As a Women of Cincy resident, I had the opportunity to interview a team member for this month’s Community Mix collection. Abby Farr, business owner, and free-spirited entrepreneur talked with me about her business, Tillage Clothing. Her enterprise sells sustainable, ethically-made clothing – and a portion of each profit is donated to an organization that directly aids survivors of sex trafficking.

Interview by Karley Cappel. Photography by Moriah Kenton.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do?

I’m from Cincinnati, Ohio. I grew up in Cincinnati. I moved out to Southern California in 2008 to be a nanny for seven and a half years. I was nannying for most of my twenties and it was in California when I started thinking about Tillage Clothing.

What led you to create Tillage Clothing?

I was looking to start a business, and I already had a passion for fighting human trafficking for about fifteen years, being out in L.A. I had gotten involved in some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of fashion. I was a production assistant for a clothing company, and a friend of mine founded a clothing company for an ethical fashion brand called prAna. I grew up with a love of casual wear fashion. My grandmother, a big influence on me, was always classy-casual. I just thought high fashion wasn’t my way. Athleisure wear was just on the cusp of being in the marketplace, but I still felt a gap in the market between casual wear and having a sense of style. It felt like the perfect opportunity to fight human trafficking, be sustainable, and create clothes that are both comfortable and cute.

What is the mission of Tillage Clothing?

To help fight human trafficking. I decided to give back to that because I’ve been passionate about that for fifteen-plus years. I became passionate about this issue when I first learned about modern-day slavery. Globally, it’s a 40.3 million person pandemic. In America, it’s hundreds of thousands of people, and there is a lack of education and awareness. It’s a touchy subject, and no one wants to talk about it too much because it’s so heavy. I believe that it is every human right to live a life of complete freedom on every level. Whether I get to have a conversation with someone where I educate them on the issue and talk about ethical fashion and help them feel better in their skin and I’m elevating their level of freedom, that’s amazing. Forced labor in the fashion industry is so closely intertwined with human trafficking. Making sure I’ve hired people that are getting paid a fair wage is incredibly important.

How is the fashion industry so closely linked to human trafficking?

A lot of it starts with labor, and a lot of it happens in cities like L.A., New York City, and other fashion cities, but the bulk of it occurs overseas, where many children are put to work. It’s called fast fashion. Fast fashion is manufacturing as many items as you can as fast as you can to sell more products. Clothes are sold extremely cheap, but to make cheap clothes, there is a cost somewhere, and it’s in the people making the clothes. So, it might be children, and it might be adults, but they are getting paid way below their minimum wage in that country..

What’s your advice on how to have conversations about the dangers of fast fashion?

It’s not easy. I would ask for the other person’s story first. If you are in a situation where you have a friend who is concerned about the way they shop, become compassionate about the issue yourself. You can create a little forum or a meet-up group about it. This could allow people to have an open-table discussion. If it’s a personal conversation that comes up, you could ask, “Have you ever heard of ethical fashion?” If someone is not interested, there is no point in engaging in the conversation. Save it for someone who is; if someone loves your outfit, that’s a great way to advocate for ethical fashion.

What does it mean to shop ethically?

It’s kind of like using your dollar to vote. It’s a consumer movement to make sure that you are purchasing clothes made without harming animals, the environment, or children through labor. That goes all the way straight through, from making the fabrics to putting them on your doorstep. I recently joined prAna in their sustainable packaging movement. I don’t use plastic at all, and when the package arrives at your door, it’s in recycled cardboard with just a little hemp rope around it.

What is the environmental cost of shopping fast fashion vs. shopping ethically?

The dyes in clothing can be made from complete chemicals or plants and vegetables. The emissions of fashion mills and also where the fabric is made have an environmental cost. It’s kind of like the type of car you buy. Some cars are more fuel-efficient than others. Then after production, how does it get to the consumer? Covered in plastic vs. using less packaging. Using fewer chemicals is more sustainable. Using less is always more sustainable.

What’s your advice for people who want to shop ethically but feel it’s too expensive?

I would say keeping a minimalist wardrobe and thinking in terms of quality over quantity. This means finding staple pieces and then adding your fashion flair to them. A great place to start with this is thrifting, which I feel like many students are really good at. Consider your shopping an investment. You are investing in freedom; you are investing in empowering other women, so find a few staple pieces that will probably last for 5 to 10 years. And then, you can creatively pair those pieces with a fun jacket or blazer from the thrift store. Another thing is to do the research on the front-end and talk to your friends about five to 10 ethical brands, and you compare them with other people. Then you have that running list of research.

