Another article appeared a few months ago about the horrific conditions of the fashion industry. This time, it was about women who were promised good jobs, but were actually modern-day slaves held by guards in a factory making clothing for H&M in India. http://qz.com/…/we-cannot-talk-about-it-factory-workers-fo…/ It’s shocking information, but have you ever wondered if a $19.99 blouse you bought from H&M is creating modern slaves? As consumers, we lull ourselves into ignoring these horrific conditions because it’s just comfortable to buy cheap clothing. Previous generations might have worn eight outfits during one month. Now, we have 30. Disposable fashion is a luxury we take for granted. But for each inch of fast fashion garments we buy, someone is paying the price....
We’d like to share with you an Indigo Handloom milestone. One of our weavers – Sujan - got married a few months ago. This is a picture of him and his new wife Poulami at their marriage and reception. Usually we work with small business owners who contract with master weavers to carry out our orders. It is a tiered system. We give the orders to our supplier and they go to a master weaver. If it is a large order, the master weaver will farm out the order to weavers who contract with him. The work is divided because each level requires different skills. The person who communicates with us in English is not the same person who has the...
Did you know that before WWII breast cancer was relatively rare compared to what we see today? Before 1940 almost all clothing was made from natural fibers, versus today, where it’s actually hard to find clothing without some form of polyester in it. In 2010 polyester overtook cotton and silk as the dominant material in our clothing. What is polyester? It is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the same form of plastic that we create water bottles, seat belts, and canoes from. Like a plastic bottle, it does not breathe, does not decompose, and leaches into our oceans and groundwater. Why do we use polyester instead of Eco-friendly natural fabric? Over the years the cost of natural fibers has risen, while...
My husband swears by his handloom silk shirt we got in New Delhi at “Fab India,” a retail chain which emphasizes handwoven goods. He wore it for our last day and continued to wear it on his flight New Delhi-Istanbul-Frankfurt. Then after a day of airing it out, he took a sniff and decided it was ok and wore it the next day. He has a super sensitive nose so I know he's not just blinded by his love for handloom. It made me consider how different fabrics react to sweat and it took me to a frightening world. Basically, your armpit is a wild and wooly place. The natural germs on the skin feast on chemicals in sweat and...
Hey Oakland! We will be collaborating with KOSA ARTS in a Pop Up Shop for tomorrow's Oakland First Fridays! We are excited to be hanging out in this bustling part of Oakland and will have plenty of handloom goodies for you to shop from! Come stop and say hi tomorrow night!
Where: 386 19th Street (cross street Franklin)When:Friday June 3rd, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m
