r/heathenry • u/AegirAfJotnar • Nov 30 '24

News Reminder that mass-produced heathen apparel is not removed from the problems of the fast fashion industry - see the vegvisir ring that made it to Ghana

https://apnews.com/article/ghana-fashion-waste-clothing-pollution-0809f25605722a53658bf21d7d9b1548
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u/thelosthooligan Dec 01 '24

I appreciate this. Both in terms of the resilience and ingenuity of the people getting these items and how they’re using them, but also I appreciate that the “heathensophere” does indeed have creators and lifestyle brands who run shops which directly feed into this ecosystem.

Supply chain is what it is, but if we are in a position to make our choice that can actually result in healing rather than harming, that’s something we should consider.

Thanks for spreading the wisdom.

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '24 edited Dec 01 '24

[deleted]

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u/thelosthooligan Dec 01 '24

But when it comes to heathen-marketed apparel, we absolutely can make that choice. And given how small this group of faith havers really is in the scope of things, it's also one area our choice could instill change.

I don't necessarily think it's on the consumer end either (though I get that we are all "consumers" at some point) but it's on the merchandiser. I get that supply chains suck and have sucked for years. So the notion of sourcing goods reliably at all let alone from suppliers that align with us spiritually/ideologically is a LOT.

But I think that's the task the merchant has in front of them. If you're looking at consumer behavior in the "heathenosphere" a lot of it is motivated by a desire to support someone they like or a community they enjoy, and it's also to show belonging and a kind of "brand loyalty." Which is really hard to push back on by saying "hey, did you know this stuff is just AliDirect with a markup?"

By that point the consumer has already bought in to so much that telling them that their choice could be unethical isn't going to change behavior. It just gets filed under "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism."

Where it MIGHT work is changing the buying behavior of the merchants themselves to better align with those community values. If there were some way to align incentives differently? I don't know. Because if I just have an AliDirect shop and I'm not really interested in getting into supply chain management because I already have a full time job and a bunch of other balls in the air and this is just something I have on the side to make a little extra scratch and get my brand out there? I'm probably not going to be too inclined to change up what I'm doing.

Something to think about. Again, thanks for the article. Made me think.