Garment workers are still suffering. Infections from coronavirus may be falling, at last, but the fashion industry has experienced an upheaval and contraction that’s impacted millions of workers.
A recent survey by the Worker Rights Consortium found that 77% of garment workers or a member of their family have gone hungry since the start of the pandemic.
At least 10% of garment workers globally have lost their jobs (that amounts to more than three million people).
In most garment-producing countries, the government cannot provide enough unemployment insurance or relief to workers.
Women with families are starving as a result.
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The solution? Funds. PayUp Fashion has launched the Direct Relief for Garment Workers Fund. A 100% of proceeds will go to emergency food and medical relief provided by three long-standing worker rights organizations:
- The Garment Worker Center in Los Angeles, which is using the direct relief funds to provide groceries to the city’s garment workers
- Stand Up Lanka, which is using the funds for direct relief for garment workers in Sri Lanka
- AWAJ Foundation, which is using the funds for direct relief for garment workers in Bangladesh
Last year, PayUp Fashion raised over $40k for garment workers through various crowdfunding campaigns, so we’re hoping we can do that again – but on a larger scale! Through this fundraising effort, we’re calling on citizens to do what brands are refusing to do: Support garment workers.
Unfortunately, brands and the international community have failed to get relief to garment workers. Brands like Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, Arcadia (Topshop), Kohl’s, TJX, Walmart, and Victoria’s Secret have still made no commitment to #PayUp for orders placed before the pandemic forcing suppliers to lay off workers without a safety net. Others who have committed to #PayUp and have turned a profit during the pandemic like Adidas, H&M, Under Armour, Uniqlo, Amazon, Lululemon, Primark, PVH (Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Asos, Gap, Zara, Nike, VF Corp (The North Face, Timberland) and Levi’s have not stepped up to ensure that the workers who make their clothes are cared for. In fact, the amount of relief raised globally for garment workers is estimated at less than $150 million, when the estimated need is in the billions.
Those who can’t contribute to this fundraising campaign can still support the cause by signing the PayUp Fashion petition on our Home Page. Each time the petition is signed, over 250 executives receive an email stating that their brand has been petitioned.
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