We know the names of the people who own the stores where we shop and of the models who model the clothes. But do we know the name of the person making our clothes? Whenever we hear about low paid labourers in the news they are often just grouped as ‘garment workers’.
Picture from Satara
However, one organisation is doing something different. Ecouterre recently reported on a Dutch non-profit organisation, Satara which has started manufacturing garments in India.
Their aim is to “encourage and empower underprivileged women ... to develop themselves and their enterprise in a structured and continuous manner.”
What makes them stand out in my mind is that they show the profile of each of the workers, a space usually reserved for directors and CEO’s. This shows that the directors and workers are on the same level. You can know the name, see the face and read the stories of the people who are making the clothes.
When shopping on the high street, we know where the clothes are made but it’s difficult to know who made them. This makes it difficult to value and connect to what we’re buying.
It’s so much easier to throw a t-shirt away, when you don’t know the name and face of the person who made it.
Image Credit- Mckaysavage on Flickr at Creative Common
However, one organisation is doing something different. Ecouterre recently reported on a Dutch non-profit organisation, Satara which has started manufacturing garments in India.
Their aim is to “encourage and empower underprivileged women ... to develop themselves and their enterprise in a structured and continuous manner.”
What makes them stand out in my mind is that they show the profile of each of the workers, a space usually reserved for directors and CEO’s. This shows that the directors and workers are on the same level. You can know the name, see the face and read the stories of the people who are making the clothes.
When shopping on the high street, we know where the clothes are made but it’s difficult to know who made them. This makes it difficult to value and connect to what we’re buying.
It’s so much easier to throw a t-shirt away, when you don’t know the name and face of the person who made it.
Image Credit- Mckaysavage on Flickr at Creative Common
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