Fashion Revolution Week
During Fashion Revolution Week we take a moment to appreciate the people who produce our clothes. This initiative started after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh on 24th of April 2013, where 1138 people have lost their lives, and more than 2500 people have gotten injured. To this day, the human rights of garment workers are being disregarded every single day by large. Therefore, Fashion Revolution has started the ‘Who Made My Clothes?’ movement, to amplify the voices of those who are being exploited in the fashion supply chain and demand transparency.
At Kuyichi, we want to make the production process behind our clothing more visible to you. Not only to highlight the importance of sustainability and to show off our amazing partners. Also to understand that there are humans just like you and me who are making the clothes we wear. Transparency is one of the first steps in changing our fashion industry.
#whomademyclothes
The ‘Who Made My Clothes?’ movement takes action to create visibility for our garment workers and facilitate ways to connect with them. As we believe this movement is essential, we would like to introduce you to our partners, who work hard to create that pair of ‘Nora Jeans’ in your closet, or the ‘Nico shirt’ you love!
SARP jeans
Meet Zeynep and Eda! They might be responsible for your favourite pair of Kuyichi jeans. Zeynep and Eda work at our partner, SARP Jeans, in Izmir, Turkey. They have been our jeans and chinos partner since 2018. SARP has been a denim manufacturer for over 35 years and is committed to improving both socially and environmentally. Zeynep is 39 years old and likes to spend her spare time with her children. Eda is 29 and likes to visit and explore new places. They both work in the stitching line, putting together your jeans.
SOORTY Enterprises
Another denim partner that we work since 2017 already is SOORTY Enterprises in Karachi, Pakistan. They’re truly committed to producing sustainable denim pieces and have been doing this as one of the leading companies striving for sustainability and innovation since 1983. Their goal is to minimise their waste, water, and energy footprints during the entire manufacturing process. Soorty has a total of 4100 employees. They’re a big vertical supplier that produces jeans from cotton to garment. They even extend their social responsibility beyond their workers to their community. Meet Humaira, Ghazal and Sakani, 3 employees of Soorty. They work in the quality control of Soorty. Humaira has worked for Soorty for 15 years and enjoys embroidering in her free time. Ghazal is also a beautician and works already for 18 years now at Soorty. Sakani has just started working for Soorty for one year and likes cooking. In quality control, they make sure that every pair of jeans are checked for loose threads and mistakes that might have been made.
Merger Shirts
Merger is a female-led company located in Izmir, Turkey. It was founded in 2007 and has a total of 48 employees. Merger’s team specializes in our beautiful and diverse range of shirts and dresses, from Oxford shirts to wide and flowy fits. On the left, you see Cengiz, who has been working at Merger since 2015. He is a cutting operator and therefore responsible for cutting out the pattern pieces. He devotes his free time to his family and mostly enjoys taking them on a trip. Nihal is on the right and works as a machine operator in the stitching line. She enjoys cooking and baking during her time off.
BUSRA TRIKO
Serap and Mustafa are behind your Kuyichi knits. They are part of the small team at Busra Triko. Busra is a small family company dedicated to producing high-quality knits. Their solar-powered facility is located in Izmir and was founded in 1996. Serap is 44 years old and a sewing master. In her spare time, she likes to sew as well, but also enjoys a good book or spending time with her family. Besides her, you see Mustafa, also 44 years old and a machine operator. He makes sure the machine knits the right panels and garments in the best way. He likes to visit new places, grow his own vegetables and spend time with his family and on social media.
ADEL TEKSTIL
Meet Gülay and Doğukan, they work for Adel Tekstil and are behind your favourite Kuyichi T-shirts and sweaters. Adel Tekstil was founded in 2014, in Istanbul, Turkey. They are continuously looking to improve and update their processes to ensure a safe working environment for their workers. Gülay is 41 years old and she is a quality controller. When she is not working, she likes to swim, cycle, and listen to music. Doğukan is 23 years old and he works as a cutting operator for Adel Tekstil. In his free time, he likes to travel and listen to music as well.
BOSSA Denim
The previous companies are putting together our pieces of clothing. However, Bossa produces high-quality denim fabrics for our jeans in Adana, Turkey. Bossa is strongly committed to using better materials such as organic cotton, recycled fibres and Tencel. They're striving to be a waste-free facility and work on decreasing their environmental footprint. We've been working with Bossa for a long-long time, over a decade now. Bossa has a total of 1379 employees. Above, on the left, you can see Aysel. She has been working at Bossa since 2015. Besides her job, she likes to travel and read good books whenever she can. Next to Sıbel is Veysel! Veysel is also a sewer at Bossa and has been with the team since 2004. In his free time, he likes to garden and spend time with his three children. He says, 'Everything that makes them happy makes me happy too.'
WHAT WE DO TO RESPECT OUR WORKERS
Hopefully, the introductions to our suppliers and their employees can give you a sense of what is happening behind the scenes and who actually is producing your clothes. Sadly, this transparency is not always apparent in the fashion industry, and this has to change. As members of Fair Wear, we constantly aim to improve our supply chain. Fair Wear is a non-profit organisation fighting to eliminate the exploitation of garment workers and stands up for their rights to safe and fairly paid employment. We’re proud of the partners we’re working with and give them credit for the beautiful qualitative garments they make for us.