies with you that are taking great strides in transparency, sustainability, and ethical responsibility. I invite you to learn from this journey, and my desire to be a doer, and not just a hearer, of the word. Believe me friends, I have come to discover that there are so many amazing and beautiful ways that we can curate our lives, and our style, ethically!

It should never, ever, cost the well-being of one human, to sustain the lifestyle of another. Let's live beautifully, together.

Welcome to The Ethical Edit: my journey as an ethical lifestyle blogger.

In Kindness,

Kelry

“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭82‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