A Revolution From One Simple Question…

Ethics and sustainability are such an integral part of our company, so when we came across one simple question put forward by an organisation that has the same at the heart of their agenda, it certainly piqued our interest.

#whomademyclothes

Fashion Revolution Week is an initiative that has grown from the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh and shines a spotlight on the social and environmental impact of our clothing industry.  The idea is that people put a picture of themselves up on social media wearing or holding an item of clothing, and tag the retailer using the hashtag#whomademyclothes

This challenges the retailer to provide more information about where and how that garment was made, the epitome of that being to show a photograph of one of the factory workers involved in making the item, with the “answer” hashtag #imadeyourclothes

Fashion Revolution Week is primarily for clothing retailers, and we may not be a fashion power-house, we are market leaders in our industry, so why shouldn’t we answer the question too?  Whilst in the uniform industry things move more slowly than the “fast fashion” world exposed in books like “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion” by Elizabeth L Cline, nevertheless many of the same concerns apply when it comes to the welfare and well being of the workers who make the clothing.  In support of Fashion Revolution Week we are sharing our own gallery of some of the people that make our garments.

Jaswinder works for our suppliers in the West Midlands

Omi works for our suppliers in the West Midlands

For most of the photos, we didn’t have to go far, because three of our main factories are within 15 miles of our premises in Walsall, West Midlands and we regularly visit these family run businesses sometimes once a week! We’ve also included images of Chen and Xiaoying from our China factory – it may not be around the corner but it doesn’t stop us visiting them!

Chen in the state of the art factory in China

Xiaoying in the state of the art factory in China

Our Factory in China 

Ethics and sustainability are an ongoing discussion for us here at Keltic – they are literally built in to the design and production of our clothing. We are proud to be able to take part in such a successful movement and will continue to push forward with our own progress towards a more ethical and circular economy.

Sajida: We make your clothes

Matilda: We make your clothes