By Anya Ferring
Have you ever wondered who made your clothes, where they live, and what their working conditions are like?
Most clothing from most brands has travelled halfway around the world, passing through the hands of cotton farmers, spinners, weavers, dyers, sewers and others, before they complete their long journey and hit the store shelves. According to FashionUnited.com, approximately 75 million people work to make our clothes worldwide, and 80% of them are women between the ages of 18 and 35, many of whom often work in unsafe conditions for very little pay.
Today, both people and the environment suffer as a result of the way fashion is made, sourced and consumed.
For this reason, producing locally in a place where you can see the working conditions and supply chains of your labor force producing your garments and materials is key to ensuring your supply chains are safe and sustainable. And producing in cities like New York City, where safe labor laws and minimum wages are enforced laws ensure your supply chains are fair.
This week, April 24th – 30th is Fashion Revolution Week, a campaign started by FashionRevolution.org in response to the now historic Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, where 1,138 people were killed and many more injured on 24th April 2013. The goal of this campaign is to ask brands ‘Who made my clothes’ and demand greater transparency in the fashion supply chain. Greater transparency will allow for a fairer, safer, cleaner, more transparent fashion industry, and help to shine a light on the dark corners of existing supply chains throughout the world.
Do you know how your clothes are being made?