March 8 marks another International Women’s Day. First celebrated in 1911, it's grown and evolved into a United Nations officially recognised day to honour the achievements of women and to advocate for gender quality.
Some may think it’s just another day for pointless pandering. There's been so much progress since then, is there really still a need for it?
In the current politically charged climate where phrases like “D.E.I.” and “wokeness” get thrown around derisively to dismiss the accomplishments of half our population, it only reinforces the reality that over a century later, there's still a lot of work to be done.
The fashion industry which employs 1 in 6 workers globally is especially vulnerable to exploitation of women. Between 60-80% of garment workers globally are female, and 80% are women of colour. Shockingly, despite the work already pushed to impoverished countries to reduce costs, only 2% of these workers are paid a living wage.
Not only is it unethical, but it traps these women in a vicious cycle of poverty, and forces them to work in conditions that breach their most basic rights and safety. All for the sake of cheap, disposable clothing that's often discarded without a second thought.
So it's very easy to ignore the plight of workers, to downplay the contributions of women, and brush off the significance of this date.
But the easy thing is also the wrong thing.
We do things differently here at Citizen Wolf - which is why we’re both Ethical Clothing Australia and B Corp accredited (two of the most stringent certifications in the world!) to ensure we’re accountable in supporting and uplifting the women who make the clothes you love. It ensures they're paid living wages, have safe working environments, and get every entitlement they've earned through regular and rigorous audits. But now more than ever, we need to be showing support beyond just more talk.
That’s why we’re proud to support the IWD Shop for Change campaign by donating $3 from every order over the next 3 days to The Social Outfit (tripling the usual $1 donation). This will be automatically donated in your name, at no cost to you, and no strings attached, through the i=change platform.
Who are The Social Outfit?
The Social Outfit is a registered charity with the mission to support refugee and migrant women to thrive by kick-starting their Australian careers and be valuable members of our community.
Founded in 2014, their training programs focus on helping women - often arriving with few belongings, english language ability, or social connections - to develop much needed sewing and textile skills in the fashion industry. This not only allows them to gain confidence, but also employment and financial independence to support their families and our economy.
The program has already trained and changed the lives of over 1,100 refugee and migrant women for the better, with 84% successfully getting jobs in the industry afterwards.
We know this to be true, because Citizen Wolf have been supporters of The Social Outfit since 2016. Our first machinist - “Aunty” Bleh Wah - was from their program, and over the years have employed two more graduates. Since moving to our current Marrickville factory three years ago, we’ve also share the space for their manufacturing studio where their training also takes place.
They also participate in the circular economy and reduce environmental impact by using donated remnant/deadstock fabrics for their training and collections, saving tonnes of fabric from landfill.
So we can’t think of a better, more aligned charity to support this International Women’s Day.
But don’t just take our word for it. Hear what “Aunty” Bleh Wah has to say about her experience from this recent interview conducted with Ethical Clothing Australia:
We’re incredibly grateful for our hardworking team that makes our business possible, and for our customers like yourself who already opt for our ethically, locally made Tees instead of fast fashion that exploits women. Changing the world is never easy, but together, every little bit adds up to making a big difference. And that's worth celebrating.
From midday, 7 March to 10 March, Citizen Wolf will automatically donate $3 (triple the usual $1) from every order to The Social Outfit as part of International Womens Day.