So you may know where your clothes come from by looking in the tag, "Made in China"..."Made in India"..."Made in the Philippines" etc...but do you know what these factory workers go through in a given 15 hour day of working, just for us to look fly? I had the opportunity to learn a lot about production, on a designer level as well as corporate, in which I managed the responsibility of coordinating the production process both overseas and domestically over the last few years. I've worked for design houses such as TSE, in which I was in charge of their Quality Control, french designer Catherine Malandrino who produced in China, HK, and knits in Uruguay, and more of the higher end garments in Italy, then Alice and Olivia who began to produce right here in NYC, and American Eagle Outfitters who had agents that connected them to factories in India and HK...
Children picking cotton...that later becomes the tees on our back...
...When I managed domestic production, some of the day was spent sourcing fabric and trims, but the majority of my day was spent visiting factories up and down 35th, 38th, and 39th st btwn 7th and 8th ave. FYI, those buildings are full of factories and cutting rooms and soon they'll actually be kicked out of their space for more residential and office space to the city. I remember how it was my job to rush the workers to finish production so we could ship the goods out and get it on the selling floors...we were rushing spring and summer production while it was still winter!! Its an industry of selfishness and greed...a "eat your child" industry as I once heard it described. Little do my supervisors know though, I would try to make it as easy on the workers as I could...I would do most of the foot work for them in getting patterns and trims they needed, plus I would tell them the desired completion date, but I would also whisper to the factory managers "if it can't be done, then I understand", and I would just deal with the headache back at the office of not meeting a deadline, just to be able sleep decent at night knowing I wasn't promoting sweatshop type labor. I remember how I thought to myself, I could care less if the goods made it to the floors of Bloomingdales and Scoop...or if the sales girls made their commission or not for shipping on time...I wanted the factories to remember my face and know I had a heart and consideration for them.
I feel like once BUTCH DIVA starts mass production, I know for sure I'll be more comfortable finding sources domestically where I can have more control over the quality of conditions and the wellness of those working for me... There are so many stories, articles, and resources that will educate you on child labor, horrible manufacturing conditions, and the life of a factory worker, in addition to all the laws that were created to protect workers, but they don't. I strongly suggest others look into this matter, it would blow your mind! See some just some of the links I came across during my research below > copy and paste. Plus I'm talking about paying practically nothing to have something produced overseas, and then labels marking the product up anywhere btwn 50-200% to make profit! This is obviously the main advantage that drives the greed to get things produced at the cheapest rate available and still keep up with the latest trends and developments...The fashion industry - I have a love > hate relationship with it...all I can do is be pro-active and share these resources with you in hopes of making a difference...
CHECK OUT >>> www.ehponline.org/members/2007/115-9/focus.html
CHECK OUT >>> peopleandplanet.org/tradejustice/highcost
CHECK OUT >>> chinaview.wordpress.com/category/people/worker/
BUTCH DIVA Boss Lady
Tiffany
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