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Eluxe Magazine Recognizes Dulce Salerno as a Key Player in Gender Equality

When we first launched our clothing brand, we wanted Dulce Salerno to be an inspiration for the new generation to change the world for the better. Through positive messages, call to actions and empowering designs, we wanted to build a community of change-makers who are aware of how their actions impact the planet and how simple acts of kindness can make a huge difference. In fact, every piece of Dulce clothing carries with it that goal and contributes to various causes such as living ethically and sustainably, giving back, preserving the environment, fighting cancer, saving water, ending poverty, providing equal opportunities, reducing waste, inspiring change, ensuring fair wages, protecting animals, empowering women, supporting artists and craftsmanship, all while providing high quality clothing.

Recently, Eluxe Magazine has highlighted another important cause that Dulce Salerno advocates for: Gender equality in the fashion industry. With a wide collection of unisex caps, Tees and belts, we are not restricting any specific color, cut or design to boys or girls. If you like it, then it’s yours regardless of who you may be. But most importantly, the messages that we are sending through our fashion items to young girls are the same that we are sending to young boys: you CAN make a difference, you CAN help a child fight cancer, you CAN give someone the gift of water, you CAN help end poverty, you CAN save our planet, you CAN be a superhero and you ARE enough. It doesn’t matter if you are a girl or a boy, it’s still on YOU to change this world for the better.

A big thank you to Eluxe Magazine for shedding light on this important issue and for featuring all those amazing ethical brands that celebrate genderless fashion as well. And do make sure to check out the article here!

The day Ethical Fashion conquers the world

We are always saying that one day ‘ethical fashion’ will be just known as ‘fashion’ and ‘fast fashion’ will no longer exist. With the slow fashion movement slowly gaining momentum over the fast fashion world and customers demanding transparency, we can now not only dream of the win, but be sure of it. The day will come and on that special day we shall see the changes we have been fighting for all our lives. Here is a glimpse of what will happen the day ethical fashion finally conquers the world.

  • Animals will no longer live in fear of being murdered for their fur.
  • Local businesses will do a happy dance.
  • You can finally wear Tees with Woman Power quotes without feeling guilty that an enslaved woman made it.
  • Your lungs will breathe cleaner air as the second most polluting industry will no longer exist.
  • Cotton can finally stop drinking all that water and share it with the rest of the world instead.
  • Activists will have to search for a new purpose as slavery will be a thing of the past and everyone will live in fairness and equality.
  • You might find yourself arrested by the Fashion Police if you get caught wearing fast fashion.
  • Children can go back to being troublemakers instead of spending their time working in factories.
  • Your bank account will stay fuller as you’ll have less impulses to buy cheap products that you don’t need.
  • Landfills will get less crowded with low quality clothing that are thrown out after a few wears.
  • Plastic will fear extinction as more natural, organic and sustainable materials will have replaced polyester.
  • The only place you’ll find fast fashion will be in big libraries, in the “horror” and “sci-fi” section.

“Fast” and “Slow” fashion: A brief understanding of each trend and how they impact our world

Nowadays, the mainstream fashion industry counts on mass production in which fashion clothes are designed and created in a matter of weeks. The latest fashion trends are sold by retailers at low prices, which causes the public to buy more than they need. Furthermore, this industry comes at a hidden cost, which includes our environment and labor workers. These are human lives we are talking about, and this is the world that we will leave for the future generations to come. Mainstream fashion is also called “Fast Fashion”, and disturbs our world in numerous ways, which include: the deterioration of fossil fuels and fresh water reservoirs being eliminated for cotton crop farming, entering pesticides into our nature, and putting our ecosystems in risk of destruction. In summary, “Fast Fashion” is correlated with negative effects on our ecological and social environment. I’m sure you’ve heard of the quote that say’s “Today’s Treasures, Tomorrow’s Trash”, as it perfectly fits the end consumer of the fast fashion industry. Disposability plays a key role here, laterally with speed and style. Edith, a thirty-five-year-old HONG KONG consultant, said: These companies [referring to H&M] use designers like Stella McCartney to create limited, one-time collections, which get usually sold out the next day. An effective strategy indeed, which also means that consumers are buying more clothes more frequently due to affordable prices. However, that also means that they’re unfortunately disposable. You may keep an item after ten washes, but the item’s shine will surely fade away literally or will no longer be popular the next day in the fashion world.

The business model of Fast Fashion entails that large retailers reduce large volume of seasonal fashion production and avoid inventory that can’t be sold, also called “unsalable inventory” (Silver-Stein and Fisk, 2008). The business model is based on a “quick response” design, to produce, and distribute on demand. The products then end up being in the market as being “fashionable and affordable” (Caro And Albeinz,2014), which increases demand and turnover of the merchandise. There are four factors in this model that result in profitability in this industry: logistics, technology, flexible value chain, and emerging markets. The more the traditional companies are being aware of increased revenues due to the fast fashion Model, the more they are prone to adopt fast fashion elements and integrate them into their own industry.

