Clockwise, from
opposite: producers in
Northern India of Fazl
Socks share the ‘I made
your clothes’ hashtag;
Fashion Revolution
team members;
postcards to help
consumers ask brands
the big questions
symbolises an impressive army for change. “It doesn’t
take that many people for a brand to realise that their
customers care about it. We can put pressure on the
brands that we love,” says Carry.
It was quickly apparent how big their revolution
could be. By Christmas that first year, Carry had
handed over the running of Pachacuti to Mark, and
shelved plans for her own book. De Castro also gave
up her business: “We both knew it was more than
a full-time job. At Pachacuti, there were several
hundred weavers whose lives we were benefiting but
I thought that this was the opportunity – the chance
for me to use 25 years of knowledge and all of that
PHOTOGRAPHY: MIGUEL LOPEZ; VANESSA VOYA; RED MAGAZINE; CHERIE BIRKNER FOR SUSTAINABLE FASHION MATTERZ; FASHION REVOLUTIONpioneering work we did, and try to make a difference“It doesn’t take many people for a
brand to realise that their customers
care. We can put pressure on the
brands we love”
to more people’s lives.”
Where does the confidence to take such leaps come
from? “I was brought up with a strong sense of right
and wrong,” Carry says. In her late 50s, Carry’s mother
decided that she and Carry’s father were moving to
London from Devon so she could do a degree at SOAS.
Somers Senior subsequently established her own fair
trade business. “Everyone is like, ‘Oh, you took after
your mother’, and I’m like ‘No, no – she took after me!’”
she laughs. Her daughter Sienna now also works for
Fashion Revolution.UPPING THE PACE OF CHANGE
Other things don’t move as quickly. Carry is currently
compiling the annual Fashion Transparency Index,
using information given by brands about who it is that
makes their clothes. “Last year, 37% published their
first-tier suppliers, 18% their second,” she says, with
her impressive recall of statistics. It may not seem that
cheering but, two years ago, only 12.5% of brands were
publishing their first tier. “Yes, it’s slow,” admits
Carry, “but it’s progress”. In fact, the scale of what’s
still to be done is what keeps her going. “It means
that you can always make progress. And that’s
constantly rewarding and fulfilling.”
How does she stop? Does she ever? She laughs,
tellingly. In prev ious yea rs, Ca r r y ’s worked 70 - or
80-hour weeks in the run-up to Fashion Revolution.
Now, over five years in, with their core funding
established, they’ve expanded the main team and the
pressure is off, slightly. Not that she’s really putting
her feet up, more that she’s enjoying the wider support
and expertise. But, truthfully, it doesn’t seem that she
ever puts her feet up. She loves gardening, although
currently even that’s a bit of a mission. Outside the
window of their home, the diggers are at work levelling
and terracing her garden and her plans for when this
year’s Fashion Revolution Week finishes mainly
involve weeding. “We’ve got about quarter of an acre,
t hat ’s a huge a mount to do!” She’ll likely tack le t h is
with the same determined dedication as the rest of her
work. Because what’s inspiring about Carry, both in
words and actions, is her belief that one person can.
“We may think we’re small and insignificant and what
we do can’t make a difference but, if we all think like
that, we won’t bring about change.” Take it from
Carry: “We can all make a difference.”
fashionrevolution.org35LIVING (^) | WISDOM