Indonesian Ethical Fashion Brands Index

This post is written as part of the #MulaiDariLemari campaign from Tukar Baju

As you know, I am an advocate for slow fashion. On this blog and social media, I often share tips on how to support slow fashion, how to thrift more effectively, how to love your clothes more, my decluttering experience and several slow fashion brands. However, it has been an awfully long time since I last shared some local ethical fashion brands here on the blog, so I thought today I'd create a master guide of all the brands that I've known thus far. Before we go on, I believe it's important to set a definition for what constitutes as "ethical" here. These brands take environmental and social impact into consideration, especially with the manufacturing process, which means their products are made of eco-friendly materials and their workers are paid fair wages—often they, too, strive to preserve local culture. Without further ado, here are some Indonesian slow fashion brands you can support.

Zero-Waste 3 Ways: Reusable Straws

It has been 2 years since I decided to adapt the zero-waste lifestyle—or, as I prefer to call it, low impact. And I still remember how big the concept seemed. As I have mentioned in this post before, it is important to do our research beforehand. For me, it is essential to be equipped with the right tools—in this case: reusable items. However, there are so many to choose from and everyone seems to have an opinion about each one. What is the right move here? Personally, I think there is no right way to go zero waste (or low impact). All you need to do is find a way that suits you best. Which is why I thought I'd try a few zero-waste equipments and tell you what I think, so you wouldn't have to purchase them all. Let's start with something simple and easy, shall we: reusable straws.

My Favourite Swapped Clothes

This post is written as part of the #MulaiDariLemari campaign from Tukar Baju

Lately, with the raised awareness of problems within the fashion industry, the popularity and demand for less-polluting secondhand clothing has also risen. Activities like thrifting and swapping have become all the rage. While thrifting has become more common amongst fashion enthusiasts, swapping has been met still with a shred of doubt. How do we do it? Will we get great items through this method? Is it safe? Personally, I have joined a few swap parties myself and, frankly, would do it again in a heartbeat. Not only does it cost you nothing, swapping also allows you to declutter unused items in your wardrobe at the same time. It's a win-win solution for everyone involved, and may spark social interactions among the participants. Today I thought I'd share a few swapped items of mine that I absolutely love to this day.

Plant-Based: Tiasa

Lessons Learnt: Starting Over

Up until I was 17, everything in my life seemed to be right on track—then I graduated from high school and it started to go downhill from there. At 18, I moved to Germany, starting my pre-uni a year later than I should've—and, ultimately, pushing my uni 2 years back. I failed to get into numerous art schools that I applied to. In the end, I was 22 when I decided to fly back home and put a reset on my life. Though at first I wasn't sure how I wanted to proceed, I ended up starting over with uni—with a major that I had been aiming for all along—at the time when all my friends have graduated. Not only was my boyfriend at the time still in Germany, but I felt pretty much alone in this experience. Fast forward to 4 years later, when I thought my life was going back on track somewhat—but then my long-term relationship ended. It was entirely my choice, yet it was still uncharted territory. Not too long afterwards, I began a new one. So, I guess you can say that I'm pretty experienced in this whole 'starting over' thing—and here are some thing I've learnt from it.