I messed up. Actually, I mess up all the time. Life as a mum means messing up daily is almost a certainty. But this time I’m not talking about forgetting which day is library day or not having enough fruit in the house. Those kind of mess ups don’t usually bother me, but this mess up does.
Ethically speaking, I messed up. Sometimes this whole ethical blogging thing can seem a bit sanctimonious, but I honestly believe in what I’m doing. I really think it is important to show you that ethical fashion options are out there and are accessible to us all. There are still people out there who assume that ethical fashion means walking around in a hessian bag or that ethical fashion is always super expensive. This blog exists to prove those people wrong!
Anyway, to start from the start, I belong to a few ‘influencer communities’ who work with brands and influencers to set up collaboration projects. Most of these ‘opportunities’ in my experience have straight away been obvious bad fits and I’ve politely declined. Other opportunities that come my way (direct messages, emails etc) are usually met with research and LOTS of questions. But recently, I lost my way. I applied to be a part of a project with a well known brand through Social Soup and my application was accepted.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m going to tell you which brand and product I was gifted. It was Advanced Genifique from Lancome. It’s supposed to target the ten key signs of youthful-looking skin, blah blah blah. It sounded awesome. And the packaging looked really pretty. So without further ado, I tapped the APPLY button on my app and was then probably interrupted with a request for something that my kids desperately needed.
A few weeks later the product arrived and it got real. I began photographing the product and working out what I was going to tell you about it. Only then did it hit me – I’ve never actually bought any products from Lancome before and I actually knew next to nothing about this company. Better late than never I figured, as I began investigating. Now, if you’re interested, I’ll put a few links below so you can have a read for yourself. But let’s just say that what I’ve read has not impressed me. Concerns over child labour, dodgy supply chain management and animal testing had me hanging my head in shame.
So, I’ve definitely written this article out of guilt – that’s for sure – but also out of my desire to be honest and authentic with you. I need you to trust me when I tell you that something has been produced ethically so that you don’t have to do the research that I’ve already done.
Ethical Consumer: http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/scoredetails.aspx?ProductId=1320875
The Good Shopping Guide: http://www.thegoodshoppingguide.com/ethical-make-up/
Shop Ethical: https://guide.ethical.org.au/guide/browse/guide/?type=78
Until next time,
Lily x
