FAIR FASHION - A better world starts with you

FAIR FASHION

Fair Fashion, what does it actually mean?

Lately you hear a lot in the news about Fast Fashion, Fair Fashion,

garment industries in poor Asian countries and Fair Trade Fashion,

but what do these concepts actually mean?

With these questions in mind, I am now writing this beautiful article for Tantilly.

What has been occupying my mind for a long time is the question: How can we or how can

I find a solution to the many abuses that exist in the clothing industry?

Fast Fashion

Fast Fashion means 'Fast Fashion' in Dutch. More and more and especially large clothing chains change their clothing collection so often that you can hardly keep up, it goes so FAST! And the collections are sold for such incredibly low prices that it is almost unimaginable that it can be made for that, let alone bought by you. 5 euros for a T-shirt for example!

Of course it all sounds great, a new collection in the store every week for a super low price! But... is it really that great?

Do you really enjoy these very cheap items that much?

Or do they end up, like often with me, in the back of the closet and do you often forget that you have them? Or are they of such poor quality that after a few washes, they are completely washed out, shrunk or just not beautiful anymore?

The above questions are the starting point of my research into Fair Fashion, or Fair Clothing.

Who actually makes my clothes?

This was important to me. Who makes my clothes?

As a consumer I thought that was very important, but as a store owner it is becoming more and more important to me because I now feel personally responsible. Responsible for how my clothing line is produced.. responsible for the clothing choice of many consumers..

I thought to myself: 'There must be an affordable way to make honest products of good quality?

Countries like Cambodia and Bangladesh do not have a good name in the clothing industry. Why is that?

During my research I came across some shocking facts.

Below are some of my findings..

- A normal working day for many garment factory workers consists of at least 9 hours of sitting behind the sewing machine. Without breaks!

- For working these long days, 6 or 7 days a week, many people do not even earn 100 euros a month. * There is no legally established minimum wage and there is also no collective labor agreement in which rules and rights of the workers are established.

It often comes down to the workers having to settle for whatever they are paid now.

- In the large factories there are often very bad working conditions; there are often no toilets or clean water. Furthermore, it is often unsafe, especially the work buildings have no escape routes in case of e.g. fire.

Little to no attention is paid to the (construction-technical) maintenance of the buildings, which means that a wall could suddenly collapse or a ceiling could fall down! The workers often have to work in poorly ventilated, dark rooms.

- 80% of workers have no opportunity to retrain or advance!

- In many cases there is no childcare available, which means that many (single) women have to take their children to work.

The children then sit for hours 'participating' as they wait for their mother next to the sewing machine.

Do we still get so happy when we buy a pair of leggings for only €1.99? Or that cute dress for €9.99?

Who actually pays for these cheap clothes?

I spoke to several factory owners and workers and I found out how it works. It goes like this.

Big box stores often take very large orders, while paying ridiculously low amounts for them. You may wonder why the factory owners are satisfied with a low wage.

The fact is that there is always a competing factory willing to do it for less money; that is why many factory owners feel compelled to accept the offer of the big box stores, even if it has been halved a month after the first offer!

The result is therefore that cuts have to be made!!

Unfortunately not on the clothes, but on the people who make your clothes.

Even lower wages, even longer days, even worse conditions.

The roof that actually needs to be replaced will have to wait a little longer.

Or people will have to be laid off again, which means that the people who continue to work will have to do all the extra work, without a pay increase or extra hourly compensation.

* The cost of living in the countries in question is much lower than here in the Netherlands, but with 100 euros a month people often cannot afford more than a hut and they eat meals that largely consist of rice.

There is no real future prospect and there is no money to educate children; it is a matter of survival.

Is 'Fair Fashion' really that expensive compared to 'Fast Fashion'?

In a study I just read that we in the Netherlands throw away 70 million kilos of textiles per year. Unbelievable!! Do we really need that much clothing?

Or is it sometimes worth paying €49.99 for that nice blouse (instead of €15), knowing that it will last a really long time, that you really like it and that it is also produced in a fair way for the workers? :-)

Fortunately, nowadays there are many initiatives from people who also opt for FAIR FASHION.

After traveling a lot, and first buying clothes from many brands in the Netherlands, Tantilly has had her own clothing line for 3 years with incredibly cute blouses, tops, vests and dresses. The nice thing is that everything is handmade!

Real old-fashioned craftsmanship, no big factories and machines involved! Because of the small scale I can now check everything myself, which I couldn't do with wholesalers in the Netherlands before.

Then I just had to believe that the clothes were produced in a fair way.

Now I travel a few times a year to beautiful countries, where I have my clothing collection made by small family workshops.

Dear families, who work under good conditions, maximum 8 hours a day and with normal breaks in between.

A place where food is available to everyone and where children can play or go to school instead of working or just sitting around waiting for mom to be ready.

Places where workers receive fair wages for their work, so that they too can buy something extra and make plans for the future!

That's much more comfortable to wear, isn't it, that top or dress that is produced in a nice way? :-)

That's what we call FAIR FASHION, super fun and affordable fashion that is produced in a fair way!

Fun for us and fun for the makers! :-)

Making the world a better place starts with us, every day...

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Written by Chantal van Haaren and Jacoba Lamers

Want to read or watch more? Here are my tips!

- Sewn; this is a program about the clothing industry in poorer countries, from the Evangelische Omroep (EO), presented by Jennifer Hoffman.

You can watch this series again on NPO Start.

- Talking Dress; this is a very nice book with background information, fun facts and nice tips to contribute your own bit. This book is written by Marieke Eyskoot.

- The True Cost; this is an impressive documentary about the controversial clothing industry and the well-being of the workers.

Can be seen on Netflix, among others.

- China Blue, an impressive and moving story about clothing made in China, and the story behind the workers. Watch on Youtube.

Making the world a better place starts with us, every day...