There’s something tacky about big companies aligning themselves with causes (hey Starbucks how’s that boycott going for you?), it often feels like a way to create a false sense of community and emotional bond with customers when they do it. Reminder that these giant corporations DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU, and like a scumbag boyfriend will say anything to get you to trust them. So sometimes I feel iffy about posting our ethics, but Gloomth has always had a political root. I came of age surrounded by punks who’s strong politics, distrust of capitalist structures, and DIY approach to everything have shaped my work, how I run the business, and my own beliefs. So here we are.

There’s a lot of noise about Artificial Intelligence online these days, rightly so. The policies set in place by Meta and other companies are terrifying. They’ve made it nearly impossible to opt out of having years of our work used to train machines on how to replicate a soulless sell-able version of it. There’s nothing so disheartening as finding out monthly they’ve come up with a new way for you to make less of an income as an artist. AI should be making our lives easier so we can create more- not burglarizing our creations for corporations.

Here at Gloomth we have some policies for this stuff, while we madly try and encourage Canadian lawmakers to take a stance on AI the way the European Union has this year.

Artificial Intelligence: Until there’s a legal framework protecting artists and creators we will not utilize any AI to build images, design clothes, our site development etc. Just no. It’s not okay to feed the dog that’s also eating you, lol. I am not comfortable with my entire adult life’s work being fed into a program so bigger companies can profit off of it.

Photo Editing: I’ve talked about this before, but I do not alter bodies or face shapes. I won’t make a model thinner or have a different body in our photos. It’s important you see how the clothes fit on actual forms. I also don’t edit face shapes or structures, sure a zit or a blemish is edited out, skin smoothed- but I won’t change anyone’s face shape. I’ve always wanted our models to look like people you’d see in real life, not some unattainable bogus photoshop creation.

Like anyone with a soul our ethics and beliefs are always changing and developing. As new information is gathered our opinions change and shift, as they should. But standing against hatred, cruelty, and protecting artists are some of the foundations of what we do here.

A rough list of our ethical stances can be seen here.

-Tae