Name
Mia Sundsfjord
Work
Working freelance in the film industry
What are your thoughts on the terms “Sustainability” and “Ethical production”?
“Well, it isn’t easy to navigate between all the terms and it is not easy to do better choices either. When I go to the High Street stores and see something with the tag “Made in Bangladesh”, I get a stomachache. The money goes straight to the top of the chain, but even though I know this, it is so easy to choose the more affordable products”.
“You see something you like, and the barrier for buying it is so low. You don’t think about choosing better there and then. You think about your wardrobe, how it will fit in there, and that’s the only thing you have to consider. So I guess these terms gets me thinking about the changes we all are trying to make, but still haven’t managed to do”.
If you should elaborate, how do you choose your wardrobe, and do you regularly repairs and fix things that are broken?
“I often ask myself; Why not choose better? and I’m working on it. It costs more, but in the end, it is likely to be a win to choose quality and something you will love. 6 pants from the high street stores equals maybe one slowly produced high quality pair of pants. And to know something about how it is produced, and that the people that made it, touched it, have been treated well and got their fair share, means something too!”
“You don’t repair pants when the repair costs more than the pants. We are not used to this kind of thinking. The products have so low value that it’s usually not in my mind to think about fixing it. But I do choose better sometimes. I love to go to the small independent stores, both here in Oslo and when I’m traveling. To talk to the people there and get the details and stories behind what I buy. And to see the commitment that goes all the way from the making of the product to the person selling me it. It makes me feel proud and it makes me love what I buy there more than other items. And THESE things I definitely fix if they are broken”.
“With food there’s been a great change the last few years here in Norway towards better production and small independent food-labels, but with clothing it is much more complex. You need to love what you buy in another way. It is connected to your identity. But in the end – like with food – you have to say even though it is hard – I just have to stop eating that and choose something better!”
How do you see the future? What do you think the future holds in regards to production and consume?
“I think we are facing great challenges. I think that for ethical production to become mainstream, they need to get subsidized. To be able to compete with the big chains when it comes to price. But maybe also the change will come no matter what. That it forces itself into our lives”.
Follow Mia
Instagram: @miasundsfjord
Snapchat:miassen
