What shall I wear?

Janet Whyte, Council member of the Church and Society Council and a member of the Council's reference group on the Fashion Industry has penned this article helping us reflect on the ethics of our wardrobes.

Christmas is coming! The shops are filled with glitter and gifts, people are hurrying to and fro, wondering what to buy. Everywhere is good cheer – or is it? Are we hassled and exhausted, going round and round looking for the ideal gift. But hold on a moment – ideal for whom?

The Church and Society Council are at the moment working on a report for the General Assembly of 2010 looking at the issue of how the need to clothe ourselves has led to a whole industry built around the concept of “Fashion” and “Self image” that can affect many aspects of our lives and the lives of others.

Our report hopes to show that the choices we make about the clothes we wear are an important part of people’s self image, but also are symbolic of many other things, like our values, our status, (perceived or otherwise), our ethics or our work. We recognise that in God’s eyes we are all equal. God considers us more precious than the birds, which do not worry about how they are fed or what they wear.

Fashions come and go, even in the Church. Not too long ago, every woman would wear a hat. It is much more common now to wear casual dress. And how about the clergy? They now have various colours and styles of robes, and some have abandoned robes for a suit because of either perceived or real understanding of what these clothes symbolise for others or for them about their role and values as clergy.

These issues affect both genders. However, it can be children and young people who suffer most. There is a considerable trend to push children into the latest adult fashions, which can lead to inappropriate messages being given. Children are being encouraged to be adults before their time.

Like everything else in life, what we wear affects more than just what we look like to the outside world. We need to be aware of the possible exploitation of workers. And what about the environmental impact of the modern fashion industry - the problem of sustainability for the fashion industry and the pollution and waste involved?

During the production of our report a questionnaire was conducted via the Church of Scotland website, Church and Society Facebook Group and the National Youth Assembly. It gives us some perceptions from Church members and others. 70% of those who responded sometimes wore second hand clothes, 84% took their old clothes to charity shops and 54% recycled them.

The Church does not hold a solely negative view of things which may seem trivial in the light of other problems. Fashion is an art and in this can be found meaning and beauty and cause for celebration! And the Clothing, Fashion and Advertising industries employ a vast number of people. However, we as Christians should have an awareness of clothing. Ronald Sider writes in “Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger”: “It is not because food, clothes, wealth and property are inherently evil that Christians today must lower their standards of living. It is because others are starving”. Therefore we should look to the footprint of what we wear – environmentally, in fair trade or illicit, how we dispose of the clothes we no longer need, in what it says about who we are and the image it promotes of all of us – men, women and children. There are no right answers here but there are some wrong ones.

So we urge you to have a wonderful Christmas Season, with all of the blessings that Christmas brings, but have a second thought when you shop.