Oh Harry and Meghan! I just cannot get enough of the two of you. Your genuine public displays of affection and the way you both treat every single person you meet with such warmth and love just blows my royal-obsessed mind.
Of course, you both brought the rain to drought-affected Dubbo. Harry, you picked a good one, didn’t you? And Meghan: you bake banana bread, wear heels, are socially conscious and look like THAT while you are pregnant. Meghan Markle, you are pretty much a member of The Avengers. A modern day superhero.
My favourite moment so far has been the duo meeting five-year-old little Luke in Dubbo, who patted Harry’s beard the way I pat my shitzu when I haven’t seen him all day long. Harry’s beard was stroked and tugged, all while the captivated prince laughed and looked at little Luke with admiration. It made me cry to watch this beautiful human interaction.
But there has been another story I have loved. I follow a website called What Meghan Wore and a sister site called What Kate Wore. Anything these royal gals wears pretty much gains global attention and often sells out online and in shops. When Meghan got down on her haunches to hug little Luke she was wearing an Aussie brand of jeans called Outland Denim.
The owners of this company are incredible. When you pull on a pair of their high-end denim you are pulling someone from Cambodia out of poverty and a former life of sex slavery. James Bartle is the co-founder and CEO of Outland Denim and started the business after watching Taken, the 2008 movie starring Liam Neeson that showed the atrocities of sex trafficking and modern day slavery.
He ensures staff are helped with dealing with their trauma. They are taught how to handle finances, daycare is supplied for infants, English is taught and the staff are treated with dignity and respect.
This has huge knock-on effects for each staff member and their immediate families. The goal is to get each employee out of poverty. Sustainable fashion and ethical buying is something we are going to hear a lot more about.
Personally, I am changing and would rather have less clothing and wear something I know has helped someone than something that is cheap but has trapped someone into a rubbish life.
The denim company’s Instagram page captured a picture of Meghan wearing their jeans and captioned it: “We cannot think of a more suitable woman to carry the Outland Denim brand. A big thank you to the Duchess of Sussex (and bump) for choosing to wear them on this royal tour. #zeroexploitation.”
Who would have thought shopping could help us all have an international voice?
