Blogging for the World

Today, October the 15th is Blog Action Day, a day when bloggers in over 110 countries around the world register to literally blog for the world. Founded in 2007, Blog Action Day brings together bloggers with many different interests, speaking in over 40 languages to blog about one important global topic of their choice . Past topics have included water, climate change, poverty, human rights and food security, with thousands of blog sites, big and small, taking part.

Cyberspace has literally been set alight today with the almost tangible collective goodwill – and if one person, one animal, one eco system can benefit as a direct result of this initiative, then it will have been a justifiable cause. Our one regret is the relative low profile the event has had in the popular media – but hopefully as the momentum picks up, we will see this event featured more on TV, radio and the printed media in years to come.

At Sapellé we believe in the profound power that Trade can play in improving people’s lives and communities and giving them self-sufficiency, which is one of the underlying principles of what we do – trading in fashion, ethically.

We believe that the consumer has immense power to influence the way in which their products are made, and this can only be achieved when they vote with their feet, in favour of providers who act responsibly. So we thought that we’d trawl the vast ocean of blogs-for-good that are being posted virtually every minute today, focusing on those that share our passion – Responsible and Ethical Fashion. Fashion for Good. Of the relatively few blogs covering ethical fashion, one in particular has been prolific:

Style Eyes Ethical Fashion Blog Blogathon

Between 9 am and 9pm, Ceri, the blogger behind the Style Eyes ethical style blog, and her team of blogger supporters have undertaken a blogathon, posting at a rate of two blogs an hour, with all sponsorship proceeds going to Naomi House Hospice.  The blogs have featured Ethical Fashion events, labels and retailers that will be of interest to those seeking ‘healthy alternatives’ in their fashion diet, including our favourite blog so far, “Sapellé – a Paradise of Prints” that highlights our own on-line multi-brand store that provides a platform for artisans, social enterprises and design labels which draw inspiration from African design, and/or are produced in Africa.

By the end of the day of blogging, shoppers who might not have known where to start in their bid to be more socially responsible consumers, or indeed those who are simply looking for other or new sources of fashionable clothing, will have at their disposal a varied list of trendy brands that are leading the way in re-defining old concepts of ethical fashion as being either exceedingly expensive or lacking in style.

‘The Power of We’ can mean many things to many people, but we think it can be as little as making a conscious decision to pay attention to where the things we consume come from, and, as a growing collective, choosing to only support those brands that are responsible in the way they operate – the power being in the overwhelming impact if WE all did it.

Links:

http://ethicalfashionblog.com/

http://www.rarelywearslipstick.com/2012/10/ethical-fashion-and-the-power-of-we/

http://www.bexceptional.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/ethical-fashion-blogathon-purity-style.html

http://www.hayleythrills.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/london-ethnic-review-ethical-fashion.html

http://www.mswandas.co.uk/

http://sapelle.com/