e t h i c s
Asphyxia Couture is a proud supporter and proponent of the "Slow Fashion" movement.
Cruelty-Free
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No animals were harmed in any Asphyxia Couture creations.
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Animal products are not used - there are excellent alternatives available.
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This includes fur, feathers, leather, wool, silk, bone, adhesives, etc.
From wild foxes, sables, wolves or raccoons being skinned alive and feathers being plucked from live birds, to Indian cattle being violently killed in illegal (and thus unregulated) slaughterhouses and silkworms being steamed alive – these animal industries have shown time and time again that there is no integrity to be found here. As there are wonderful high-quality man-made alternatives to all these products, Asphyxia Couture will always choose to use these and avoid contributing to an industry that exploits and harms animals for profit.
One Of A Kind
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Individually designed and handcrafted by Ivy only.
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No mass production. No sweat shops. No outsourcing. No compromised quality or integrity.
It is common practice for designers to outsource tasks to cheaper labour sources – namely workers in third world countries who are often paid a fraction of a wage for their work. Similarly, designers often make large runs of a particular product by outsourcing to “sweat shops.” Rather than designers paying fair wages to these workers, they often make an enormous profit margin by selling the final garment at a price that would be indicative of them having done the work themselves. This is the case for many “off-the-rack” or standard-sized corsets, costumes and lingerie available today. Rather than supporting this practice and obtaining “business growth”, Ivy chooses to work directly with her clients and create garments for their individual size and desires. Asphyxia Couture garment prices are indicative of the work done, not an inflated profit margin that is obtained through exploiting others.
Locally Sourced
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Fabric and supply purchases made locally whenever possible
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Supports local small businesses
In this line of work, you often hear people talking about how there used to be a wide array of fabric and haberdashery stores in the area with all sorts of rare, weird and wonderful things. Unfortunately, it is now common for people to say “oh, you can't get that here any more.” And often the reason for this is the rise in giant craft chain stores in the area combined with cheap online wholesalers (both of which sell mass produced, lower quality products). This means that small boutique fabric and haberdashery businesses simply can not compete in the market without compromising the quality of their product or business. In a rather humble attempt to counteract this, Asphyxia Couture chooses to buy as many supplies as possible from local small businesses, even though the cost of products might be slightly more and finding them may often take more time.