The FAST FASHION Industry -  A new State of Affairs

Hello Folks,
I happened to be browsing through my Facebook feed and came across an AJ+ Video discussing the onset of Spring fashion and the ease with which one can be a fashionista without breaking the bank. Hm, now that's an idea worth exploring!
The host discusses how Americans are buying more clothes than ever thanks in large part to the "fast fashion" industry. 'Fast fashion" is being likened to FAST FOOD where consumers obtain cheap knock-off versions of the 'good stuff' sold in large quantities with swift turn around for the seller.
          When I heard this, my first thought as an entrepreneur wishing to establish brand recognition was: "My goodness, I wish Bàdu products would have such a quick sale turn over!" However, in the same token, I realize we are talking apples and oranges since the operative word here is 'cheap'. More often than not, I hear customers complain that the artist's products may be over-priced and some may be so bold as to calculate for you how much they think you should charge. However, one has to be cognizant of the fact that when Handcrafted products are purchased, you are not just buying the materials, you buy the time, skills and visionary effort of that designer!
 As the video progressed, the narrator went on to discuss how these clothing shipments made it to mainstream stores such as H&M, Forever 21 and Zara as often as once weekly. Large supply is now driving down prices of clothes (thanks to cheap material and labor) whereas everything else has gone up since the 1980's and 1990's.
Of course, product demand has to match supply and Americans are consumed with a 'Buy-buy spirit' from which we need deliverance as my friend laughingly admonished me several months ago in order to get me to stop buying so many clothes. Funny enough, I may have been delivered - Thank God- since I can count off one hand the amount of clothes I've purchased during the 1st quarter of 2016 compared to 2015. I am convincing myself and everyone who cares to listen that I have turned over a new leaf. Yes! Yes! & Amen! :)P
This video is a timely reminder for me. It is apt in its description of our addiction to material goods and the humongous amount of waste accrued - 85% of clothes end up in landfills (70 lbs/ person)  as well as those slated for recycle. Lets not forget the amount of clothes that end up at Salvation Army or Goodwill because you grew fatter [me :-(/ ], out of season, or just NOT plain interested in that style and you wonder why the heck you bought it in the first place but never got around to returning it [scream]! Now mind you, there's no way Salvation Army can sell all those clothes so they contract with middle men and bundle them off to developing nations who have a fiendish appetite for all things western or more specifically American.
In Ghana, my native home, 'Bend down boutique' is not a joke but a thriving business for various market sellers who judiciously sort out their wares into 1st Selection (mint condition), 2nd Selection (good condition) and 3rd Selection (visible defects - cheapest price) and place them on display for purchase by the masses. You even have to get to the market early enough to tap into the 1st Selection - lets not play! They have such good patronage that a good portion of the populace (other than the rich) utilize this medium in large part for purchasing clothes as opposed to established store front clothing shops and boutiques.
Oftentimes, we as consumers simply look at the end results - getting an affordable outfit for the next social event and blithely forget the process and the folks at the other end of the spectrum. I call it non-ecologically conscious consumerism because people do not make any conscious connections to the downstream effects on the environment, health, etc.
Even though we castigate the H&M's, Forever 21's and Zara's of this world for manufacturing cheap clothing  that is fueled by use of 'labor made cheap' (not cheap labor mind you) to churn this global machine of offshoring products and services, what's to say that high fashion brands such as Versace, Gucci, etc are utilizing "well-paid" Bangladeshi or Chinese factory workers (not sweat shops) to make their high end, quality brands. I DOUBT THAT... I'm just saying!
In addition to other environmental triggers, lets not forget the use of dyes being used during production and the likelihood of these chemicals causing an increase in human/ animal cancer in various Asian cities. These chemicals are often discarded into waterways that serve as sources of drinking water. We'd like to think that manufacturing processes are so fully regimented that these chemicals have no chance of leaching into our skin to cause secondary exposure but Alas! blue jeans dye stains on my white bag and tan car seats put that idea to rest very quickly. Really...What chemicals are we exposed to... and from where has caused this sharp incidence of cancer in people so young... many of us being poster children for that question!
At the end of the day, CHEAP is good for a majority of the masses in the US and elsewhere who cannot sneeze at it. They do not have the socio-economic buying power of the top 1% whom own and formulate policies that shift trade and manufacturing offshore to countries with less stringent environmental and production statutes where sweat shop conditions produce items that look nice for a great price and swift turnover to create a lovely economic state of affairs!
Interestingly enough, it appears H&M is one of the only outfits that recycles textiles and any material goods via donation and re-release of clothing in their 'conscious collection' effort (15-30% coupons for every bag. I wouldn't mind jumping on this opportunity, mind you, except I don't shop there often enough to accumulate a whole bag for recycle. :)
The great news is that they are at least making an effort to impact change given that humans are wasteful and most companies do not care about slave labor and climate changes if it is not impacting their profit margin.
And on that sad but realistic note, I leave you to continue shopping in an ecologically conscious manner.
 Ciao...
Bàdu

Bàdu Travel
 Beachy | Luxurious | Chic 

The Euro~Anniversaire Trip: August 15 -September 2, 2015

Hello All,
It's been quite a hiatus I've taken from blogging! Hence this blog post is retrospective at best when I am once again being bitten by the travel bug only to realize I never documented the previous trips. Given that I am somewhat a 'fly by the pants' type of girl when it comes to traveling, this trip was coordinated in less than a month with the help of a wonderful Expedia Travel representative when I realized coordination wasn't going as envisioned.

