humanrights

Kimia Yousofi: Platform, Leadership and Values

/ Leave a Comment
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Championing the right to empowerment


The journey of Kimia Yousofi at the Paris Olympics provided much food for thought on the concepts of platform, leadership, and values. In today’s world, having a platform seems to be everything. Whether the content is authentic or not, few seem to care. You can be uninformed – often the case – but if you have a platform, doors open. You’re in!

Unfortunately, the contemporary idea of a platform often equates to a superficial social media presence. However, we believe that a true platform and leadership are about much more than showcasing a new handbag, your body, or spewing hate towards anyone who doesn’t fit the mainstream mould.

This is why Kimia Yousofi has become one of our favourite athletes: she used the Olympic platform to express her sense of leadership and values.

Kimia Yousofi’s Paris 2024 Olympics inspiring experience


At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Kimia Yousofi ran the slowest time in her preliminary round of the women’s 100m competition. Having already competed in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, this was her third Olympics. Yousofi finished with a time of 13.42 seconds, slower than the 13.29 she ran in Tokyo.

Most athletes might feel disappointed at this point, but for Yousofi, this race was just the beginning. As the competition concludes, she removes the bib pinned to the back of her jersey, proudly displaying the red, green, and black emblem of Afghanistan. Then, she turns the bib around, eager to show the camera what is written on the other side. It’s crucial that people see it.

“Education, Sport, Our Right,” it reads.

image of Kim Yousofi holding a card which reads: "Education, Sport, Our Rights."


“Of course, the Olympic Games are a big dream for every athlete, not just for me. I’ve competed in the Tokyo Olympics and the Rio Olympics. But back then, I was running just for myself, because I loved to run. Now, I’m here for Afghanistan’s girls. I almost forgot my dream. I almost forgot everything. And I worked hard for three years, but all of this is for Afghanistan’s girls,” she says.

“I was in Kabul when the Taliban came. And I wanted to stay because I felt I belonged to this country. My people needed me. But many told me they couldn’t guarantee my safety. I was a woman with a public face because I had carried the flag of Afghanistan just a few days before. So I had to flee. I went first to Iran, and then Australia helped me get a visa to go there,” she added.

Ever since the Taliban took over the country, girls have been banned from even studying. “Our girls in Afghanistan, our women, want their basic rights—education, the ability to play sports. They want to be treated as human beings. They want to be able to decide what to do with their lives. These rights have been taken away from them for the last three years. I’m fighting for that.”

Kimia Yousofi and women’s rights


Despite not being in peak physical condition, Yousofi ran. Although she had prepared well for the Olympics, she developed an allergy in the weeks leading up to the event and then injured her right knee just before the race. “My knee was really sore, but I told myself I’m just going to run. I kept icing it and took pain tablets to manage the pain. But I had to run.”

She will do all of this to remind Afghan girls that there is another world out there. “I have a message for Afghan girls. Look for opportunities, and then use them. Even if you get a small one, use it. Don’t give up. Don’t let others make your decisions for you,” she says.

So, if having a platform is the most important thing today, she secured a powerful one! Platform, leadership, and values – all at once. Kimia Yousofi won!

Kimia Yousofi: Platform, Leadership and Values Read More »

Workers’ Rights in the Fashion Industry

/ Leave a Comment
Reading Time: 3 minutes

A reflection on the International Workers’ Day


As today we commemorate International Workers’ Day once again, it prompts us to pause and reflect on the state of workers’ rights within the fashion industry. International Workers’ Day is synonymous with Labour Day, annual holidays to celebrate the achievements of workers.

Some facts about workers’ rights in the fashion industry:


1. “Luxury brands show poor efforts to reduce forced labour.” (source KnowTheChain). Specifically, KnowTheChain evaluated fashion companies’ adherence to International Labour Organization standards in their supply chain, establishment of internal responsibilities to address forced labour risks, support for worker empowerment, and implementation of programs to address forced labour allegations. So, companies received scores ranging from zero to 100, with the average fashion company scoring 21. Luxury companies rank second lowest in average score among all sub-sectors, making them particularly flagrant offenders.
In short, among the luxury companies assessed:
LVMH: 6 out of 100
Prada: 9 out of 100
Kering: 23 out of 100
Only seven out of 20 disclosed the complete first tier of their suppliers, including names and addresses.

