Goteo 172 : Do you really know who made your clothes? 👕👀

"Everything created by human hands expresses something, above all the personality of the creator. The same thing is true with a dress. But since so many people are working on it, the real job is to get all the hands that cut, sew, try and embroider to express all I have felt." (Christian Dior, 1954)

Christian Dior spoke, with a certain poetic, of fashion as of a magical and fascinating world, which awakens emotions and knows how to seduce. Fashion and glamour go hand in hand. However, the way we produce the clothes we buy every day has very little glamor and poetic. Fashion industry has to do with slavery, unbridled consumption and pollution. Here some hashtag to keep you up to date: #quienhizomiropa #whomademyclothes #slowfashion #zerowaste #ecofashion #ethicalfashion.

In 2017 the luxury brand Burberry generated $ 3.6 billion dollars in revenue and destroyed 36.8 million dollars of its own merchandise. The reason? Neither more nor less than pure strategy to preserve its reputation for exclusivity. Fashion cycles have been shortened and the underlying business model includes tremendous pressure to constantly put new goods on the market. We already know most of the clothes we wear are sewn very far from our Mango of confidence, but do we know who makes it and under what conditions?

At Goteo 💦 we believe answering this question is very important to understand the models of production and consumption and thus support the most ethical and fair. Here some examples:

👚 At #NecesitoRopaLimpia they are aware that, behind every seam there is hidden labor exploitation and consumption of clothes, that's why they talk about Dirty clothes. Clean Clothes Campaign network has been fighting with workers in the textile and footwear industry for over 30 years to denounce their conditions of slavery and the commercial and labor practices of big brands, thus achieving decent working conditions. The money raised with the campaign, launched within the Canal de Fiare Banca Etica and now in its final stretch, it will be used to continue their work.

🍚 In the same fair trade framework, exploring who and where the things we buy are made, and what impact they have on the environment, the team of Kokonat Bowls understood they wanted to eliminate plastic from household products. Reusing natural materials, such as coconut or bamboo. In May, they launched a Goteo to go one step further and thus contribute to improving the lives of women in India who suffer gender violence, thanks to decent work and economic independence.

💪 Nukoko: a village full of smiles is a social, educational and health development project aimed at a particularly isolated rural village from Ghana. The goal is to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of Aklobotonu, among other things, by empowering children and women.

🍕 A little closer, Nice To Eat You addresses one of the great paradoxes of our days: the waste of food in a world where one in nine people does not have anything to eat. Its young promoters replace the vicious circle with a circular economy proposal that is a win-win: shops offer unsold food at lower prices, and people who are interested access these offers through app.nicetoeatyou.es. Numbers confirm it: in only 4 months, about 1 ton of food was saved through the platform, while avoiding to generate 700 kilograms of CO2!

🌱 On the other hand, the association La Bolina works from El Valle del Lecrín to increase the opportunities for migrants and refugees to learn and teach how to grow food and develop means of sustainable life in rural areas. That's why, in May, they launched Cultivando Futuros.

By the way, the deadline to submit cultural projects of Gipuzkoa to META! Matchfunding call 2019 has just expired, so before saying goodbye we want to celebrate with you that 38! initiatives responded to the call. More information will coming soon, for now we go on supporting an inclusive, committed and innovative culture. 💪