After receipt of damning medical news from my physician in June, my better half essentially announced: - "Babe we are going to Greece!" Life is short Hun and contrary to what we envisioned on our wedding day, who knows what tomorrow holds?! ... and Voila! Thereon began a scramble to put everything together! Greece has ALWAYS BEEN ON MY BUCKET LIST since Junior High school so it was no coincidence since I had dropped the hints several times. Of course, if we were going to make it to Greece, would it not make sense to fashionably explore the hubbub of Europe (i.e. London and Paris) while we were at it! 
We only had approximately 2 weeks off hence we tried to pack as many destinations and activities as was humanly possible into this trip. We started off in Appleton, WI for my cousin-cum-sister's 40th Parisian theme Birthday bash (oh how apropos)! From there, we attempted to make a mad dash back to Maryland to finish packing for our flight to London the next day. Alas! mad it was, dash it wasn't given the fact that we missed our flight and ended up spending 12 hours at the Atlanta airport thanks to Delta airlines for wrong gate notifications such that by the time we dashed over to the correct gate wheezing like a stuffed exhaust pipe, the irritating agents would not let us board despite being 10 minutes early because the slick twits had overbooked the flight anyways. It was beyond frustrating and eventually after some threats, ended up on a 8pm flight to Reagan National DC instead of BWI airport. Fortunately, we managed to get a ride to BWI to retrieve our cars and trudge home wearily with the hope that our trans-Atlantic flight the next day would not be this manic! 

Thank God it wasn't! However, the mayhem, jet lag and medication led to painful ankle edema that made walking harder and me groaning in my head about why the heck the path from disembarkation to Heathrow airport immigration check point had to be built like 3 miles away from point of disembarkation! Either way I was too excited given this was my first time in London. My husband had been several times; for that I was grateful because all the bus and train fares we had to purchase simply went over my head. I was simply there to be a pretty flower on his arm while he worked out the logistics. LOL! Obviously I discovered how foolhardy I'd been dressing up in my tight cobalt blue jeans, teeny puff sleeve jacket with my Hermès Birkin bag dangling off my fore-arm like I had not a care in the world. I almost did an about face when that dreary, cold weather slapped me in the face as we stepped outside with me shivering like a drenched chicken! Couldn't believe my friend in Scotland had the nerve to tell me it was nice weather up in London but then again...I guess we are comparing apples to oranges here when my tropical bunny tail should have known! The only salvation was that we crossing the channel in two days to spend our anniversary day in Paris where I could lounge in a romantic rooftop restaurant in full view of the Eiffel tower with my 'Michelle Obama arms' barred in my lovely outfit obtained from Afua Sam of Studio D'maxsi couture. Mind you, I had been fanatically working out for a month with a personal trainer and on my own in order to fit this outfit so that goes to show I was serious about warm weather!
I have to summarize my "take home" points for each port of call lest I drone on about the myriad experiences and blessings I enjoyed on this fabulous trip. 

Absolutely loving Europe - 
ENGLAND 
1. This UK "summer" weather is too chilly & temperamental for this tropical bunny "innit"?!
2. Time spent with old friends- Priceless 
3. Historical architecture & design - exemplary!

FRANCE
1. Can I say I LOVE PARIS !! (..the ambience, the busy streets, the sidewalk cafés especially, the Eurostar underwater Chanel that connected us from London..so many new experiences )
2. Gorging up on crepes & croissants- this is a sad state of affairs
3. The famous couture houses ... Hmmm .. I'll have to beg the hunnybunz even harder for a detour- who knows what I might find @C.Loubiton
4. FOOT KILLER DAY - Versailles is a beauty to behold but an incomprehensible money drain-- gold tipped gates, roofs.. Wouldn't have wanted to be a peasant working that land..IJS
5. Finally the famous Eiffel Tower..
6. Arc de' Triumph
7. Shopping
8. Can a homo sapien suffer from crepe overload (from the sweet--> savory )! Whewww Lord! Please forgive the gluttony.. You KNOW I won't find this roadside vendor in the US!

VENICE 
1. Lovely & picturesque town coupled with beautiful weather
2. Canal Water did not stink as bad as I was expecting Aminah Ali
3. Got lost finding the San Marco piazza in the winding alleys, so considering a 1hr walk vs. SIT & sample gelato..

THE MEDITERRANEAN (via the Norwegian Jade cruise line)
Corfu ➡️ Santorini ➡️ Mykonos ➡️ Olympia For romantics like me, this Greek Islands cruise was simply phenomenal!
1. Gorgeous! Divine! Hot! -- my kind of weather! 
2. Prime dreamy Bàdu locales that'll serve as great design inspirations - Absolutely!!
3. Onset of serious Lifestyle Modification- This is easy when you have an accessible Gym & a "hands on deck" chef! Trying to prove the hubby wrong- I can work out on the sea; even if I wasn't doing as much on land ! 
4. Sad- the vacation is almost over- last day in port today
5. Back to the chaotic Venice airport to fly back to our daily lives even as we appreciate the mystique of the various ports of call we were privileged to visit.

Life is short and time flies indeed when we are having fun. However, even as we discover newer facets about each other in this JOURNEY CALLED LIFE, we keep God at the head of this triad! ! Our Faith declares that #GodisinControl ! So we #SiezeEachDay#livestrong #CountingMyBlessings & #LoveStrong