One hundred years have come and gone since the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City on March 25, 1911. Since then, we have been on a roller coaster ride of changes in the industry of clothing manufacture and have arrived at a point actually worse than where we started. Because the industry has shown no interest in evolving itself in a positive way and unions have transformed from apolitical entities into political powers feeding only the egos of their bosses, the mechanism for change lies presently within the hands of the consumer.
Fashion consumers are an interesting group. They are willing to starve themselves to ill-health and even death or self-destruct financially with insurmountable consumer debt. Curiously, as a majority, they drive a price-driven market fueling sweatshops and the institution of slavery. Misery must beget misery and, perhaps, this is an example. With society's increasing interest in all things "green", this is the perfect time to evaluate our thoughts about ourselves and our relationships to other people as we strive to save the planet. That is exactly why I always describe my work as both friendly to the planet and to humanity.
Knitting girl is the "face" of American textile workers at the turn of the 20th century. The majority of the laborers were young, immigrant females with little or no education and worked
long days in dangerous conditions for less than 25 cents/hour. Most of the 146 fatalities in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire were teenagers and women not unlike this girl.
Labor unions were becoming powerful in the textile industry and it is interesting to know that there was a failed attempt to unionize Triangle shortly before the fire. One of their biggest labor/management disputes was about fire safety. They wanted the fire escape door unlocked and the exterior fire escape repaired.
The fourth largest industrial accident in American history not only accelerated the causes of the labor unions but also inspired all levels of government to focus on labor and
occupational safety lawmaking. The result is that American workplaces are among the safest and fairest in the world. There is one problem with this utopia for workers, though. The manufacturing has moved out of this country to countries with less regard in the 21st century for their laborers than the greedy factory owners had for them in the 20th century.
This is the "face" of the 21st century international textile worker. Separated by a century of time and the distance across the international dateline, it is essentially the same face as knitting girl. Because we are growing in cultural and social maturity throughout the world, we have the opportunity to change this face. We need to decide as a group that whatever we want for ourselves, we want for everyone else.
I named my business after a French slang term which I explain in the blog header and I want to challenge the 'baisebeige' consumer, the consumer who thinks he or she is truly all that, to consider adopting alternate ways of acquiring clothing. Please consider buying clothing from only fair trade workshops in countries with positive human rights policies and practices, buying vintage or modern previously owned clothing, buying handmade clothing, or making clothing yourself. As a result, your style will shine and you will truly be beautiful beyond imagination!
