Many surveys purport to show that even the average consumer is demanding so-called ethical products, such as fair trade–certified coffee and chocolate, fair labor–certified garments, cosmetics produced without animal testing, and products made through the use of sustainable technologies. Yet when companies offer such products, they are invariably met with indifference by all but a selected group of consumers… Although many individuals bring their values and beliefs into purchasing decisions, when we examined actual consumer behavior, we found that the percentage of shopping choices made on a truly ethical basis proved far smaller than most observers believe, and far smaller than is suggested by the anecdotal data presented by advocacy groups.

More is here.

Of course if you were paid slave wages to work 7 days a week 16 hours a day, you would not be at your best either.

I don’t think this is entirely true in several respects. First, it’s a throw away line oft repeated but don’t think it’s actually true (long story). Wages may be low compared to western standards but it’s well paying there. Second, producers are responsible for quality and what they’re willing to pay for. You can get good stuff and well made but a lot of entrepreneurs don’t want to pay for it.

* – bad fitting clothing is everywhere and it is horrible. The fact is that “off the rack” gets worse every year in quality of sewing and quality of fit. Of course if you were paid slave wages to work 7 days a week 16 hours a day, you would not be at your best either.

The fact is that the slow slide into poor quality has been going on for so long that most people have no idea what it is like to wear clothing that fits…not even one tailored suit or even a properly fitting pair of jeans. Good clothing is simply cut and pieced differently than low quality crap. When a good fit calls for a curved cut (which costs money in fabric waste) the cost is passed on to the consumer; but far too many of the consumers simply do not want to pay that extra money – even when it makes a garment last many years longer. When you cut your pieces to create a body designed to fit a curved body (not a flat cardboard body) it costs more money. Every time a straight cut design is used it saves money at the cost of quality, which can translate into a lot pf money over the course of a years sales. The majority of clothing is now made in lower quality shops that specialize in low cost items sold at a high volume. They make their money by selling in quantity, not quality.

* – A person who goes into a given business ONLY because they find it fun, is usually going to fail. Hobbies are hobbies, and there is nothing wrong with them (even making a few bucks on them) but they are still hobbies. Although business can be rewarding and fun, it can also be very hard and frustrating. It is risky and stressful.

* – All businesses need to make money or they die and getting any business to succeed requires knowledge, skills, and a lot of stubbornness and patience. You have to be hungry for sucess and willing to learn (and take instruction).

Success also requires giving customers something they want to have … but it is perfectly possoible for you to convince them that you have a good idea (sometimes even if you do not).This is the the most important piece of a successful business – MARKETING.

Bill Gates insisted that Microsoft was not a software or I.T. company, but a marketing company. He was right. His success did not come from having a quality product, or a good ethical reputation, or a social conscience (he had none of these). It came down to getting people to WANT the product his company made by emotional manipulation (this is called marketing) and to think of his company first (by getting and keeping market share). The fact is that advertising works. It sells product. It gets people to part with their money and give it to you. I have seen a lot of businesses built on great ideas die, becasue nobody knew they were there.

The success of your marketing methods = the success of your company.

To be clear:

I am not saying that women should be required to starve themselves to anorectic nubs. To be healthy and reasonably trim ought to be enough.

I also am not saying that women much larger than normal are not entitled to be able to buy nice clothes.

But I do understand why certain high-end designers are reluctant to enter the plus size field for both aesthetic and economic reasons.

A lot of people, including “normal-sized” people, have no idea what correct fit is anymore. I’ve actually had to look it up on the web. I’m a Petite and over the years I’ve grown so used to things not fitting that I don’t notice anymore. If I paid attention, I’d go crazy with compulsiveness and be unable to step outside the door because NOTHING EVER FITS. Shoulders are always too big; waists and sleeves usually too long; the pants that fit my hips make my waist swim, I have to wear Size 5 and even Size 6 shoes when my correct size is 4.5. It goes on and on.

Almost twenty years ago, I paid to have a couple suits altered, but it was $100 for each on top of the cost of the suits, which were bridge designer, and probably cost $400 each. I understood then that the place had done a beautiful job, but now that I’ve taken some sewing classes, I appreciate the work even more.

When people complain about how hard it is to find things that fit, I try to explain that apart from some companies’ propensity to treat all women like anorexic 14-year-olds (that IS insulting) the diversity of bodies in America and the increasingly large size of some people makes it genuinely difficult for manufacturers to fit everyone.

But since they tend to know all about the superficial aspects of “fashion” from the media and next to nothing about the details of construction and fit, the message never takes.