There is an actual person behind it.
When I was young, I loved buying and wearing clothes without knowing how they were made. I thought it was the shop itself that was producing all those clothes - but not humans ( that was in the old times) !
It is not until I stepped foot in Malaysia and traveled to Bangladesh that I realised actual people were behind the process of making clothes in one place for many high street brands I knew very well.
It impacts people lives
I was lucky enough to know people from Bangladesh and to visit "safe" factories but my friends also made me aware of the sad truth behind the manufacturing of our clothes.
People are not only exploited but working in terrible conditions. They aren't paid fairly (not even the average salary the country would normally provide), working overtime to meet the demand ( like 15-17 hours/day) and manipulating toxic & hazardous dyes which causes diseases.
Workers marching for their lives in Dhaka
It impact our environment
All our clothes are made using man made fabric such as polyester, nylon or microfiber which are essentially made using plastic we produce in mass quantity. In the process, our clothes are then coloured & dyed to create more options & choices for us to consume. However, synthetic fibers can only be dyed using synthetic & toxic dyes.
These synthetic colours allowed manufacturers and dye houses to operate in large quantities, and offer vivid, rich colours. They became the go-to option as very easy to manipulate and offer a limitless palette of colour options.
In the process of dyeing our clothes, factories and dye houses mix synthetic dyes with water and then reject the waste to the rivers.
As they have been chemically developed to stick to any type of fabrics, the runoff of synthetic dyes in freshwater is contaminating and polluting overtime having a very disastrous effect on our planet.
Rivers are turning green, red or pink in many countries in which our clothes are produced killing river species and contaminating the water that cannot be used by local communities.
Contaminated river in Bangladesh
It impacts our local economy
Those big retailers saw a huge opportunity in outsourcing their supply chain to other countries for lower costs. This also meant that a lot of cities/areas of the country lost their primary activity resulting in huge unemployment and a deprived area.
Supporting local manufacturing helps supporting the local economy, our talent & our resources.
Julie making scrunchies & scarves using the natural dyeing process
The stories behind the clothes
We have many talents that thrive in creating sustainable and more transparent businesses and you can be introduced to the actual people behind the brand.
And it is incredible to listen, share & connect with those stories, those experiences that are so unique. It helps us bringing the world together and making sure we keep it real <3
Mum & Julie launching a sustainable & guilt free fashion brand