2. Alviero Martini: under investigation for starving wages.

3. Giorgio Armani Operations: put into receivership for labour exploitation.  Workers in Chinese-run workshops paid 2-3 euros/hour, judges say. Probe finds migrant workers eating, and sleeping in factories.

4. Zara and H&M‘s cotton suppliers: involved in land grabbing, illegal deforestation and human rights violations (source Earthsight). Also, this revelation is particularly alarming as it implicates Better Cotton, a certified sustainable cotton label.

5. Low wages made Bangladesh the second largest clothing exporter after China, developing a huge industry for the country. There are about four million garment workers, mostly women, whose wages are the lowest in the world. In addition, the inflation and the devaluation of the taka against the US dollar (30% from the beginning of 2023) created unsustainable conditions for workers. Specifically, garment workers in Bangladesh make clothes for large groups such as H&M, Zara, Gap, Levi’s, Next, Asos, and New Look.

6. After the Jaba Garmindo factory bankruptcy in Indonesia, 2,000 Indonesian garment workers have fought for the $5.5 million legally owed in severance pay since 2015. The workers made clothes for Uniqlo and German fashion brand s.Oliver, among others. (source cleanclothes.org)

7. China is the biggest exporter of ready-made clothes, monopolising nearly 40% of the global garment industry. Driving China’s $187 billion garment trade are over 10 million garment workers. People who toil under oppressive and exploitative working conditions, mostly for high street brands. …While foreign brands’ business is booming, China bans the fundamental human right of workers to form and join independent trade unions. Driving a race to the bottom on wages and working conditions, brands expect low production prices and a compliant workforce and governments allow this along with factory owners out of fear of losing foreign business. Exploiting this arrangement is the Asian retail giant, UNIQLO. (source waronwant.org).

Conclusion: what about consumers’ role?


While we commemorate International Workers’ Day, we’re compelled to confront a shameful truth about workers’ rights in the fashion industry. In fact, workers are often regarded as nothing more than commodities that brands can exploit for their own profit. 

The absence of moral fabric within the industry is evident, as is the disregard shown by consumers who choose to ignore this issue despite the wealth of available information.

But why do people ignore human rights and still support these brands through their consumption choices?

Workers’ Rights in the Fashion Industry Read More »

Protests in Bangladesh

/ Leave a Comment
Reading Time: 2 minutes

How the fashion industry leads workers to starvation


Large protests are happening in Bangladesh, where garment workers demand higher wages. Following clashes with the police, who used tear gas and rubber bullets, four textile workers have died. Sadly, they paid with their own life the demand for better pay.

Our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives, the dozens who ended up in hospitals and also those who still protest for a decent living.

The fashion industry & the poverty wage


Low wages made Bangladesh the second largest clothing exporter after China, developing a huge industry for the country. There are about four million garment workers, mostly women, whose wages are the lowest in the world. In addition, the inflation and the devaluation of the taka against the US dollar (30% from the beginning of 2023) created unsustainable conditions for workers.

According to the government, monthly pay would rise by 56,25% to 12,500 taka – 114 USD. Basically, they want to keep workers under the poverty line. But workers want more: “Prices are skyrocketing. We are just demanding decent pay. We will not return to work until our demands are met,” one of the protesters said. Isn’t it understandable? In fact, workers ask for 208 USD a month in pay.

Fashion and workers’ rights


Specifically, garment workers in Bangladesh make clothes for large groups such as H&M, Zara, Gap, and Levi’s. Brands like Next, Asos, New Look and Inditex (Zara) say they support workers. Which is good, but words aren’t enough; they must pay more! That’s how they can back workers for real.

About ten years after the Rana Plaza collapse, garment factories packed in a nine-story building, but nothing has changed. The fashion industry learned no lesson. Beyond the beautiful facades or (fake) ethical practices, exploitation is still the most convenient pattern for capitalism to make a high profit. And so famous brands make profits on the backs of workers.

