To separate her passion for natural dyeing from hand weaving, or designing from teaching, isn’t possible for Olga Reiche. All she touches is intricately woven together within her home country of Guatemala and shared far beyond. This spirited woman with a quick smile has been working with indigenous artisans on product development and marketing for over thirty years, producing her own line of naturally-dyed and recycled products, and teaching locally and internationally. Her concern for environmental and artisanal sustainability is a driving force.

Artisan to Artisan
After the devastating earthquake in 1976, Olga worked with Oxfam, an international confederation of countries working together in partnership to alleviate poverty. Olga traveled throughout the country, interviewing artisans and making recommendations for their sustainability. A decade later, she began working with women weavers in the remote Ixil Triangle, the women widowed during the violent 1980-1996 civil war. She opened a shop in Antigua (now closed), to sell their woven goods and helped the weavers with product development, but also discovered local and international markets to sell their wares.

One of the primary groups Olga now works closely with is the weaving cooperative of Ixbalem Ke, based in Samac de Cobán in Alta Verapaz, a remote area in the cloud forest. The women weave a type of intricate brocaded gauze weave, in both white on white pattern as well as natural brown cotton, and naturally dyed threads too. This Mayan weaving style was rapidly disappearing and, with Olga’s assistance, the women weavers are dedicated to preserving this traditional textile.

Learning, Teaching and Sharing
In the late 1980s, Olga met Ana Roquero who had been studying the natural dyes of Latin America and their preservation. It didn’t take long before Olga too was focused on this and over the years she researched and collected data from all over Guatemala culminating in her recent book, Dyeing Plants of Guatemala, (Spanish only), a solid resource on the use of dyes and pigments.

Olga worked with cooperatives in the Lake Atitlán area, mentoring the weavers, developing new designs and products, teaching them how to manage a business, and how to competitively market products in the international arena. In 1995, she started to teach natural dyeing techniques to artisans in this area. She returns here often, especially in the village of San Juan La Laguna where they grow and dye with local plants.

In 2008, she co-founded Artes Textiles y Populares in Antigua, an educational center which hosted programs in the textile arts for national and international groups. After the center closed, Olga ended up with some of the equipment, especially looms, so she set up a home studio. She started backstrap weaving classes complete with a manual so when you’re back home with these warped sticks and threads, you can have the continued guidance of Olga.

She also teaches natural dyeing on a small scale in her studio, growing indigo plants outside her door and working with many regionally sustainable plants. She has recently made pigments for painting by drying the plants and converting them into powder. She calls them The Natural Palette and offers classes on this as well. The next time you’re in Antigua, sign up for a class or bring your group to her studio–she’ll be more than pleased to host you.

The Upside to Recycling
Olga’s work in the field of recycling is inspiring. When Olga first started thinking about recycling, she asked herself two things: What would have a positive impact on the environment, and what would provide work for the weavers? Recycling of things that were already plentiful, too plentiful, met one of her goals. Her design aesthetic is beyond the ordinary—she’s really upcycling. Using discarded corn husks, plastic bags, cassette tapes, and jeans, she designed products that have traction in the market plus they added another line to her own organic cotton and naturally-dyed handwovens, sold under the label Indigo. Who else can mimic ikat weaving using plastic bags? And when an experienced weaver grabbed one of her jeans rag rugs at a recent ClothRoads event and bought it without hesitation, it was a thumbs-up for quality and design.

The net result has provided income to women who are the sole support of the family, allowing them to stay in their village and work. Plus the products provide work to seamstresses and leather workers. It’s a good thing.

Find out more about Fashion Revolution Guatemala

About ClothRoads
Travel with ClothRoads to a world of authentic textile culture. From the rivers of India to the mountaintops of Peru, we go directly to the source to bring you textile stories and the work of skilled indigenous artisans who are dyeing, weaving, spinning, printing and embroidering some of world’s most beautiful objects. When you purchase from ClothRoads, you help us to build and develop new markets that allow artisans and communities, and especially women and girls, to flourish. Learn more about the artisans, and ancient textile techniques on the ClothRoads Blog. https://www.clothroads.com

About Marilyn Murphy
Marilyn Murphy has combined a passion for and knowledge of the textile arts for her entire career.  She is the former president of Interweave, a media publishing company focused on the arts and crafts sector where she worked for 16 years. Prior to this, in 1986, she founded the Textile Arts Centre in Chicago, and was the owner of the Weaving Workshop there. She writes a bi-monthly blog for ClothRoads, curates the ClothRoads collection, lectures about artisan sustainability, and volunteers as co-chair for the non-profit Andean Textile Arts.

I am sure that you have a closet overflowing with clothing. Chances are you might even have items that still have the swing tickets attached. Have you ever looked at the care label to see where your clothing was manufactured? Fast fashion isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact fast fashion was created for this simple reason: to get us buying more and more and without much thought into where these garments are made.

I am hoping that by the time you finish reading this piece, something would have shifted. For one you will take a look at the care labels of your clothing and find out who is responsible for it and that you will hopefully reevaluate your shopping habits. Fast fashion companies cut corners, they use cheaper fabrics and cheap labor. It is simply exploitation. There is the argument that fast fashion creates jobs but when people are exploited it simply isn’t right.

Cape Town was aflutter recently when H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) opened its first store in South Africa. More stores are planned including Johannesburg’s Sandton City as well as others in Southern, East and West Africa.

