LAURA JANE KENNY | staff writer

Many students are accepting social responsibility when it comes to fashion.

You just have to have a pair of those dark wash skinny jeans. You have tried to talk yourself out of it, but to no avail. However, do not forget that you are in college and have little, if any, money to spend. So you decide to make your purchase from Forever 21, where you can get a great pair of jeans for twenty dollars. But is someone else paying for your bargain?

As consumers grow out of ignorance and step into their roles as responsible shoppers, they begin to question the origins of necessities such as sugar and cocoa beans. Now the light of justice is shining on a different area of essentials- clothing.

“We are so privileged that I kind of feel it is ignorant not to be a conscious consumer,” freshman nursing major Samantha Schmidt said.

Schmidt first had her eyes open to areas of injustice when she participated in a “Displacement” event, put on the by nonprofit Invisible Children, which raises awareness for the injustices in Uganda. Schmidt was displaced to simulate the life of an “invisible child,” Ugandan children who have moved away from home to avoid kidnapping by the rebel army. Schmidt’s friends at the event encouraged her to be aware of others who might be suffering and to be aware of injustice in all areas of life. Schmidt discovered ways to be socially responsible even in the clothing she chooses to buy.

“It’s something so simple that you can do,” Schmidt said.

Before she buys anything, Schmidt researches websites to find out if the store matches the virtues that she wishes to encourage. She regularly checks websites that advises consumers on where to spend their money wisely.

Even though you may have to sift through some blogs, these sites contain articles and even court cases relaying information about common retail stores. Schmidt has found in these searches, which are readily available to all who have the will to inquire, even our favorite stores might not be the most reputable. Forever 21 has been through two major court cases in 2001 and 2004, which questioned the legality of the working conditions of the company’s laborers.

“It is really hard because there are some really cute, really cheap things that I want at Wal-Mart but I can’t bring myself to do it,” Schmidt said, drawing attention to another store that has been known to use workers under unlawful conditions.

APU offers the chance to see this social injustice first hand. Both the L.A. term and L.A. 101 gives students a chance to go inside a sweatshop to explore what the conditions are really like.

Sophomore social work major Lindsay Peckham went to a sweatshop on her own accord. The group she went with had to pose as fashion students to gain access. They traveled to L.A.’s garment industry to see sweatshops in person.

“It was a lot more small-scale than I expected,” said Peckham.

Peckham expected a large warehouse of workers but was surprised to find employees huddled over sewing machines in cramped rooms with fabric scattered everywhere.

Peckham’s team was given the opportunity to talk to some of the workers and even though the employees answered that they were treated fairly and paid correctly, the team was given the strong impression that the answers were concocted, even rehearsed.

Freshman global studies major Samantha Carbolla is planning on participating in L.A. 101 next semester and will also get to visit the sweatshops.

“I think it might have a greater impact seeing it in person and finally saying, ‘You know what, I am going to be conscious of what I buy and where it comes from and how it is made,’” Carbolla said.

Carbolla, Peckham and Schmidt are using the information that has been made so readily available to the average consumer. They are using their knowledge and their dollar to be sociably responsible consumers and citizens.