Time to Think: Fashion Revolution Week

Have you ever thought about how many people are involved in creating your clothes you wear?

With the current crisis causing everyone to stay at home, amid the closure of physical retail stores and a halt on worldwide production, our usual consumption cycle has been put on pause, giving everyone everywhere the chance to reconsider fashion’s harmful status quo. Now is the perfect time to stop and think about #whomademyclothes, especially as Fashion Revolution Week runs from 20 April.

Every piece of clothing you own has been created by human beings, whether a simple t-shirt or a￡1.99 bikini, each garment has been crafted by multiple people before it is eventually worn by you. 

Fashion Revolution is a fantastic movement for change in an industry that for too long has put profit before people. They believe that the way forward is for “a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure.” This is something we fully support and believe in, which is why ethical, conscious production in small numbers is a cornerstone of the Asmuss brand. We launched Asmuss with the intention of treating the environment and the people that make our clothes as well as possible.  We make garments that stand the rest of time, using fabrics and production that helped instead of harmed the environment and people working within it.   

Following the Rana Plaza tragedy that inspired Fashion Revolution’s call for change, the need for transparency in the fashion supply chain was highlighted, with many brands and their consumers demanding to know how, where and by whom their clothes were made. 

Often the people cutting and stitching your clothes are paid very little for their skills, particularly when factories producing them are located in developing countries, where fair working conditions can be difficult to monitor for companies based hundreds of miles away.

This is one of the key reasons we choose to have our clothes made in small batches in London. Having our clothes made nearby allows us to visit the small factories and check in on the people working there, so we can ensure our clothes are made in a safe and fair working environment. As a small brand, we don’t have the budget or scale to send people to double check and audit factories based far away or in completely different countries, so having local production is vital for us to be able to support ethical and conscious production. Making locally also allows us to produce in small batches, so we don’t waste fabric producing excess stock.

Fashion Revolution wants to help create a Fashion Industry that restores and looks after the environment and values people.

A supply chain that focuses on squeezing out every last penny from the supplier ultimately causes the people cutting and stitching to have pay and conditions reduced. If this current situation has demonstrated anything, it is that people working in jobs that have previously been undervalued provide exceptional value in what they do, and the risks they take. The people making your clothes deserve to have their worth recognised too.

A key step to allow this to happen is for us all to appreciate this value and recognise that our purchasing decisions have a big influence on how brands behave.

When you next think about buying something, or are going through your wardrobe; whether it is deciding what is most comfortable for that day’s work from home outfit, going for a daily walk or getting dressed up for a virtual drink with friends, just simply ask yourself- who made this? Where did it come from? How many people in how many countries contributed to make this for me? If you want to know the answer get in touch with the brand and ask “who made my clothes?” and push to help change the industry for the better.

Everything we design at Asmuss is made from long lasting sustainable materials, sourced within Europe, with details about who made them available on our website, so you can wear our designs knowing #whomademyclothes.

Fashion Revolution also has a range of resources to help you get involved too, check out https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/get-involved/ for more details and join the revolution to help fashion change for the better.