It is always great to have brands open stores in our country, least of all when you know that jobs will be created. It is reported that about 600 jobs were created leading up to the opening of the V&A Waterfront and Sandton City stores. Staffers, around 60, were sent to Sweden for training. H&M plans to have as many as 1 500 people employed within the next 12 months.

The buzz continues but there is one fundamental problem with brands like these and it seems very few people know what really happens behind closed doors. In this case, behind the doors of the factories that produce these garments. This lack of knowledge was evident from the social media images from fashion bloggers to local personalities applauding H&M on their opening.

It was not long ago, in fact only two years prior, in April 2013 when the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of clothing manufacturing took place. The collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh, claiming the lives of 1 138 of its workers.

Two years after this tragedy, H&M is still behind on correcting the fire and safety hazards in its factories in Bangladesh according to the joint report released by the International Labor Rights Forum, Clean Clothes Campaign, Maquila Solidarity Network, and Workers Rights Consortium. These fire and safety hazards are the working conditions their workers are forced to work under making sure that fast fashion reaches our stores timeously. Repairs, which include installation of fireproof doors and the removal of locking or sliding doors from fire exits are some of the issues that have not been addressed.

These are repairs that affect the staff working in these factories. If not dealt with, it could have disastrous outcomes, like that of April 2013. It appears that more attention is placed on pushing out the orders as opposed to the people who make these garments. Will these factories get away with these hazardous conditions if they were in developed countries? No! Cheap labor is simply that; cheap. Bangladeshi workers who sew for H&M toil in extremely dangerous conditions. So can you really say that their fashion is cheap? Cheap in price definitely but costly on the scale of human lives. Par Darj, the country manager for H&M South Africa described H&M’s merchandise as “democratic fashion” high quality, easy and affordable for people who ordinarily might not be able to buy fashion. How democratic is this model if H&M chose to open their first store at the V&A Waterfront? The only people who benefit from the fast fashion system are the executives who are some of the richest people in the world.

The H&M store in Cape Town is 4700 square meters and is said to be one of their biggest stores in the world. Rumor has it that there might be a section carrying local designers in the near future. Could this be why they are exploring the feasibility of opening a local manufacturing facility? Par Darj said H&M already has a production factory in Ethiopia, opened in 2014. “We will see what is possible in South Africa”. One would hope that the working conditions in this factory are safer than the one in Bangladesh or the potential of a factory opening in South Africa will not cost anyone their life.

Are South African malls in the future only going to comprise of top international brands? The likes of Burberry, Forever 21, Top Shop, Zara etc. It could be, unless you reevaluate your shopping habits.

The True Cost film will make you rethink your fast fashion addiction. I can’t help but think of the interview with Shima Akter, a 23-year-old Bangladeshi garment worker who was beaten by her factory supervisors for organizing and leading a workers’ union in the hopes to get better working conditions ‘I don’t want anyone wearing anything which is produced by our blood.’

I encourage you to watch The True Cost to understand just where your clothing comes from and the price others are paying for it.

Who Makes Our Clothing? | Livia Firth | The True Cost

https://youtu.be/D2rJZIvNezY

My name is Jessmin Begum, I am 31 years old and I have been working in the garment industry for 15 years.

I have worked in six different factories in total. In those 15 years, I have seen many different labels. I have manufactured clothes for brands such as H&M, Gap, Walmart, S.Oliver, C&A, Zara. I first started working in the garment sector after completing my Higher Standard Certificate of education. A neighbour told me about a job in a garment factory; so I joined. In my first job I was a ‘helper’. That means I was cutting the threads from the seams of the clothing. I did that job for a month and then I was promoted to a seamstress. I worked in that factory for one year. Then I got a job at another factory where the salary was higher. I worked in that factory for the next nine years and earned 7700 Taka (85€/£62/$96) including overtime.

That factory was in an Export Processing Zone (EPZ). In the EPZ, a different labour law applies. The Government regulates it through an authority called BEBZA (Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority). My first job had been outside EPZ. You can tell the difference.  They pay wages in a timely manner on the seventh day of the following month, they give regular weekend breaks and holiday pay.

The government ruled that each factory in the EPZ should have a Workers’ Welfare Committee. When it came to the election for that committee, my friends encouraged me to run. They made posters and banners. The committee is comprised of 12 members. When it came to the election of the chair, the other eleven didn’t want to take on that role, so I did it. The committee is elected every two years and I was re-elected twice.

My duty as chair was to meet with BEBZA. Sometimes they came to the factory, which meant I had to leave my work and go to meet them at the General Manager’s office.

The factory owner put me under pressure.

In order to make a good impression, the factory owners told the Authority that they could speak to me at any time. However, I was pressurised not to go by the factory owner, the middle management, my line manager and supervisors. So I asked the people at the BEBZA why they called on me during working hours as my manager did not want me to leave my work.

Before I explain what happened, I would like to tell you a bit more about the factory

The factory had five floors and on each floor there were 400-500 people, around 2500 workers in the building, out of which there were just 12 committee members appointed. We were all working on different floors and in different jobs. During lunch break, we would sit together and discuss peoples’ complaints. We gathered information. When BEBZA came, sometimes we all went to see them, but often I went alone to pass on the complaints.

I was the one who was speaking out.

The others didn’t do that as much. BEBZA used to listen to me. They usually came two to three times a year as a routine check up, and when the workers were protesting.

So, as I said, the factory owner pressured me not to leave work in order to go to these meetings. When the time came for the meeting, they would give me more work. If I normally had to complete 10 garments, they now gave me 15, which would be impossible to finish. So sometimes I couldn’t attend the meetings. If there were no committee representatives who could attend the meetings with BEBZA, they asked the factory owner to send other employees, so he would send a supervisor or one of his relatives.

