When you think of slavery, you might believe that it’s a concept of the distant past. But what if I told you it still exists in 2017? This topic is exactly what the Fair Trade Fashion Show aimed to put the spotlight on at their third annual fundraising show. The Fair Trade show was hosted by organic clothing company Bead to Reel to benefit the Free The Slaves organization. The night featured a fundraiser aimed at putting the spotlight on ethical fashion as well as raising funds for Free The Slaves to continue fighting for their cause; to end modern day slavery, specifically in the fashion industry. This means holding fast fashion companies accountable for the working conditions of their factory workers who are expected to see massive quantities of clothing in a short period and paid little if anything for their labor.
When you walk into your local mall, you will notice that many fast fashion companies have new stock of items in stores as often as every day. This might be exciting for the consumer, but the average consumer doesn’t realize the human rights issues caused by turning over a high amount of product in such a short period. This is what the Fair Trade Fashion hopes to bring attention to the forefront of the everyday consumer's mind. Shoppers go into a store and deem an item unworthy of its price but fail to realize the process that goes into making that garment.The clothing manufacturing process is one of the most complicated; it literally stems from raw material that is grown out of the earth to becoming a piece of clothing on our body.
It is hard to imagine the atrocities of modern-day slavery-it sounds impossible to us because the consumer is so far removed from the manufacturing process. In fact, so hard to believe that some people think their clothing is made from automated robots but the sad reality is that under paid and over worked people are making your clothes, and that factory worker is making a few cents for a dress that is sold for $80 at a department store. Talk about their labor is in vain. Unfortunately, it is all too real and according to Free The Slaves’ official site, 25% of slaves today are children.
Luckily, consumers are becoming more conscious about where their products come from, and the recent eco-friendly movement within the fashion world has forced companies to become transparent about their manufacturing processes. One of the fundraiser panelists Mike Farid, who founded the US’s first Fair Trade certified apparel factory explained that we need to ask these three essential questions next time we go shopping:
Where do our clothes come from? Who made them? What conditions were they made under?
This one of a kind event raises awareness about a topic that affects our daily lives without us even noticing. It’s time to spark this conversation about fair trade and human rights. When you know better you do better, so let's take this compelling information and start having the conversation about ethical fashion and how we can do our part to end modern-day slavery. Do you know the story behind your clothing? If you’d like to support this cause, visit www.freetheslaves.net to learn more information.