{"id":449,"date":"2019-08-13T17:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T17:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.contrado.com\/blog\/?p=449"},"modified":"2020-09-17T15:21:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T15:21:46","slug":"exploitative-labor-in-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.contrado.com\/blog\/exploitative-labor-in-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploitative Labor in Fashion: Time to Ask #WhoMadeMyClothes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/fashionrevolution.org\/\">Fashion Revolution Week,<\/a>&nbsp;an initiative that encourages people to question the origins of their clothes and stand up against child exploitation. The sad reason behind this cause is because unfortunately, there are still brands that take advantage of&nbsp;unethical child labor laws, creating garments that come at a heavy cost to people and the planet. All just to keep their own costs down&nbsp;and maximize profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we\u2019re proud to say we\u2019re not one of those companies. Ever since we started in 2003, we\u2019ve always stood by our strong ethical morals and create everything to order in house by our amazing team of experts, here at our facility. We have artisan seamstresses, print technicians, product developers, dressmakers, leather workers and more all working a fair day for fair pay. Just experienced&nbsp;workers doing what they love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important for you, as a customer, to know exactly where your item has come from. In fact, it\u2019s your right to know, so use this week to ask #WhoMadeMyClothes and let\u2019s collectively put an end to child exploitation and unethical practices&nbsp;in the fashion industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>The Price of Fast Fashion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like sacrificing nutrition when you buy fast food, fast fashion comes at a price too.&nbsp;Many of the large, global brands have a convoluted supply chain, choosing suppliers in poor communities&nbsp;to keep costs down. Basing their manufacturing in Asia means they don\u2019t have stringent human rights laws to abide by and can get away with paying peanuts. However, they\u2019ve been ignorant of the conditions of the workers, from the farmers through to the factories, turning a blind eye to the effects of child labor and unethical sourcing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We love fashion, and we believe expressing individual style should be accessible to everybody, but it should also be fair to everybody too. When you buy a dress for $8 from a large retail chain, have you ever been curious as to why it\u2019s so cheap?&nbsp;Making a profit is business, but at the expense of people\u2019s livelihood is criminal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2013, a&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/fashionrevolution.org\/about\/why-do-we-need-a-fashion-revolution\/\">clothing manufacturing building<\/a>&nbsp;in Bangladesh that produced garments for big global brands,&nbsp;collapsed, killing 1,138 people and injuring a further 2,500. Most of the victims were young women. With rising material and labor costs in the western world, companies are exploiting poverty-stricken areas. That\u2019s why the Fashion Revolution is paramount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/fashion-rev.jpg\" alt=\"Rana Plaza building collapse\" class=\"wp-image-938\"\/><figcaption><em>The Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, image via&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/40831205@N02\/8731789941\">rijans<\/a>&nbsp;Flickr CC<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>#WhoMadeMyClothes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wherever you go to buy clothes, you have the power to ask where they\u2019ve come from. If you knew that a 7-year-old child had been forced to sew your t-shirt in an unhealthy environment&nbsp;for as little as a penny, would you feel comfortable wearing it? It\u2019s time to change how fashion is made, sourced and consumed. And it starts with us \u2013 the people wearing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you ever asked us who made your clothes, we\u2019d be able to point you to the exact person, tell you their name and what their favorite lunch is. We all work closely together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMadeYourClothes.png\" alt=\"Contrado workers against child exploitation\" class=\"wp-image-937\"\/><figcaption><em>Contrado workers against child exploitation &amp; unethical practices within fashion<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>How We Value&nbsp;People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike at the clothing factories in poverty-stricken areas, everybody at Contrado has chosen to be here. They don\u2019t have to sew to survive. We only employ adults under a proper, fair contract and pay everyone a fixed wage. Without our employees, what we do wouldn\u2019t be possible, and this ethos is evident throughout our business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/015Production-Images_800px.jpg\" alt=\"seamstresses at Contrado\" class=\"wp-image-933\"\/><figcaption><em>Seamstresses at Contrado<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>How We Value&nbsp;the Planet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We keep our supply chain clean, ethical, sustainable and short. Because we do everything in-house and only source our fabrics from within the EU, we have a low carbon footprint and a better understanding of where everything comes from. Being on a first-name basis with our fabric suppliers ensures we can ask the questions that matter to us. Where has the fabric come from? Are there safe working conditions? Do people get a fair wage? The environment that we work in is also crucial, so we only use eco-friendly inks, have a solid recycling scheme and manage our energy consumption efficiently. We\u2019ve seen in countries where child exploitation is rife that they\u2019re working with harmful chemicals in an unhealthy environment. Nobody, let alone a child, should be expected to work in such conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/017Production-Images_800px.jpg\" alt=\"ecofriendly inks at Contrado\" class=\"wp-image-934\"\/><figcaption><em>Eco-friendly inks at Contrado<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2>End Child Exploitation &amp; Unethical Practices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Get involved in Fashion Revolution week to help see a fairer, more sustainable future for the fashion industry. It\u2019s simple, just ask #WhoMadeMyClothes.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.com\/sustainability\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"825\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sustaiability-banner-2.jpg\" alt=\"sustainability\" class=\"wp-image-587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.contrado.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sustaiability-banner-2.jpg 825w, https:\/\/www.contrado.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sustaiability-banner-2-300x109.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.contrado.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sustaiability-banner-2-768x279.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s&nbsp;Fashion Revolution Week,&nbsp;an initiative that encourages people to question the origins of their clothes and stand up against child exploitation. The sad reason behind this cause is because unfortunately, there are still brands that take advantage of&nbsp;unethical child labor laws, creating garments that come at a heavy cost to people and the planet. All just [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"%%title%% %%page%%","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Unfortunately, brands take advantage of unethical child labor laws, creating garments that come at a heavy cost to people and the planet."},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Exploitative Labor in Fashion: Time to Ask #WhoMadeMyClothes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unfortunately, brands take advantage of unethical child labor laws, creating garments that come at a heavy cost to people and the planet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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