So how does this relate to fashion? We’ve long treated clothes as superficial. They are something to be consumed to make us feel better. Today’s polarization and media culture have exacerbated this problem. Enabled by sophisticated technology and social media, the fashion industry exploits our vulnerabilities and makes thoughtless and wasteful decisions the norm.

When we’re informed, we’re connected, compassionate, and conscious. I created The Peahen to bring critical conversation back to fashion through researched articles and guides. This is a space where I’ll enlighten, but never judge you. I hope you come for style and stay for sustainability.

I’m Here For It

An ever-evolving list of topics fit to print here…

• Fashion as art
• Fashion as employment (when it pays a living wage!)
• Fashion as a creator of and commentator on culture
• Fashion technology and innovation
• Regeneration and circularity
• Womxn and raising their voices, all over the world!
• Corporate accountability and transparency
• Beauty, lifestyle, and food
• Intersectionality
• Decolonization
• Anti-globalism
• Preservation of artisan traditions
• Humor for advocacy endurance
• Words, word, words and their weight
• GOOD DESIGN

Pitch me if you write about these things and want to get published here.

What is a Peahen?

A Peahen is a name for a female peacock. ‘Peafowl,’ the official name for peacocks and peahens, flip traditional gender roles on their head. When you think of Peafowl, an image of the male probably pops into your head first. With that distinctive display of feathers, why wouldn’t it? These feathers work to the peacock’s advantage, helping him attract the more subtle peahen – who is brown like the earth. He does the flaunting, she does the choosing.

There’s a lot of power in this gender role reversal. The peahen gets to set her own, considered path.

I see the same parallel in fashion. Where a fashion victim follows trends, a conscious consumer asks questions. They make the decision instead of letting the decision pick them, just like the choosy Peahen. But questioning what you buy doesn’t mean you have to give up fashion entirely. It just means buying in a more informed way.

If you’re new, these are good posts to get you started:

• A Guide on When to Shop, When to Not
• The Leather Label: What’s Ethical and What’s BS
• Responsible Alternatives to Reformation
• Is ‘Natural’ Actually More Sustainable? 
• The Truth About H&M
• Natural Dyes and Why They Matter

Find a list of brands and designers I endorse on my Shopping Page.

What is Ethical Fashion?

As the ethical fashion industry evolves, the vocabulary is being created around it quite literally as I type this. For today, I treat ethical fashion as the bucket term that encapsulates other, more specific ones like:

• Sustainable fashion
• Conscious fashion
• Artisan fashion
• Fair trade fashion
• Transparent fashion
• Vegan fashion
• Zero-waste fashion
• Regenerative fashion
• Circular fashion

The main reason a bucket term is needed is is because no fashion brand can be ALL THESE THINGS. Most start with one and expand slowly from there. It’s rare to see them tackle more than three. Also, ethics is a vast field that’s open to interpretation and contribution. That’s why I prefer ‘ethical fashion’ instead of ‘conscious’ or ‘sustainable.’ Because it reflects the evolution of the field and your choice in the matter. So pick a few values that are most important to you and define your own ethical fashion.