Buying clothes from certain companies

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Humility

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It seems like it is harder and harder to find companies with well-made, ethically made clothing that do not espouse beliefs that are contrary in some way to Church teaching. Suppose that a company is one of the best in the world at making a certain type of clothing, and you’ve bought their things for years, but recently you’ve discovered the company has a foundation that donates money to /partners with several charitable organizations, including one charitable organization that advocates for abortion rights (their primary issue is empowerment of girls, but this is an issue they are very vocal about). Can a Catholic buy their clothing in good conscience?

Also, what if you find out that a different company you purchase from educates their factory workers about “AIDS prevention”? That could mean condom use. Can a Catholic buy from them in good conscience?

And even if cooperation with evil isn’t an issue, what about scandal? Women ask other women all the time where they got a certain outfit, so even if the clothing didn’t have a giant logo on it, other people would find out where it came from.
 
This question has been gone over many times on CAF. Use the search feature to find them.
 
Humility said:
organization that advocates for abortion rights (their primary issue is empowerment of girls, but this is an issue they are very vocal about).
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When you start your boycott, write letters to the CEO explaining why you are no longer purchasing the product. You might mention that the notion of empowering girls to kill baby girls seems contradictory and that you are looking forward to the day that they recognize that the “right to kill” is morally problematic.
 
Humility said:
Suppose that a company is one of the best in the world at making a certain type of clothing, and you’ve bought their things for years, but recently you’ve discovered the company has a foundation that donates money to /partners with several charitable organizations, including one charitable organization that advocates for abortion rights (their primary issue is empowerment of girls, but this is an issue they are very vocal about). Can a Catholic buy their clothing in good conscience?

Also, what if you find out that a different company you purchase from educates their factory workers about “AIDS prevention”? That could mean condom use. Can a Catholic buy from them in good conscience?
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Yes and yes, if what you’re talking about is “cooperation with evil.” It would not be a sin to buy from them.

On the other hand, if you decided that you wanted to spend your money elsewhere, for whatever reason, that would be well within your rights.
 
We should ultimately be sewing our own clothes or having them tailored. That way, we wouldn’t be supporting the exploitation of the poor. One day, we could be sending a pattern down to Africa and asking a specific lady to send the completed clothing back to us. Also, we wouldn’t be supporting countries like China which are communist.

However, barring this, you can buy second hand clothing and put the money you save towards Catholic charities. The whole trick is to get away from “fast fashion” and onto proper tailoring.
 
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Then there is the question where all the materials needed for making clothes are produced and how.
 
There are little to no clothing options that aren’t made in sweat shops with people working in miserable conditions.
 
That’s because sewing is time-consuming work. Westerners don’t realize how much time it takes to sew well, and yet expect everything for next to nothing. I sew as my hobby. It takes me about 15 hours to make a blouse. I have sewn nearly everything I wear for some time, including a winter coat. It teaches me to value the work of those poor seamstresses in other countries.

One Bangladesh factory collapsed on its workers. When the owners of a factory don’t make enough money on orders, is it any wonder they can’t invest in their building?
 
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This is so true. And unfortunately it isn’t just westerners. I am from an Eastern European family and my dad is so happy and proud when he picks up a pair of shoes or shirt at Kmart for only $10 (or so).
If another shop dares to charge $25 or heavens forbid…even $80…I never hear the end of it 😁.

At least it is understandable here because coming from poor countries people still have poverty mindsets eternally (my dad grew up without toilet, or running water etc), so they are in the same boat financially as the Bangladeshi’s etc and struggling.

When westerners think this way though, and if they have never struggled financially, I think often it can be bad because it is being detached and “me centred” and not thinking about the person at the other end.

I also used to sew as a hobby until my back couldn’t handle it. I agree that people have no idea how much time it takes just to make a dress etc and how much skill it takes to sew perfectly straight and nothing to go wrong!
And it’s not just sewing, it’s the incessant ironing needed to keep hems perfectly folded. Burning self with steam trying to iron often tiny pieces like hems etc…

It is very underappreciated.
Come to think of it, sadly most of the traditionally feminine jobs are much undervalued and underpaid in society:(
 
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I went through a phase of making my own clothing when I was a teen. I never got beyond the most basic patterns because it is labor intensive and I was mostly self taught besides one high school home economics class that moved too fast to actually master anything. I admire this skill that is yes undervalued.

It’s a tough call trying to source clothing sustainably. I have always been a big thrift and consignment shopper. I like designer clothes but never want to pay anything close to retail and have a good eye. But I also buy from local designers, Etsy, and still buy some retail. If we shop all local and thrift, the retail industry loses jobs, yet shopping local and thrift is not convenient for all. I’m single and have a sizeable income to spend on what I want so I do not judge anyone’s choices. I also went to a school that taught fashion design and worked retail so I know how the supply chain works. very little that is marketed as ethical and sustainable truly is. And as much as sweatshop labor is appaling, that is often the only jobs in these countries. reform needs to happen but it’s a long messy road to virtuous shopping.
 
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While I appreciate the idea, I’m not going to buy clothes in person in the middle of a pandemic, and certainly not going to a tailor. Also, sometimes thrift stores themselves can be problematic, because their proceeds can go towards charitable causes Catholics might not agree with.

And thrift stores might still have those brands, and when you wear them and people recognize you wearing them, will you be committing scandal?
 
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Even if cooperation with evil were so distant as to be minimal, what about scandal if people know where your clothes come from? And are my reasons from buying from these particular companies proportionate enough? Or does the fact that the cooperation is so remote mean I don’t have to worry about that?
 
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Humility said:
Even if cooperation with evil were so distant as to be minimal, what about scandal if people know where your clothes come from? And are my reasons from buying from these particular companies proportionate enough? Or does the fact that the cooperation is so remote mean I don’t have to worry about that?
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I think the answer is “no sin of scandal”, since a reasonable person wouldn’t presume a sin that couldn’t possibly be present.
 
Okay, thank you for your answer. God bless you!

Also, thank you to everyone who replied and God bless you all!
 
You’re absolutely right about the contradiction and how it is morally problematic. I was asking whether I actually was required to boycott or not. It doesn’t look like I do.

It’s too bad that there aren’t pro-life organizations that provide the same kind of mentorship programs for girls that this organization does. It might be a good idea for a pro-life minded person to start one or even for the Church itself to get involved with this sort of thing.
 
I think that the church is more involved in this than we give credit for, sometimes.
Our faith formation informs our choices. The fact that you took the time to initiate this thread, suggests that your formation has led you to think carefully about your purchasing power and how to maximize its effectiveness from a moral as well as a material standpoint.
Others have chimed in showing that they too give thought to these issues and look for ways of living out their faith in a world of contradictions.
I credit faithful priests, my parents who were very well formed in their faith by Franciscan sisters who journeyed west from Wisconsin to teach at their small Catholic school, a Marian girls organization which provided me with gentle guidance in my youth and examples from the saints who struggled to live good and holy lives in the midst of the temptations of this world in helping me to think about these issues.
If we all work to help ourselves and our children grow in faith, that faith will help to direct our questions and our choices.
May God bless you and all who visit our thread.
jt
 
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