As I wrote in one of my previous posts, my small business is based only on values I truly believe in: creativity, good vibes, respect, responsibility and hard work. I’ve never thought about stealing ideas from other people or exploiting those I work with. I’ve always wanted to play fair.
Lately, I’ve come across several copies of my products (designs). And it makes me sad in a way. I’ve put so much hard work and creativity into every single piece of my pole dance apparel. When I see copies of my products, it does tell me in a way that I’m obviously doing something right. Yet it also has a negative impact on me and my brand since I’ve put so much time, energy and effort into creating Poledancerka and bringing my business to this point. My unique pole dance kneepads are copyright protected, but even that doesn’t stop those copycats. It’s so insulting to see that some people just don’t care if they use your idea and simply make a cheap copy of it.
I’ve also noticed copies of my products mostly come from countries where the workforce is majorly exploited. Workers, mostly women, operate in unsanitary conditions, are underpaid and taken advantage of in every possible way. Or even worse – in some of these countries, women are not even allowed to work at all. Don’t you see the absurdity of the situation? After all, we offer apparel for women.
The position of women in the fast fashion industry is so humiliating – because they have zero rights. Do you want to support that kind of human rights violation? We need to take a firm stand and boycott all those businesses that care only about profit and mass production, but couldn’t care less about the people that work for them.
When buying any kind of clothing, not only pole dance apparel, we should ask ourselves who made our clothes? It’s totally unacceptable that we turn away from all the things that are so obviously wrong. We can’t say that one single person is incapable of changing anything. I’m tired of listening to these kinds of lame excuses. Our decisions and actions count.
Thinking that matters, such as labor exploitation in third world countries, can’t be changed, is total ignorance. The times when we looked away and pretended that everything was fine, must finally come to anend.
What are your thoughts about the fast fashion industry that cares only about mass production and hyper-consumerism? What can be done in your opinion to prevent those horrific conditions people are working in? I know it’s a hard-hitting topic, but it’s vital to discuss it. I’ll be happy to hear your thoughts.
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