Conversation with an Ethical Fashion Writer: Anna Lee

Ethical fashion writer Anna Lee is encouraging consumers to ditch their fast fashion love affair and demand more from clothing labels.

Anna Lee was exposed to the ugly truth of the fashion industry during the filming for TV3 reality series “Reality Trip” in 2013.

The show was looking for someone to play the part of a privileged fashion fanatic, not knowing that Anna would embrace the opportunity - quick to leave all first-world problems at the door.

The experience would transform Anna’s entire life.

The trip entailed a six-week journey throughout Asia, including the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, to observe working conditions and living standards for those far away from first world problems.

Working alongside factory employee’s in Asia, Lee had her eyes opened to the harsh conditions and unjust pay.

“We slept at their houses, we worked their jobs, we got paid what they get paid, we ate what they ate,” says Anna.

Returning to New Zealand with a distaste for shopping and the hunger for a challenge, Anna began writing a weekly “Ethical Living” column in her role as the Editorial Assistant for Viva magazine.

But she knew her passion for human rights would eventually lead her to explore a new career path.

“I couldn’t do the job that I was doing because it conflicted with my personal ethics and morals – I didn’t want to be selling a brand that I didn’t believe in, to people,” explains Anna.

Fast forward to 2017 and the day in the life of the ethical journalist is busy.

After leaving her job, Anna decided to gain a law degree that would help her assist in advising the fashion industry and its exploited workers.

Anna travels between Canberra, Sydney and Auckland, running a small consultancy business and working as a fashion and beauty editor for Canberra Weekly magazine.

Scrolling down Anna’s Instagram is like looking at a fashion mood-board; she’s clearly fashion forward, donning a chic outfit in each post.

Giving up a consumer lifestyle doesn’t have to mean compromising on personal style.

One thing Anna wants to make clear is that being an ethical consumer can be simple – despite the intimidating label.

“Where people get stuck is they don’t want to buy into fast fashion but they don’t really know how to go about consuming ethically – and it’s actually so easy to do,” says Anna.

It doesn’t have to mean departing with your treasured clothing items and going one hundred percent organic and local, Anna explains, but instead investing in pieces that will last.

“So instead of buying a cheap five dollar tee shirt, you buy a $100 tee shirt, knowing it’s going to last and if it rips or tears I’m going to want to fix it not replace it because I don’t want to buy into excessive clothing consumption,” says Anna.

The idea of living a “minimalist” lifestyle has become increasingly trendy in the fashion world, with people condensing their closet into a capsule wardrobe of versatile pieces that work together.

For five starter staples - Anna recommends a really good pair of jeans, a pair of comfortable shoes, a jacket that you invest in, a nice basic tee and a knit.

“Pieces that you can dress up or down and will always be in style while trends come and go,” says Anna.

“I’m obsessed with Kowtow, I think they’re onto a really good thing - also Care of Label and Vega.”

Kowtow designer Gosia Piatek followed a similar path to Anna, realising that she wanted to do something that was “good, sustainable and ethical” she launched a fair trade and organic designer label.

Gosia Piatek visits the garment factories regularly, to check up on her workers and to ensure the products remain sustainable and ethical.

Another route to take is embracing racks of pre-loved clothing, shopping second- hand instead of buying into fast fashion.

“I was not a fan of op-shops, I wanted to go buy new clothes, but there are some amazing clothes in those shops; you just have to know how to shop,” says Anna.

As New Zealand Fashion Week approaches, fewer people are marking it on their calendar and are instead demand a front row seat to what goes on behind-the-scenes of major fashion labels.

Each year, New Zealand based organisation Tearfund releases its Ethical Fashion Report – grading the ethical standards of companies and their supply chains.

“The first report was published in the wake of the industry’s most tragic disaster; the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which claimed the lives of 1,134 garment workers,” says Murray Sheard, Education and Advocacy Manager for Tearfund.

Each year, millennial consumers are impacted by the ethical fashion report, which in 2017 gave clothing labels Kowtow an A grade, Kathmandu a B+, Glassons a B- and Farmers an F.

“Consumers aren’t stupid – we’re hitting a crisis point and in order to keep succeeding as a business with clued-up consumers, you’re going to have to change your ways,” says Anna.

There is a lot to admire about the ethically conscious New Zealand brands, they set the standard for the fashion industry and encourage shoppers to boycott mega clothing corporation.

When asked about her future endeavours; the one thing that excites Anna the most is returning to where it all began – a trip to Bangladesh.

“I’m in regular contact with the amazing garment factory workers and the people that we met overseas, I’m really looking forward to doing another trip back.”

Loving your career but holding yourself to personal values is something that is hard to balance, and although Anna embraces her career in the fashion industry; the heart of her career is helping people in desperate, dire situations.