The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a considerable impact on virtually every industry. As of March 24th, the pandemic has caused 18,227 deaths around the world, forcing the disruption of daily lives as local governments enforce strict measures to halt the spread of the virus. Orders such as prohibiting large gatherings have affected several fashion businesses, many whose stores will close for unknown periods.
As most of us start to stay at home for the sake of social distancing, there will be a lack of engagement with fashion from not going out with our lavish outfits to shopping for clothes. However, staying at home opens the opportunity to engage with our closet. Our society is heavily influenced by the fast fashion business, so it’s obvious that a majority of us are constantly buying clothes without taking a good look at our closet and noticing that we have a sufficient amount of clothes. So we stay at home, at times not knowing what to do with our free time, take the time to know your closet. Here are some things to do:
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International Women’s Day was established on March 8th, 1908 as a result of garment workers in New York City protesting for higher wages. These women protested regarding horrible working conditions, including hazardous work environments, 60+ hour work weeks, and a surge of child labor. However, protests like these would not change much. Three years later, in Manhattan, 146 women were burned alive in an industrial fire. They were unable to escape as they were locked in (this was a regulation to prevent unauthorized bathroom breaks). This appalling fire is the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city. Devastating tragedies like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire put change in motion for the women in America, but over a century later, conditions remain frighteningly similar for women continuing to work in the global garment industry.
As International Women’s Day rolled on March 8th, numerous young women on my social media feed decided to wear feminist tees as a way to express and promote “girl power.” However, this is not the ideal way of celebrating Women’s Day. The big brands that introduce female empowerment t-shirts are proceeding to exploit women in ways that certainly not the ideal feminist way. Just about 33% of female garment workers have encountered sexual harassment in their workplace. Around the globe, a majority of the 300 million people who make our garments work don’t have a living wage and are unable to negotiate for their wages and working conditions. So as we reflect on the gender issues we face in our regular day to day lives, and the empowerment women have accomplished in the past hundred years, we ought to consider the condition of feminism in the global fashion supply chain. Fashion is a vehicle for self-expression and an opportunity for creativity, but it’s also a framework that is filled with exploitation. It’s crucial for those of us who are fortunate enough to utilize fashion as a vehicle of empowerment to work to empower individuals who work in the supply chain. People who most often work in the supply are most frequently young girls and women, and much of the time vulnerable people who work for less than the living wage and can’t negotiate their conditions. Join Green Couture’s movement to stand up for young girls and women in the fashion supply chain and challenge that fashion brands don’t just convey empowerment to their customers, but to their makers. |
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