Brunch Mumbai – June 29, 2019

june30, 2019

F

ashionhas longbeen an

industrywherenothing

wieldedmore powerthan

beauty–atacostmuch

biggerthan what met the eye. But,

even as we movedfrommicro-

ministo celebrating modesty,from

the extravagance of the ’80s to

the minimalism in the’90s, from

ostentatiousto findingextraordinary

in the ordinary,therehas neverbeen

atimewherefashion, has aspired to

be transparent.

ForUK-basedfashiondesigner

Carry Somers,founderof Pachacuti

(whichmeansworldupside-down in

Quechua)–world’s first companyto

label all its products‘Certified Fair

Trade and Sustainable’ –the questfor

transparencystarted after Rana

Plazain Dhaka,the building that

housedanumberof garment factories

and shops,collapseddue to structural

failurein2013 and led to the deathof

1,138people.This incidentignitedthe

birth of her community,Fashion

Revolution.With this globalmove-

ment,Somerstookit uponherselfto

initiateasystemicchangethatdemoc-

ratisesthe industryin the truestsense

of the word,makingitfairer,safer,

cleanerand mostof all, transparent.

becomingfashion

conscious

“In the days followingthe RanaPlaza

collapse,everywhereIlooked, there

were newspaper articles callingfor

amoreethicalfashion industry.

Meanwhile,campaignershad to

search throughthe rubblefor clothing

skills.Seeingthe weighingscales

beingloadedwithwool on oneside

and then seeing the producers

beingcharged aprice,which

borenoresemblance to thestated

cost per kilo,Ifelt outrage at the

discrimination,”she recalls.

“Quechua speakers with

rudimentaryknowledgeofSpanish

and lowlevelsofnumeracywere

at themercy of the middlemen

forbuyingthe wool and selling

theirfinishedgarments. Imet two

groupsof workers who’d organised

themselves into cooperatives,

butboth had experiencedarson

attacksdue to the threatthey posed

labels to provewhichbrands were

actuallyproducingthere. That’s

when Irealised thatthe workers were

invisible,and the lack of transparency

and responsibilityin the fashion

supplychainwascostinglives.Iknew

we neededto find away to channel

this concerninto along-standing

campaign so thatthe victimsof Rana

Plaza,and all the othertragedies that

have occurredinthe nameof fashion,

would neverbeforgotten. That’s when

FashionRevolution Daywas born,”

reveals 53-year-old Somers.

By their first anniversaryin 2014,

FashionRevolutionhadcoordinators

in 62 countries aroundtheworld,

including India. That’s when Fashion

RevolutionDay, on the anniversaryof

theRana Plazacollapse,turnedinto

FashionRevolutionWeek.

In the last five years, thefashion

week has highlightedthe people

working in supplychains.“Hundreds

of thousandsof peopleuseour

hashtag#WhoMadeMyClothesto

demandgreater transparencyfrom

thefashionindustry.Thousandsof

fashionbrands have shareddetails

about the facilitiesand peoplewho

maketheir clothes.Garmentworkers,

artisans, farmers and producers

have told storiesaboutworkingin

thesupplychain,using the hashtag

#IMadeYourClothes,” she adds.

It all started when Somerstook

up aresearch projectas partofher

masters.“Itravelled to Ecuador to

studytraditionaltextileanddyeing

to the intermediaries’ monopoly,”

she says.

Thenextsummer,she returned

to Ecuadorand gave thecooperatives

the financial resources to buyraw

materialsin bulk and,withno

background in design,they produced

aseries of knitwear patterns, which

becameso popularthattheysold out

in six weeks! Shethen gave up her

PhDand concentrated on improving

the livesofthese people.

callforaction

This year,Somers’ call forrevolution

struckachordwith 3.25 million

peoplewhoparticipated in 1,

eventsworldwide,fromcatwalks and

clothesswaps, to film screenings,

paneldiscussions and workshops.

Nevertheless,thereare brands that

oftencall themselves ‘sustainable’

withoutunderstandingthe meaning.

“Wecan’t put astoptobrands

claimingto be sustainablewithout

anysubstance behind it, butwecan

increasescrutinytoensure thereisa

firm basisfortheseclaims,” shesays.

“We’vechosento focus on

transparency, whichisn’t theonly

waytochangethe fashion industry,

butit’sapowerful starting point,"

she says.

This is alsowhy she created

the hashtag#haulternative –an

initiative that explores otherways of

buyingand experiencing clotheslike

upcycling to swapstofindinggems in

charityshops.

Somerswants peopleto fall

backinlovewith theclothesthey

own, carefor themforlonger,and

takeastandagainst fast fashionthat

endsup in landfill. She,however,

is optimisticand believesthatboth

the fashionindustryand the culture

aroundclothingcan change, giventhe

rightincentivesand impetus.

[email protected]

Follow@VijDrishtion Twitter

(^16) fashion
Thedesigner-turned-campaignerwhobroughtasemblanceofequalityin theworldof
fashionwiththepopularhashtag#WhoMadeMyClothes,nowhasanewrevolutiongoing:
#Haulternative, thatpromotesupcycling,swapsandfindinggemsin charityshops
ByDrishtiVij
FALL BACK IN LOVE WITH
THE CLOTHESYOU OWN!
rETUrNTOTHENATIVES
CarrySomers(centre) withagroupof
embroiderersin Peru
somerspicks
threeindian
brandswhere
ethicsrule
theroost!
odetoodd,mumbai
why:“Theyworkwith
weaversacrossIndia
toproducebeautiful
garmentsthatcelebrate
craftsmanship.Their
embroideryis exquisite!”
ka-sha,delhi
why:“Theyuseembroidery,
hand-weavingandhand-
knittingtocreatedesign-led
clothingfromnaturalfibres.”
tilla,ahmedabad
why:“It’sacontemporary
brandthat’simmersedinthe
crafttraditionsofIndiaand
inspiredbynature.”
“wecan’tputastoptobrands
claimingtobesustainablebut
wecanincreaseourscrutinyto
ensurethere’safirmbasisfor
theseclaims”—carrysomers
.
.
.