Whenever I had the opportunity to pass on the workers’ complaints, BEBZA said they would look into the problem. But there was no action. No solution. The law in Bangladesh stipulates working hours from 8am to 5pm, with two hours of overtime from 5pm to 7pm. But the owner pressurised us to work four or five hours of overtime. But you know, we can’t go home every day at 10pm. First of all, there is a security issue for women. Then, when we go home, we still have to cook. At that time I was living with my mother. I was single and my mother cooked for me. But other workers needed to do all that alone, they had to take care of their children and they also had to sleep.

The Authority did not respond to our complaints. There was no action.

So the workers gathered together and wrote the following demands: higher wages, no more than two hours of overtime per day, no insults while working, no beatings and, most importantly, no termination of our employment because of the strike. The last point was particularly important to us, because otherwise they could just fire us.

As the chair, I had a certain amount of power. There were 2500 workers supporting me. The first strike was on 9 February 2003. We told the management and the police that we would continue our strike and our attacks if they did not meet our demands. So they signed.

During my time as chair, we held four protests in total. After the first protest they couldn’t fire me anymore, so they looked for other ways to get rid of me. I was bribed with 200,000 Taka (2200€/£1650/$2570) by the factory owner. He teased me, gave me a bundle of money and said sarcastically:

“Girl, you don’t know how much money is in here. Just take it and go.”

They wanted me to leave the factory because I talked too much. They knew that I had influence. They knew the risk. They knew that if I went to the Authority, they would listen to me. I did not accept the money.

During the last strike, I was four months pregnant. One day I was injured by brick which I blocked from hitting my body with my hand. Workers were throwing bricks inside the factory and the police were throwing them threw back. I finally stopped working at the factory when I gave birth to my baby because I had to breastfeed. I couldn’t be fired when I was pregnant of course, but I resigned because of the baby.

Afterwards I worked in another factory outside of the EPZ for one and a half years where I wasn’t paid on time. I joined the National Garment Workers Federation in 2008 where I work part-time as the Secretary for Women’s Affairs. Now I am in the NGWF I am letting people know about the law and their rights.

I go out on the road a lot and visit workers in their homes. I also work in a factory as a production reporter where I earn 15.000 Taka. At least if I lose my job at the factory, I will still have the job at NGWF .

Unions are important because they encourage the factory owners to listen to us.

If the owner has a tight shipping deadline, he will talk to the union members and say “can you help me out, can you work two more hours” and they will accept. So the conversation begins.

Translated from the original interview in German by Anna Holl which appeared in N21

My name is Arifa Sultana Anny. I am 19 years old. I have worked in the garment industry for two years and six months. A month ago I lost my job because I opened my mouth too wide.

I worked six days a week at the factory. Every day from 8am until 5pm. On most days, I worked overtime from 5pm to 10pm as well. Then I would be in the factory for 14 hours. Sometimes I also had to work on a Friday, so I did not have a day off during the week.

I got up every day at 6am, got ready and did the daily errands. I had to cook and keep the house clean. At 7.40am I went to the factory.

In the factory, it was an ordeal. There were five floors and each floor only had two toilets which were not even clean. 400-500 people were working in the factory. There was no doctor, no canteen and no prayer room. We supplied clothes to brands such as ZeroXposur (American outdoor brand) and Li and Fung (a $20 billion global sourcing firm that supplies 40% of all apparel sold in the US). I was working on the production of jackets and my job was a Checker. After the jackets had been sewn, it was my task to check for errors. If I found a mistake, I went to the person who had worked on that stage of the garment so that they could correct the mistake. For this job I got paid less than the seamstresses.

I was constantly put under pressure

If I overlooked a mistake and the line managers discovered it, they would tell me that I’m not doing my job well. If the line managers found a mistake, they made me suffer. They docked hours from my attendance record for which I was not paid, even though I had worked.

One day I heard about the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) and through them I learned about labour unions. So I wanted to form a labour union in my factory. To do this, you need the support of 30% of the workers.

When I raised the subject for the first time and my colleagues heard that I wanted to start a union, they initially feared threats from their manager and were afraid of losing their jobs. I worked every day. I spoke to the other workers during their lunch hour, after work and in their homes. And sometimes the workers said “no” so I explained to them again why we needed to form a labour union and often that no became a yes.

When the factory owners heard that I had joined the NGWF and wanted to start my own union, they began to put me under psychological pressure. It started with them giving me too much work and then sometimes they docked my wage.

One day I received a message to see the Quality Manager in his office who threatened to throw me out.

He said: Do you know how we will do it? We will bring clothes and cut the seams and say this is the quality that you have produced.

They said that I had to give up on the idea of a union and, if not, they would carry on with the torture and pressure. They threatened that I could no longer live in my home. They threatened to go to my landlord and tell him to throw me out.

The owners and other senior staff were not quite sure if I would really form a union. Of course, I did not confirm their suspicions. But I did not agree to stop it. I had the support of 100 workers for the union. I needed only fifty more to reach the required 30%.

The factory where I worked was called Elite Garments and the owner has a second factory called Excel.

One day the Quality Manager took me into the “Chamber” the room of the foreman and other senior managers. He told me that he would relocate me to the other factory. However, I did not want to be relocated because I had already started establishing the union within my factory. All the work would have been in vain.

