Who made your clothes?

The fashion industry involves a long chain and it consists of people. You, who are wearing the garment, are at one end. At the other end are the women and men who grew and harvested the cotton, wove the fabric, and sewed the garment. As a customer, it can be difficult to see the people and the factories behind the clothes. We want to change that.

Fashion Revolution Week April 20 - 26

On April 24, 2013, 1,138 textile workers were killed and over 2,500 were injured when the Rana Plaza plant collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. That’s when Fashion Revolution was born, a global non-profit movement centered on an annual campaign.

From April 20 - 26, Fashion Revolution Week will unite people and companies from all over the world. The goal is to create awareness of the true cost of fashion – for people and for the environment. And to show the world that a change is possible. Not least for the conditions of the people who make the world’s clothes.

 

How we think at Boob

We have decided to only make clothes that serve a purpose. We then make sure that they are made as environmentally optimal as possible, in every way – when it comes to design, function, materials selection and production. This leads to clothes that have a long life – that hold up to being used, washed and loved, over and over again.

At Boob we are proud of our producers, who have been carefully selected for their quality work and their values regarding the environment and human rights. We asked three of them to tell us how COVID-19 has affected them, and how they think it will change the fashion business.

 

Calze Ileana / Italy

Calze Ileana is a family-owned company in northern Italy that produces our hosiery and seamless underwear. We have been working with Calze Ileana since 2017.

Name: Ileana Pinelli
Role: CEO and founder
Years in the textile business: 50 years

What has the situation at your factory been like since the outbreak of COVID-19?
Italy has been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and we have been living in a lockdown since early March. We reacted to this emergency by converting some of our production into making protective facemasks to be used by civil workers. This has allowed us to avoid completely shutting down the company. We also took action immediate to protect our workers. We did not want to spread panic or fake information, but maintain good physical and mental working conditions while we continued to operate by adopting all the necessary precautions, such as sanitations, shifts to reduce number of people, etc., according to the government directives.
 

How do you think this will change the fashion industry? 
I think that the fashion business needs to rethink the idea of seasonal collections, over-production, and sales, and seriously take climate change into consideration.

 

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Savas / Greece

Savas is a small, family-owned sewing factory located in Thessaloniki, Greece, that produces many of our items in jersey. We have been working with Savas since 2017.

Name: Ioannis Kofidis
Role: Executive director
Years in the textile business: 35 years

 

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, what has the situation at the factory been like?
Aside from the stringent restrictions that the government has implemented, we at the factory have taken further measures in order to protect the health all of our people. These include measures like taking employees' temperatures on a daily basis, changing the production setup by putting the machines 2 meters apart, and providing workers with masks and gloves. No one else is allowed to enter to our factory. Even couriers have to wait in a special room in order to deliver packages.

 

How do you think this will change the fashion industry? 
It is difficult to foresee the future, but we are sure that when this coronavirus is over, everything will be different!

 

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Irmaos Rodrigues

Irmaos Rodrigues is a family-owned sewing factory in Barcelos, Portugal. They produce many of our GOTS-certified garments in organic cotton. We have been working with Irmaos Rodrigues since 2012.

Name: Paula Santos
Role: Account manager
Years in the textile business: 30 years


Since the outbreak of COVID-19, what has the situation at the factory been like?
Despite the restrictive measures imposed by our government regarding social confinement and the closure of some economic sectors, the industrial sector remains in operation and so does Irmaos Rodrigues. With no infected employees so far, Irmaos Rodrigues is fully operational, even though our personnel have been divided into several shifts as a preventive measure to contain the spread of COVID-19 among our workforce.
 
In the future, how do you think this will change the fashion industry? 
As this experience is still very new, I cannot specify what changes will occur, but surely this pandemic situation will lead to an adjustment of the industry.

 

*Please note that images of workers without facial masks are taken pre COVID-19.

 

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What can we all do?

Think about how you consume. Shopping a little less for new clothes can be a good way to show care for both people and the environment. By shopping second hand, selling clothes that are no longer used or by handing them over to someone who will love them, you keep your clothes in the loop. Clothing that stays in the loop will automatically work for the environment.

 

Read more about all our factories and the people behind our garments here.