Our clothes are political – there’s no doubt about it. Consider the conversations around cultural appropriation, the criticisms of the fashion industry, or the wave of legislationbanning head-scarves. But sometimes, we see clothing (who wears what) as a symbol for the ‘real issue’ at hand. How often do we consider clothing itself the real issue?

Next week, we will do just that: we launch WOMEN POWER FASHION. In collaboration with the Clean Clothes Campaign, we take the time (again) to consider who makes our clothes and under which conditions. For example, did you know that one in six people in the world work in the clothing industry? And that most of them are women, who earn around 2 euro per day?

While knowledge is power, we believe in transforming knowledge into action. That’s why WOMEN POWER FASHION is also about learning how women within the garment industry are working to change it and fighting for their rights – like minimum salary and a safe, harassment-free working environment. How can we support them? And what is our role and responsibility as consumers?

We hope you’ll join us in discussing and taking action on these issues during WOMEN POWER FASHION. Stop by our pop-up ‘sweatshop’ on the Grote Marktstraat in The Hague next week from Tuesday 16 May to Sunday 21 May – in this interactive space you can learn more about the garment industry and become involved in changing it.

At De Balie in Amsterdam and Humanity House in The Hague there will also be opportunities to discuss these issues more in depth. Our special guest on these panels is Zehra Kahn, General Secretary of our grantee-partners Home Based Women Workers Federation in Pakistan. Kahn has been organizing female home-based workers for over a decade, with the recent victory of gaining worker’s rights for home-based workers.

We hope to see you at WOMEN POWER FASHION!

How clean are you clothes? Feminist activism in the international garment industry’De Balie, Tuesday May 16th at 8pm

Feminist Zehra Khan’s battle against the clothing industryHumanity House, Wednesday May 17th at 7:30pm

Pop-up sweatshopGrote Markt, the Hague, Tuesday May 16th – Sunday May 21st