It came to a point where the Quality Manager said I should beg before his feet not to be transferred. Three or four people were in the same room and enjoyed the show. Before their eyes, I went on my knees and held the feet of the manager. They all took pictures. They laughed at me, criticised me, insulted me. The work in the factory went on. No one outside the room knew what had happened. I did that for three hours. Then they let me go with a warning not to start the union. However, up until this point they still did not know one hundred percent if I would really form a union.

After this incident I knew, of course, that I was not the only one who suffered in the factory. So I could not stop. I had 100 people who supported me. I had begged on my knees to the manager so that the union could become a reality.

Why should I give up after I had come this far?

Later I got the missing 50 signatures. I had a form on which I collected the signatures of the workers which I got from the NGWF. When I had the 150 signatures, I brought the form to the NGWF and from there it went for confirmation to the Labour Office of the Government. When the Quality Manager heard about it the hostility increased. There was even more pressure. They insulted me at work.  Then one day they took me by force to sign on a sheet of white paper. Then they threw me out of the factory. I was unemployed.

But the form to set up a labour union was already submitted. That is why people from the Labour Office came to the factory; they wanted to confirm the union. Of the 150 signatures, I had selected ten people for a committee. Five of the ten had already been fired and the rest were too scared to say anything. They did not speak. The government representatives asked the Quality Manager and the Production Manager what had happened to the five workers. They replied that the five had left of their own accord. And the government represenatives believed them.  They knew from the NGWF that the workers had been fired, but they decided to believe the managers, and so the union was rejected. It seems the people from the Labour Office support factory owners rather than labour unions. We do not know, maybe they were bribed.

Now there is no trade union at the Elite factory because I no longer work there. This all happened a month ago. For the last month, I have received no income.

I had begun to work in the textile industry because my father was ill. When I entered 10th grade, two years before graduation, he became very ill, so it was time for me to find a job. Obviously I did not get a good job. A neighbour told me about a textile factory in the area, so I applied there and I got the job. It was ok for me. I didn’t find a better job.

When I worked, I earned 6600 Taka (75 € or £55) excluding overtime and from 1500 to 2000 (about 22 € or £16) for the overtime. I live with my parents and my three siblings. We live together in one room in Kilga, Dhaka. We cook on the gas stoves of two security guards who guard the building across the street. We share the toilet with five other families.

My three sisters go to school. Before I could pay their school fees with my salary – that was 2000 taka per month (22 € or £16). This room cost us 3,000 taka (33 € or £25) a month. My mother works as a maid and earns 3,500 taka (40€ or £29). My father can not work because he is ill. Even when I was working, the salary was not enough because I had to spend all the money on food, rent and school fees. If someone got sick, we had to take out a loan. It was never enough.

My mother is the only person who earns money now. After I lost my job, we had taken out a loan of 15000 taka (170€ or £125). In six months, I have to pay back nearly 20000 Taka (€227 or £167).

The factory owners become richer and richer, but with my salary I was not going anywhere. If I could earn 15000 taka (170€ or £125) a month for working in a garment factory, then I could live in peace and would not always be under pressure to pay bills.

I do not want to work in a factory. I’m trying to find another job but otherwise I will have to start working in a factory again. And I will still not be quiet. I must protest again. I am that kind of person. When I learned about the NGWF, I was the one who asked them questions. There are two kinds of people: those who see and accept corruption and the others who do not like it and fight it. I belong to the latter group.

I am proud to make clothes that people can wear anywhere in the world and in the West. It makes me proud that developed countries buy our clothes. I am so proud that you wear them.

At the same time, I also wonder why the Western countries do not pay us a decent wage for our work? Why don’t they support us? I want the middlemen to pay more to the factory for our clothes so the factory owners can pay more to the workers.

In Bangladesh, the textile industry is very important and with this industry we can improve the situation in our country. For this to happen, we need the help of the foreign people who buy our clothes. In return, I promise to make your clothes to the highest possible standard.

This is my promise.

You can follow Anna Holl’s travels to discover #whomademyclothes on our blog and on Twitter @hollanna  Anna is reporting in Bangladesh for N21 who have a focus on textiles for the next 4 weeks.  http://n21.press/schlagwort/textil/ 

http://n21.press/

We don’t know the true cost of the things we buy.  The fashion industry supply chain is fractured and producers have become faceless. This is costing lives. Not just the mass loss of life we hear about when another disaster hits a garment factory, but the  lives of individual artisans and garment workers who cannot support themselves in their own community and undertake perilous journeys in search of a better life.

Hundreds of thousands of migrant garment workers are employed throughout the fashion and textiles suppy chain, many of whom live in constant fear as they are working illegally.   “They took us to the airport and left us there for three days. We couldn’t travel, because we didn’t have tickets. Armed gunmen, who we were told were from the armed forces, threatened us. We feared we would be shot if we continued to protest. We were then rounded up in a camp” reported a garment factory worker in Mauritius to the Clean Clothes Campaign.

Legal migration can be a spur for development, but in many cases, particularly when people move illegally, migrants face harassment and violence and often increased poverty. The fashion industry has the potential to generate sustainable livelihoods for artisans and garment workers around the world wherever they live, but this can only be done through fully traceable and transparent supply chains, backed up with regular monitoring.

The current lack of transparency in fashion supply chains makes it virtually impossible for consumers to know who made their clothes and accessories.  Without knowing #whomademyclothes, how can we know in what conditions they were made?

At Pachacuti, we believe fashion needs to rediscover a traceable narrative. We have worked for three years as a pilot on the EU Geo Fair Trade project which has brought an unprecedented level of traceability to our supply chain.  The project aims to provide visible accountability of sustainable provenance, both for raw materials as well as production processes.