Protests for a decent living


Now let’s also consider the millions of consumers who, every day, go shopping for brands whose manufacturing scheme is well-known. Perhaps they don’t mind workers’ rights since they aren’t directly affected. Do low prices attract your attention? Do you think before purchasing a new piece of clothing whose price is so cheap it couldn’t cover any manufacturing cost? And do you feel okay supporting a vision of the world based on forced labour?

Protests are going on in Bangladesh, demanding a decent living. People lost lives, and many others are starving. It seems that brands do not question their sourcing and manufacturing policy. But what about you: how can you close your eyes when shopping?

Protests in Bangladesh Read More »

What’s Going On In Iran?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

A protest spreading all over the world


What’s going on in Iran is appalling and cannot go unnoticed. It’s about women, and it’s about human rights. And so, we cannot turn our heads.

In early September, the morality police arrested Masha Amini, a 22 years old Kurdish girl. Why? Because she didn’t wear her hijab properly. Just reading this news feels insane and gut-wrenching! Led to a re-education camp, she had a cardiac arrest and fell into a coma. Three days later, she died.

Witnesses said Misha Amini was brutally beaten by the authorities. As a consequence of this horrible death, Iranian people started big riots on the streets. Also calling for the fall of the regime – the Islamic Republic – a dictatorship that has subjugated people for decades.

In Iran, there’s no freedom of expression or association. Women, LGBTQ people and minorities are discriminated against and abused. And women are forced to wear a hijab from the age of nine. Indeed religion is the tool in the hands of the dictatorship to suppress freedom and control people.

Iran protests
Marco Melgrati Illustration


Despite the regime’s atrocity, to protests over Mahsa Amini’s death, women in Iran started cutting off their hair. Soon the protests spread everywhere. In fact, in solidarity with Iranians, women around the world have cut or shaved their hair in public. Also, Iran’s national team wore plain black jackets over their uniforms in Qatar.

Protesting in democratic countries plays a role as an expression of democracy. But rioting where people risk the death penalty really means having guts.

Therefore, what happens in Iran is something we need to share and discuss in order to spread awareness and solidarity.

Even though we cannot add new pieces of information, we cannot stay silent. And what really counts is that we all can contribute to giving voice to the Iranians.

What’s Going On In Iran? Read More »

Fashion and Politics

Reading Time: 2 minutes

How fashion outlines a political view


Fashion and politics are connected, and in fact, some people in the field release some straightforward statements.

The Italian elections, held yesterday, caused concern about the risk of undermining what our parents and grandparents have tried to achieve so far. Something that still was a work in progress but now looks more like a “work in regress.” A political and cultural setback considering it is the first far-right government since Mussolini. Yes, it sounds scary.

Politicians shouting out loud worked to exacerbate a climate of hate. And since people don’t learn from history, repeating mistakes looks like the outcome. So, in this panorama, we found it interesting reading the thought of Pierpaolo Piccioli. One of the most prominent figures in the fashion industry took a clear stance on politics and Italian elections.

Can fashion be political?


Let’s start with a premise. When fashion underscores words such as inclusion, diversity or genderless, it envisions a specific worldview. And that vision of the world has a lot to do with politics, indeed.

So, in a time when some acquired rights are at risk, and that worldview based on ideas that bring people together, accepting all the differences may be swept away. And individual freedom and choices can vanish, it’s good to see people in the fashion industry who aren’t afraid to speak up.

Fashion politics


Pierpaolo Piccioli (Valentino’s designer), from his Instagram account, released a very on-point and heartfelt statement. He spoke in support of freedom, women’s choices on independent decisions about themselves and their bodies, and gender that doesn’t have to be only male or female. Indeed, he released a political statement calling himself “a man of the left.”

Perhaps using words lightly when the world is falling apart isn’t enough. We must speak up to support the world we want to see and take a stand for it.

Whatever happens, we share what Piccioli wrote. We promote a world that values different cultures. And inclusion, diversity, human rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQ rights. Indeed we must respect everyone’s rights. It’s the worldview for modern humans.

But, in the end, we wake up today with a lesson to learn: never take our rights for granted!

Fashion and Politics Read More »