I read on Tillage Clothing’s website that you’ve always felt compelled to live your life with a goal of “setting captives free.” I found this quite powerful and was wondering if you could elaborate on why this has always resonated with you?

Yeah, it goes back to that value of mine to want to feel freedom. I’m a free spirit, so I’ve had spiritual or religious periods in my life where I’ve either felt inspired by freedom or hindered by it, and the hindrance of that felt very stifling and suffocating to me. I’m an analytical observer of people, and I get a little intuitive if somebody feels like they have to hold back who they are out of whatever insecurity. I want them to feel like they are worthy. A captive is anyone that’s in bondage to something. At an early age, I was passionate about anti-racism. Modern-day slavery still exists, but it’s much more in the shadows and less talked about is unsettling because it’s not apparent.

Do you think that fast fashion brands know that sex trafficking is going on and don’t care?

I think there is a lot of “don’t know and don’t care” attitudes. I think they would instead turn a blind eye and they feel very far removed. There are plenty of ethical fashion companies in Asia, so it’s not fair to say that clothes made in Asia are not ethical. However, it is important to look at the tag on your clothes and see where your clothes were made. This can be a good start. Making clothes in America costs a lot more, and these companies feed off the college and high school demographic.

I think everyone can connect to a story because we are all part of one.

Buying a lot of cute and trendy clothes for cheap feeds the cycle. People are so eager to show off their cute outfits, but the outfit is no longer cute when you think about the hands that made it. It starts with the source and the brand because they know. I used to work at Anthropologie in the mall, and every single shirt is wrapped in plastic. I had no idea until I was right there in front of it myself. At the retail level, I don’t think many people realize what is going on, but I would say people are a lot more aware at the corporate level.

The Tillage Clothing website has a section of blogs. I was wondering if you could talk about this and explain why you wanted to include blogs on the website?

It’s an opportunity for me to expand on my writing; 90% of them come from social media posts. It’s an opportunity for those who care to learn more and research where their clothes are coming from. I think there’s a lot of power in the subtlety of a movement where one person can look and check out the research on ethical fashion. Doing pop-ups is also an excellent opportunity for conversations. Many people buy directly online, so it’s a little voice that I get to have.

What do you do when you’re not working?

I spend a lot of time with my family and friends. I love going on hikes. When I’m by the water, I love surfing, but here I do a lot of kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding.

What brought you to Women of Cincy?

I was at an event in O.T.R, and Kiersten Wones [Women of Cincy co-founder and former editor-in-chief] was playing the guitar and dancing. I met Kelsey Johnson [Women of Cincy co-founder and features editor] there too. I just loved everything they were about. I loved empowering women, their diversity, this beautiful coming together, and giving local women an opportunity to share their voice.

How do you think that writing and storytelling change the world?

I think everyone can connect to a story because we are all part of one. I think sharing our own stories creates connectivity on all sorts of levels. I think it’s uniting, and it makes people feel not alone and part of a bigger story. I think when you feel like you are just that one person that’s trying to move the needle on the scale and then you hear another person’s story and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, you’re doing that too,” suddenly the needle moves a little further. I think the story helps cause a ripple effect of change. I recently saw this quote saying, “Teaching is more than parting knowledge; it is inspiring change.” I think storytelling is a creative way of educating someone on your own life, and no one can argue with you on your own life story.

Tell us about an influential woman in your life.

My mom. Growing up, my mom was the executive director of Anna Louise Inn, which helps women get out of prostitution. It was located right by the Ohio River and housed 200-300 women struggling with mental health issues, poverty, and nominal rent. My mom was pretty badass. She epitomizes grit and hustle with dignity and poise. She would fight on behalf of these women. She would make sure their voices were heard. On my sick days, I would go down there and learn from her. She would give a lot on the homefront as well. For her to be a leader in the 1980s and 1990s and not follow suit with traditional gender roles of the time was very cool for me to get to be a part of. She also was an English major and encouraged my writing. From my penmanship to proper grammar, she was on my case growing up. But I thank her for it now because as soon as I get behind a pen and a paper, my pen flows.

Community Mix is our monthly hodge-podge of content from the voices of a hodge-podge of beautiful Cincinnatians. This is “Meet the Team,” where our residents get to help us celebrate the amazing volunteers that make this mission work. Are you human identifying? Join the team.

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Meet the Women of Cincy Team: Abby Farr