This level of traceability data is far from easy to collect – it cannot be achieved by a few clicks on the computer – but it is essential to guarantee that our supply chain is as transparent as we can possibly make it.  Despite the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region of Azuay where our Panama hats are woven, we traced the production of our hats back to the GPS co-ordinates of 154 of our weavers’ houses – not easy data to collect when only 45% of homes were accessible by road, located high in the Andes.

But it doesn’t stop there. Not content with tracing our Panama hats back to where they were woven, we then traced the straw back to the communities on the coast of Ecuador in Guayas province where it is processed. Next, a bumpy hour by truck from the nearest paved road, we mapped the GPS coordinates of each plot of land in the coastal cloud forest where the straw is harvested on community-owned plantations. The community has been working hard to protect their area of land and to increase sustainability and biodiversity in the area. They are now seeing a lot more toucans, armadillos and monkeys in the plantation.

Once established, the carludovica palmata plant can be cropped monthly for 100 years – surely one of the most sustainable sources of raw material imaginable. The plants also help to a prevent erosion and improve air quality. Our straw is gathered by 32 harvesters who form the Love and Peace Association – maybe a rather incongruous name for men who spend most of their lives wielding a machete! The straw harvesters are keen to point out:“We are producting oxygen for the world”

Our research for the Geo Fair Trade project took three years, including a 6 month period in Ecuador and four other field trips in order to collect social, economic and environmental indicators and track our Panama hats to their source.  Our weavers are delighted that this research data helps correct a historical misnomer and Pachacuti’s panama hats can now be tracked back to their country of origin – Ecuador!

But geographic traceability is just one element of creating a transparent supply chain. Transparency also implies openness, honesty, communication and accountability.  Regular, ongoing monitoring of the supply chain to measure both the social and environmental impact is essential if we are to claim that our products are truly sustainable.

In 2012 UNESCO declared that the art of weaving a Panama hat in Ecuador would be added to their list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Intangible Cultural Heritage is a term used for knowledge, traditions and rituals which permeate the everyday life of a community, passed down through generations and forming an intrinsic part of their identity and culture.

However, the historic exploitation of weavers by middlemen means that this timeless skill is under threat as young people are searching for alternatives.  This has led to the small, rural community where we work in Ecuador having one of the highest levels of migration in the country, with 60% of children having at least one parent living overseas. The destruction of family and community life has led to high rates of alcoholism, double the national rate of youth suicides and teen pregnancies are the norm.

We have heard so many desperately sad stories of people, including the children of our weavers, who are paying coyotes, human traffickers, to take them on the dangerous journey through Central America and Mexico, across the border to the United States.  One of our weavers has a 15 year old daughter who walked most of the way from Ecuador to Mexico before paying a coyote to cross the remote, desert border.  In the village where we work, almost the entire younger generation has migrated and women outnumber men by 7 to 1.  In interviews conducted with our weavers, most of them had children living overseas and several  of them did not even know in which country their children lived. Many emigrants will work for years to pay back the traffickers, often returning penniless to their own country.

Unlike the journey taken by most Panama Hats in the world, which pass through the hands of around seven different intermediaries (known as ‘perros’ or dogs due to their unscrupulous purchasing practices) Pachacuti works directly with our artisans in every step of the process, weaving, dyeing, blocking, finishing, to ensure that as much of the final value as possible remains in their hands.

Our work on the EU Geo Fair Trade project involved the collection of 68 social, economic and environmental indicators which enabled us to measure our Fair Trade impact, tracking progress over a three year period. We also piloted the WFTO Sustainable Fair Trade Management System and Fair Trade Guarantee System.  Prices are monitored through interviews with a sample group of weavers to ascertain a local living wage. The price is also measured against the government’s cañasta básica vital, the monthly market price of meeting basic needs for a family of 4 and we ensure that the prices we pay are rising at a higher rate of inflation. We provide ongoing training and investment, not just in design development and skills, but in self-esteem, human relations, building a nursery, costing of products and overheads and health and safety.

Since 1992, we have worked to preserve and encourage traditional hat weaving skills in Ecuador but, despite our efforts, hat weaving is still in steep decline in the wider community and the average age of our weavers is 58.  As well as working to ensure this way of life is viable for future generations, last year we provided a substantial interest-free loan to help establish a new organisation to work specifically with younger weavers.

The art of creating Panama Hats is woven into the fabric of daily life in rural Ecuador: women weave on the bus, walking to market, on their way to the fields. For the  women who weave Pachacuti Panama hats, weaving is more than an art, more than a skill, it is a way of life and represents the cultural heritage of an entire community.   Will the art of panama hat weaving die out as young people abandon traditional, rural ways of life and migrate to the city, or emigrate in pursuit of the American dream? Or can Panama hat weaving provide a sustainable form of income to enable women to remain within their rural communities, keeping families together, and passing on their culture and traditions.   Pachacuti is working to prove that the a better Panama hat industry is possible.

Fashion Revolution aims to raise awareness of the effect of our purchasing decisions on the livelihoods of garment and accessories producers and their communities.  We believe that transparency is the first step in transforming the industry and is a way to bring wider recognition to the many skilled artisans within the fashion supply chain.  This, in turn, will help ensure their work is properly valued and justly remunerated in the future.

If you want to help build more open and connected fashion supply chains, take a selfie and contact the brand on social media to ask #whomademyclothes?

The ethos of No. 41 is simple: empowering one person can make an incredible impact.

