Something old…
May 1st, 2007 by surfer_chick
I have been having trouble finding ethically-made products which fit our needs, here in Australia.
In particular, options for ethical clothing are very limited compared to what’s available in the UK. I had the idea of getting a jacket made locally, but I haven’t been able to find much in the way of fairtrade / organic fabrics.
So, I am thinking that ‘op shops’ (= charity shops / thrift shops) might be my best source for clothes, decorations like candle holders, and some practical items like platters, servers, and jugs.
It would be very representative of ‘the real us’ as we buy a lot of our clothes from op shops, and a lot of our household purchases are secondhand - online auctions, furniture salvage warehouses and boot sales are always a lot more fun than out-of-town discount stores! Sooner or later I will muster the courage I need to challenge myself to buy nothing new for a year
I like to think that by buying second hand I am preventing usable items from going to landfill and saving the resources and energy that would be needed to make a new equivalent (as well as supporting a local charity).
But I can’t help wondering if it’s all just a bit too easy? Are there any ethical considerations I’ve overlooked? Perhaps there are items I should avoid buying, even second-hand? Please leave a note if you have any thoughts or resources about this!
Hi! I’m in the same predicament… Having an ethical wedding in Australia seems to be a very tricky proposal! Lots of the stuff seems easy enough to get hold of, with the exception of quality ethical fabric… :o(
If you actually make any headway, then let us know!!
Certainly it is not easy to track down ethical alternatives (food, clothing, cleaning products, etc.) in Australia.
It can be very frustrating; I have spent long hours searching, searching, searching in vain through myriad weblinks, in the Yellow Pages, and in the shops for products which I know are available in Europe and the US.
On the other hand, we have had to be creative in overcoming these challenges… which has made our celebrations all the more unique.
For fabric and clothing, we went to charity shops and second hand markets. Most decoration items and tableware were borrowed, not bought. Most of the food was from local markets, rather than supermarkets. And though we couldn’t be sure whether the meat was locally produced, it did come from a local butcher and we had just two small joints.
At the everyday level, the fact that the ‘ethical products industry’ is in its infancy can make life trickier, but kind of fun. For example, finding fairtrade coffee at a market is a joy only because it is not sold in the local supermarket. At home, I have started to make my own ‘old fashioned’ cleaning products which are cheaper and have less environmental impact. However, I haven’t come up with any alternative to recycled toilet paper…
Hi guys - nice to find some like minded people. I’m looking for recycled paper for invitations in Australia - can you help me out?
How I wish I’d found this blog - and this post in particular - 12 months ago!!
We got married in Feb ‘07. We tried to make our wedding as ‘ethical’ as possible, but also compromised a bit, particularly with his suit (we couldn’t find a decent one second-hand) and the beer (the local beer was way outside our budget). Everything aside from the beer was sourced from local producers. Our decorations were mostly second-hand and were all re-usable…I have a bit of a thing for fairy-lights and paper lanterns, so while I’m sure they were produced in dodgy circumstances, at least they haven’t been thrown away. I also had native flowers (mainly because I liked them, but since the wedding I’ve become even more aware of how destructive the florist industry is). Our caterers were a local charity that does catering for fundraising, and our drinks waiter was the son of a family friend who needed a job.
I agree with surfer-chick’s comment that while it’s difficult to track down ethical alternatives in Australia, that makes it kind of fun. I love the fact that so many aspects of our wedding had a story behind them (ie we know most of the people that produced our food, and the wine was made by an old school friend).