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I stand with the 70 MILLION garment workers worldwide in the fight for a better future – one that provides fair pay, holds brands accountable, and ends workplace abuse within the fashion industry.
The majority of these workers are women.
What is the campaign PayHer about?
#PayHer by ReMake and Pay Up Fashion is a follow up campaign of last year’s #PayUp campaign.
Remember the fashion industry’s catastrophic decision to refuse payment for completed clothing orders heading into the COVID-19 pandemic?
But thanks to the #PayUp campaign, as of December of 2020 the relentless protesting and petitioning paid off. It has helped to recoup at least $15 billion owed to garment factories worldwide from over a dozen major fashion companies, including Zara, Gap Inc. and Next.
Many brands, despite returning to profitability by the fall of 2020, still refuse to #PayUp, and factories continue to underpay workers on a massive scale. In the months after the pandemic began, brands began to drastically cut the prices paid to factories, triggering a corresponding increase in hunger and food insecurity and an increase in union-busting and gender-based violence among garment workers.
In sharp contrast to the garment workers, fast fashion brand owners and CEOs didn’t take a pay cut. Or risked their life and livelihood. Like Zara’s founder Amancio Ortega who remains the world’s 6th richest person, worth $58.5 billion.
It takes just four days for a CEO from one of the top five global fashion brands to earn what a Bangladeshi garment worker will earn in her lifetime. (Source: Oxfam)
During the pandemic ASOS profits skyrocketed by 329% to $152 million, while Boohoo (Pretty Little Thing) climbed 54% to $126 million pounds.
How? Here’s how:
65% of garment factories reported that these brands have demanded price cuts on new orders
On average, brands have lowered the prices paid to factories by 12% during the pandemic
75% of factories report that they have had to cut workers’ hours as a result of buyer purchasing practices during the pandemic
(Source: Center for Global Workers’ Rights)
And this is just scratching the surface really.
So what can we do about this? Join the PayHer campaign.
Now that we have learnt about this, we can
- Sign the petition here. Just as much as the previous campaign, if this is successful, it will help to enforce changes for fashion being more ethical and sustainable. It will enforce fair wages, keeping workers safe, hold fashion brands accountable and be transparent, to sign enforceable contracts and help passing laws.
- Donate to ReMake: for the cost of a tee, you can support our grassroots movement to turn fashion into a force for good. Or donate to the garment worker emergency fund: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/direct-relief-for-garment-workers
- Show solidarity and spread the word about the campaign.
What’s the goal?
To collect 300k signatures at PayUpFashion.com and raise $50k for garment workers worldwide by June 1, 2021