Since 2012, No. 41 has been inspiring and enabling women in Gisenyi, Rwanda to better their lives and community. It began with a group of women from the Noel Orphanage and a lesson on how to sew bags.  Each bag means “no hunger for one:” the purchase of one bag funds one child’s school meals for an entire year.  So far, profits from the bags have helped provide 1,200 children and 36 teachers with hot, healthy lunches.

No. 41 also provides 30 women artisans with a sustainable income which then allows 8 mothers to feed their 12 children, and provides jobs for 4 previously unemployed men to prepare school meals. In addition, 19 of 20 women from the orphanage are now attending a university.  Through their work at No. 41, these women continue to make a difference in their own and in other people’s lives.

We had the chance to interview one of No. 41’s survivor artisans, Jeanette, about her life, her experience working for No.41, and her dreams for the future.

What is your favorite thing to make? 

My favorite thing to make is bags. I enjoy learning the different styles and techniques. I like bright colors, particularly pink. I like them because when I wear them and they become dirty, I know it immediately, and I can clean them.

What inspires you in your work and/or your life?

Learning inspires me. I like making new things and making them well. I feel good when I hear from others that we (No.41) are making the new and good things.

How has economic independence impacted your life?

I feel comfortable and capable to be able to take care of my money and myself.

What are your dreams?

Oh, (laughs) I have many dreams! I am always dreaming! In 2012, No.41 asked me about my dreams, and I said I wanted to be a driver; today, I have now achieved that by completing driving school. I want to be a good mother and to look after my children very well. I want to help others. I need to own a car, and I would like to build a house.

What is a story you like to tell about your life?

I would like for people to know about my brother and his love for me. Even though I wasn’t able to succeed in secondary school, my brother loved me so much and never left me alone. During that time, I learned about God’s plan for me and it built me and gave me strength to continue with my life. I will succeed in my dreams and make my brother proud.

No.41 employs 20 women and men earning a sustainable income.  They donate 100% of the profits from the sale of their items to fund a feeding program at a local school. Eating a hot, healthy lunch, daily, ensures that the nearly 1,200 students are able to get a solid education and move confidently into whatever the future holds for them. Learn more about No. 41 here.

This story is reposted with the permission of  To The Market. To The Market | Survivor-made Goods combines the powers of commerce and storytelling to empower the world’s most courageous survivor populations in the belief that resilience is more powerful than suffering. Read more about their work and buy survivor-made goods here

After Tesco’s comprehensive answer to N4Mummy‘s question about who makes their school uniforms #whomademyclothes – Tesco Talks we asked whether Aldi would respond with  information about who makes their £4 school uniforms, apparently the cheapest available in the UK.

Zoe Hitchen just got in touch to say that she had tweeted Aldi to ask #whomademyclothes and has just received a response.

What would we like Aldi to do?

On our Brands page, there is a download pack detailing all of the ways in which brands and retailers can be more transparent. These include

To find out more about transparency in the fashion supply chain and why it is so important, please read the Transparency page on our website.

If you are shopping for school uniform over the coming weeks you can also check the Ethical Consumer’s school uniform ranking guide

Saturday 9 May 2015 is World Fair Trade Day #WFTD2015

This storyboard by Khushboo Wadhwani beautifully presents the routine of making block print cloth in India. The brief was to show the production process and the skills involved, rather than focussing on the people.

Fair Trade is a tangible contribution to the fight against poverty, climate change and global economic crises. The World Bank 2014 Report shows that more than one billion people still live at or below $1.25 a day.

The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) believes that trade must benefit the most vulnerable and deliver sustainable livelihoods by developing opportunities especially for small and disadvantaged producers. Recurring global economic crises and persistent poverty in many countries confirm the demand for a fair and sustainable economy locally and globally. Fair Trade is the response.

CREDITS

Footage:
Indiaroots.com
Good Earth India
Bollywood! Boclive (Lakme Fashion Week footage)

Music:
Tony Anderson: Breakthrough

Thanks Zara.   Bold title for an ethical and sustainable blog? Perhaps a little, I know, but this “thanks” to Zara is completely justified and I believe completely deserved. Want to know why?

A few weeks ago I took up the challenge launched by Fashion Revolution and the Asociación Moda Sostenible for Fashion Revolution Day encouraging us to ask the brands ‘Who Made My Clothes?’, with the aim to make us reflect about how the clothing we wear is made and to make the brands realise that, even if their garments are produced in workshops subcontracted by other companies, they have a huge responsibility to know who made them and, above all, under what working conditions.

Okay, so for my challenge I asked the Spanish brand Zara who had made my hoodie.

The truth is that when I recorded the video  I did not expect that Zara, flagship of the Inditex group, would answer. Who was I that this kind of multinational brand would pay attention to my question?

Well I was completely mistaken, because just a few days after tweeting the question to the brand, I started to get messages from Zara Care (Twitter account for Zara’s customer services) informing me of the process of my query until, on the 14^th April, the brand replied to my question via Facebook. I’ve pasted the messages below.

Zara Facebook message:

Hello, the item from your video is a hooded jacket sold by Zara in 2009. This garment came from a Turkish business (Uniteks Gida Tekstil) who carried out the production in two factories: BGB Tekstil and Tekova Tekstil. Both factories are located in Izmir (western Turkey); the first has around 140 workers and the second about 100. Uniteks, just like BGB and Tekova, continue to form part of Inditex’s current supply base. Their workshops have surpassed the most recent full social audit in January 2014 and in July 2013 respectively (audits of those manufacturers that obtain high ratings are carried out every 24 months), and subsequent to these dates they have received visits from technical assistance (related to implementation of improvements) as well as regular production controls (necessary to ensure complete traceability of our products).

