#WHOMADEMYCLOTHES

At My Fashion Club I share with the kids what I love about the fashion industry, but also what I don’t like and why it needs to change. I don’t preach, I just share my knowledge and let the kids decide if they want to think differently about fashion today.

We discuss questions that thought provoke, engage and inspire. ‘Where do clothes come from?’ I always ask first. Where do the shops get the clothes from? Where in the world are the factories? Name some shops and brands you know? I love some of their answers. Sadly they all know H&M and Primark.

‘So how much does it cost to buy a T-shirt in Primark?’ I ask next. Have you ever wondered who made your clothes? How much they’re paid, and what their lives are like?

We talk about the cost of that T-shirt, and consider the true cost for the people who make our clothes. So who do we need to pay to produce a t-shirt? Our clothes have gone on a long journey before they hit the shops, passing through the hands of cotton farmers, spinners, weavers, dyers. From the truck driver who delivered the jersey to the factory, to Yevas grandma who we discovered is a machinest! And we can’t forget the factory owners percentage too.

Considering that the fashion brand keeps at least 50% margin, how much money is left to pay all the people who made your t-shirt? Does that sound fair? Can the people who make our clothes afford to live?

‘The majority of the people who make fast fashion clothes for the global market live in poverty, unable to afford life’s basic necessities. Many are subject to exploitation; verbal and physical abuse, working in unsafe and dirty conditions, with very little pay - Fashion Revolution’

So next time you go shopping it’s worth considering the people who make your clothes. If a t-shirt costs less than the price of your daily coffee, the kids don’t think that sounds fair, what do you think?

FASHION FACTS

RANA PLAZA : On 24 April 2013, the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which housed five garment factories, killed at least 1,132 people and injured more.

FASHION REVOLUTION: Global movement calling for greater transparency in the fashion industry, set up in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster.

ORSOLA DE CASTRO and CARRY SOMERS : The inspirational co-founders of Fashion Revolution @fash_rev

STACEY DOOLEY INVESTIGATES Fashion’s Dirty Secrets, which explores the shocking impact our insatiable appetite for cheap clothing is having around the globe.

GOOD ON YOU The go-to source of trusted brand ratings, articles and expertise on ethical and sustainable fashion.