Fast Fashion -Scary facts
Fast fashion - two little words that, when strung together, reflect the enormous impact that arises when clothing and accessories are created on a mass scale as consumables to be worn and discarded, rather than cherished as precious commodities. This, unsurprisingly, has a tremendous impact on both the lives of garment workers, as well as our shared environment.
To put this careless approach into perspective, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme, the production of a single pair of jeans requires more than 3,700 liters of water -- from the cotton production to the delivery of the final product to the store.  That’s twelve bathtubs’ worth of water for one item! And, every year, the fashion industry produces billions of jeans, as well as countless other garments, of which only a small margin is made sustainably. The result? Serious pollution of the air we breathe and the Earth’s rivers and oceans, not to mention millions of workers subjected to exhaustingly long shifts in undignified and often unsafe working conditions.
Reading all of this might stir up lots of emotions — it does for us, too! Disappointment, frustration… But these emotions can, in turn, be transformed into full-force determination to continue to do better. And we are!
2020 has been a tough year to navigate, as the novel coronavirus sends out a ripple effect that impacts the lives of every single one of us, affecting our vulnerable communities the most. deux mains is proud to share with you that we have raised our workers’ wages to count for the sky-rocketting inflation in Haiti, as a result of the pandemic. With every purchase, you continue to support and empower our skilled artisans, safeguarding their dignified living.
It’s heart-warming to see that we are not alone in our efforts to secure just conditions for fashion workers worldwide, the majority of whom are women. In recent months, the #PayUp campaign has been holding fashion brands accountable, in an attempt to prevent the financial fallout from paralyzing garment workers. As stores closed down across the globe and consumer demand decreased, brands cancelled or paused both orders that were in-process as well as completed orders, putting millions of workers' jobs at risk, according to Remake. In response, hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, including celebrities, have since worked together to push brands to pay up in full, in a timely manner. And it’s working!
The message is clear: wonderful things occur when we stand alongside one another. Now more than ever, it’s of great importance to turn to mindful consumerism and help drive impact where we can, embracing inclusivity, sustainability and new, alternative ways to doing things that guarantee a brighter future for all.
Image Credit @remakeourworld