We hope that this information is useful to you.

So my hoodie had been made by two Turkish businesses subcontracted by a third one that Zara had originally subcontracted? “That’s a lot of contracts!” was my first thought. No wonder they took 15 days to be able to reply… Still, I suppose that, whether we like it or not, in multinational businesses it’s like this every day. In the end, big businesses also subcontract me to help them develop part of their communication strategies and Corporate Social Responsibility.

The second thing that surprised me was Zara’s ability to let me know the traceability of their garment manufacturing. I understand that it has to be like that, but that didn’t stop it being a pleasant surprise. As you can see in the messages, to find out exactly they asked me for the model of the jacket. If I’m not mistaken it was Uniteks Gida Tekstil who subcontracted both BGB Tekstil and Tekova Tekstil.

The third part that caught my attention was that six years later the three companies are still working for the group and that they had social audits in 2013 and 2014 carried out by Zara. But, what exactly does this “social audit” mean?

According to Zara’s webpage:

The production facilities of all suppliers whithin Inditex’s supply chain are audited periodically by Inditex’s CSR teams or specialist external auditors in order to assess their level of compliance with the Code of Conduct for Manufacturers and Suppliers. These audits have been developed in accordance with Inditex’s Tested to Wear methodology, designed in 2007 in collaboration withIndustriALL (formerly ITGLWF), the Cambridge Centre for Business and Public Sector Ethics and Inditex. The methodology is reviewed periodically to incorporate appropriate updates and factor in the experience gained. The last review took place in 2013.

Once a supplier has signed Inditex’s Minimum Requirements, its facilities and any other factories and workshops it works with undergo an initial CSR audit.

These audits consist of facility inspection, documentary due diligence (management systems, payrolls, work hour ledgers, production records, employee documentation, permits, etc.), verification of waste management, emissions and water and energy usage, and interviews with factory managers, employees, union representatives and health and safety staff, among things.

For the duration of its business relationship with Inditex, the suppliers and their associated facilities undergo periodic audits.

I know audits can’t guarantee that the workers’ social and labour rights are respected in these subcontracted factories, given that it’s really difficult to gauge the actual reality of a company from one of these inspections (all of us have experienced one of these audits at work and surely no one – at least I haven’t ever – has actually been privately questioned by the auditor to find out exactly how the company treats them. And if it does happen, that that brave person has been able to criticise their bosses without fearing reprisal…). Still, this is the system that exists and we have to trust it. Here you can see the conditions that Inditex requires from their providers.

Not just settling for Zara’s reply, I took the opportunity to find out some more information about the businesses mentioned on the Clean Clothes Campaign (international campaign which focuses on the working conditions of garment workers), but I haven’t been able to find any reference to these three Turkish companies. If anyone from the CCC reads this and has any more info, please get in touch! I did, however, find the analysis of Zara that ‘Ropa Limpia’ (Clean Clothes in Spain) did in 2010.

Whatever the case may be, I hope that after reading my post you understand this ‘Thanks Zara’ in the title. And, as far as I know, of all the videos from the #retomodasostenible that have been recorded for Fashion Revolution Day in Spain, only this one and María Pérez-Hickman’s, who asked Esesoese, have received a response. Have a look at #retomodasostenible on facebook y #retomodasostenible on Twitter. Check #whomademyclothes to see global questions and responses.

Thanks again to Zara for paying attention to this challenge and, in this way, stepping up to Fashion Revolution Day.

From here, I encourage the brand and also the whole of the Inditex group to continue working so that all of us fashion lovers can feel proud to wear their clothing now that we’re adults and have more awareness, with the same emphasis that we used to when we were teenagers.

For my generation, Zara allowed us to be the first ‘fashion’ kids and teenagers in history; they gave us the opportunity to be fashionable at an affordable price; they made us believe that through hard work a small business could conquer the whole world. Now that we’re adults – and I think I speak for my whole generation – we would love Zara to prove that this hasn’t been achieved at the cost of other people’s health and quality of life. And if, out of ignorance, or greed or a lack of awareness, at any point in the business’ history this has been the case, I would be satisfied knowing that this is already a thing of the past and that from now onwards no one will ever see their human and workers’ rights violated so that a t-shirt might cost me a few euros less or so that the company selling it might earn a few euros more. Deal? Given Zara’s response to my question, I think it’s a deal.

Thanks in advance, Zara.

Thanks to Kezia Cochrane  https://thefiveanddime.wordpress.com/ for the translation

The most remarkable thing about Fashion Revolution is that in every participating country, now 71, it is run on the strength, determination and creativity of volunteers. Everyday people who believe in making the fashion industry accountable. There are no big promises as are often attached to campaigns, Fashion Revolution simply seeks to add a voice for the workers in the rag trade industry by asking a simple yet profound question; do you see me? Do you hear me? And this is what 2015’s hashtag #whomademyclothes is all about.

An article recently posed the question ‘can a hashtag make a difference?’ This is the final countdown leading up to Fashion Revolution Day, there certainly was excitement in the air this week when from just a simple hashtag an entire country caught the vision of the movement and wanted to get involved. Through a tweet I sent out, we were able to get and entire country, Ghana on board and to join the global family of Fashion Revolution.

Speaking of twitter, it’s good to see brands coming forward and explaining where their clothes are being made. There are brands that are tweeting Fashion Revolution with details of who makes their clothes. Transparency is winning!