I’m sure many of you are wondering what slow Fashion is and how it differs from fast Fashion. Slow fashion embodies everything that is “ethical” or “eco” in one integrated movement. Let’s call it a fashion revolution since it demands that the production of garments is done in an eco-friendly way, gives proper value to the product, and be more environment conscience. The beauty of slow Fashion is that the producers are all interconnected, therefore, they all support each other in the social and environmental system. By switching to slow Fashion, we allow our earth to better rejuvenate and allow its heart to beat peacefully and in a healthy rhythm. Earth has hosted and nurtured us, the least we could do in return is to not damage it for our own greed and desires. Earth aside for now, what about us? What about those poor children being forced into minimum wage labor so they could have the privilege of living? Slow Fashion takes part of campaigns to ensure that workers are treated fairly and ethically. Brands that partook in such campaigns include “Dulce Salerno”, “People Tree”, “Everlane”, “Nisolo”, and many more. Ethical brands tell you the exact process of the cycle of how you can make a difference when you purchase an item. There is a story behind every garment and you are free to take part in the design process if needed. “It’s about the consumer becoming aware of the whole process–from design through production through use and through the potential to reuse,” Hazel Clark, research chair of fashion at Parsons said. The business model of slow fashion differs substantially from the fast fashion model, and emerged in reaction to it. The model’s values are hardly seen in large economy of scale companies, it “saves firms that promote localism and equity, and maximizes the product’s lifespan and environmental sustainability” (Jung and Byoungho, 2014). Recently, many slow fashion companies are using online platforms to do business, which facilitated the process for consumers and making the concept more popular. According to Nielson, a large research firm, sustainable fashion consumers are growing globally in enormous numbers,

You know what is even better? ALL profits go to charity! And yes, you read that correctly, 100%. The whole idea is that you are buying an item for yourself and in return giving back to the world. Sounds too good to be true, right? The price of items in slow Fashion is often higher, that is because they are using delicate materials such as organic cotton or bamboo which cost more to make, and labor wages are at an ethical level. However, there is more to Slow Fashion than the materials, “slow fashion encompasses sustainable fashion, but it takes a broader view than just supporting organic T-Shirts,” said Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. Furthermore, it is important to note that slow fashion does not only focus on the quality of the product, but rather on the consumer’s quality of life, concepts related to the “slow food movement” (Fletcher, 2014).

Let us be real with each other, till when should we continue with taking the “easy way out”? Join us in our cause and let us heal this world person to person, hand by hand. It all starts with you.

Posted by Dulce Salerno

Dulce Salerno: 2017 Good Brand Award from Sublime Magazine

It’s award season and we’re not talking about the Oscars or the Grammy’s!

Being a brand that always strives to be ethical, eco-friendly and to use fashion as a force for good, we couldn’t be happier and proud to receive the 2017 Good Brand Award from Sublime Magazine.

The Good Brand award is an endorsement award that has been given by Sublime Magazine since 2007 to businesses whose products and services are both manufactured and delivered in an environmentally and socially friendly manner. The award itself is an indication to customers that the brand is ethical and can be trusted.

At Dulce Salerno, we pride ourselves with our commitment towards a sustainable cycle right from the moment the idea/design is conceived, all the way to the manufacturing process and long after the product is purchased. Whether you are buying one of our t-shirts, belts or caps, you can rest assured that every piece has been carefully crafted with utmost love and care towards both humanity and the environment, and that your purchase has improved the quality of someone else’s life.

Sublime Award

Dulce Salerno Tee

From Dulce, a big thank you to Sublime Magazine for the love and recognition, and to all other like-minded brands who are on the same ethical journey as Dulce to making this world better.

Posted by Dulce Salerno

Dulce Salerno: An Ethical Brand with a Deeper Purpose

If you’re familiar with the Dulce Salerno brand, you probably already know what we do and why we do it. We’re all about ethical fashion, fair trade, supporting the causes we believe in and raising funds for charities. But there is even more to our brand than meets the eye. Dulce Salerno is a symbol of Peace and Hope, and we don’t want to just sell t-shirts and donate to charities. We want to do so much more:

  • We want to inspire and empower the new generation.
  • We want to spread love and kindness.
  • We want you to know that you do hold the power to change and to positively influence the world every day with small daily acts.
  • We want to draw smiles on children’s faces.
  • We want to give a helping hand to those in need and make somebody’s difficult journey a little easier.
  • We want to use art and fashion as a force for good to tell inspiring stories and raise awareness for the causes we support and believe in.
  • We want you to create good habits early on in your children’s lives.
  • We want to take part in a fashion revolution that will hit the world by storm and create a chain of positive actions.
  • We want you to start thinking about who made your clothes.
  • We want to create a conscious community of shoppers.
  • We want to make “doing good” in fashion and “giving back” the new trend.
  • We want you to be kind to our planet, connect with nature and think about the impact your actions have on our environment.
  • We want to build a new generation of change-makers that doesn’t just go with the flow, but stops and thinks, feels, analyzes, questions, refuses, acts and casts a vote.
  • We want to empower artists and craftsmanship, and create beautiful pieces without harming the environment.
  • We want to leave the planet in a better condition for our children.
  • We want to make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today.
  • We want you not to lose hope.
  • We want to see a world where injustice, poverty, hunger, child labor and modern slavery no longer exist. A world where all children have access to safe water, education and health care facilities.
  • We want to feel pride in what we do and to know that we stood up for what we believe in.
  • We want to do our part in making this world a better place to live in and we want you to join us.

 

With Love,

Dulce.