In South Africa, we have had Glamour, Elle and Marie Claire magazines adding their voices behind this revolution. Our fashion councils, both local and national have been supporting the South African team for months leading to the very day. Fashion bloggers have also backed our voices and spread the word. If you have any doubts that a hashtag can make a difference, let me put your doubt to rest. Yes, a hashtag can and IS making a huge difference!

I like to call it the appropriate revolution. Fashion is often referred to as a frivolous industry while we may be carefree, superficial, most certainly not! You see it is this ‘frivolous’ industry that is standing up, in an appropriate way, and asking the powers that be to pay workers better salaries, to give them better working conditions and to get consumers to become aware of where their clothing comes from. After all, Fashion Revolution was born out a disaster when on 24 April 2013, 1133 people were killed and over 2500 people were injured when the factory at Rana Plaza collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It’s appropriate as every time I use the hashtag, it’s in memory of those that lost their lives. I will admit that our fashion supply chain has a long way to go but Fashion Revolution is bringing attention to this ‘frivolous’ industry and people are being made aware of what happens behind closed doors.

Our team in South Africa has been working for months leading up to Fashion Revolution Day and the engagement has been extremely positive. It takes time to get results but for right now, people are talking and the message is out there. It’s not about pointing fingers and exposing brands, it’s simply in changing attitudes and practices within companies.

Do you know where your clothes come from? Take the time and read the care label. Get inquisitive. It was Mahatma Gandhi who said very poignantly ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world’.

I hope that you will add your voice this year.

It is simple – people matter.

Cyril Naicker is passionate about South Africa’s clothing and textile manufacturing sector and supports wearing proudly South African.

Burkina Faso is the biggest African cotton producer and exporter, so it is no surprise that it boasts a strong textile heritage of handwoven cotton fabric, traditionally called Danfani. Stripes are the signature style of handwoven Burkinabé fabric however artisans are able to weave complex tartan and hounds-tooth fabric designs. Preparing the design on the loom itself can involve three to seven days of work depending on the complexity of the design. Artisans can weave on small and wide looms, the latter makes the fabric more attractive commercially as fashion & design buyers can do more with this larger fabric.

In Burkina Faso, the Ethical Fashion Initiative has worked to create a cooperative which links up several weaving ateliers. The introduction of wide looms and financing of capacity building workshops has also been central to the Ethical Fashion Initiative’s work of bringing brands like Stella Jean, United Arrows and Vivienne Westwood to work with artisans in this area of the world.

In this video, Italo-Haitian fashion designer Stella Jean travels to Burkina Faso with the Ethical Fashion Initiative to meet with handweaving artisans and source fabrics with local weaving ateliers to create her SS14 collection.

Since this visit, Stella Jean has used hand-woven fabric from Burkina Faso in each of her collections.

Many women used to weave on their own account, however many gave up because it was too difficult to sell their stock and make a living from it. Joining the weaving cooperative allows them to receive many more orders, work with others and improve their skills.

Most importantly, more orders means more income for them to take control of their lives. Clémentine, a mother of three children says that since joining the cooperative she has many more orders and “this means I earn more money which improves my life and the life of my family.” Clémentine was also recently able to purchase a motorcycle which makes her independent and helps her get from work to home.

Most women use the income they receive from the orders placed by fashion houses to give a better life to their children. Mamounata says that with the income earned “I can provide for my family and keep my bike in good condition.” Joséphine is able to feed her family with the money earned and has also managed to resolve some financial issues.

Some women had no background in weaving but decided to give the craft a chance to turn their lives around. For example Véronique used to collect sand and gravel to provide for her family. However, since she joined the cooperative she states that her life has changed because “I can now pay the school fees for my children, medical costs and food. In short, I earn enough to provide for my seven children.” Augustine used to cut wood and also collect sand and gravel to sell. She says that she rushed to join the cooperative as soon as she heard of it and says that “Frankly, my life is now much better. I have six children and I can cover all their needs.”

Learning new skills is very important not only to ensure fabric is woven to high standards but also for the confidence of the women artisans. Brigitte began weaving four years ago and since has learnt many weaving skills during this time. She now feels she truly has a profession because before “I didn’t know how to do anything.” Christine began weaving two years ago and says “My life is much better than before” – she now dreams to own a bike of her own.

The Ethical Fashion Initiative is proud to work with many women weavers from Burkina Faso who have been able to improve and take control of their lives through dignified work, producing fabric for luxury fashion houses.

Photo credits: Anne Mimault & ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative

I’m Sienna Somers and I write a blog called  The Savvy Student. This week I made a video about How to Join the Fashion Revolution.

To demonstrate how to take a selfie showing your label, I wore my favourite T-Shirt sith the slogan WE ARE THE SEA.

And then I started wondering:

Who made the T-Shirt I was wearing in the video? Where was the cotton grown? Where was it printed?

 

So, I decided to contact the brand, We are Islanders, and ask them #WhoMadeMyClothes?  This is the fantastic reply which I have just received from Erin at We Are Islanders:

“Hi Sienna, thanks for asking! Your We Are The Sea t-shirt is from Continental Clothing’s Earth Positive Apparel collection, meaning it is 100% organic with 90% reduced CO2. The production of this t-shirt has been audited by the Fair Wear Foundation before being hand-printed by the We Are Islanders team in a Dublin print collective.”

We Are Islanders also sent me some photos of them screenprinting T-Shirts like the one I wore, so now I really do know Who Made My T-shirt!

Don’t miss my Fashion Revolution vintage #haulternative video and blog post on my website as well!