What is the #PayUp movement and why should you care?
In the wake of Fashion Revolution Week, we continue to ask the important questions like #whomademyclothes? in support and protection of our garment workers. The #PayUp movement is one such social agenda that looks to rectify these social injustices.
April 28th, 2021
Written by FibreTrace®
Paving the way for tangible change in the fashion industry, the #PayUp movement is a social cause seeking compensation and justice for those negatively impacted by a brand's actions in the textile workplace.
The #PayUp campaign was formed in March 2020 out of the fashion industry’s catastrophic decision to refuse payment for completed clothing orders heading into the COVID-19 pandemic.
What happened?
When retail stores and fashion sales were in free-fall in March of 2020, dozens of global brands refused to pay for an estimated $40 billion worth of finished goods that garment workers had spent countless hours sewing, according to research by the Worker Rights Consortium and PennState Center for Global Workers’ Rights Director Mark Anner.
Bloomberg reported in March that about 1,089 garment factories in Bangladesh had orders cancelled worth roughly $1.44 billion due to the coronavirus outbreak. Also in March, the AWAJ Foundation reported that many factories in Bangladesh were shut down indefinitely. Some workers were given less than a month’s salary as severance and many others have received nothing at all.
Nazma Akter the executive director of AWAJ explains, “These workers now don’t know how they will take care of their families in the coming days – how they will manage costs for food, rent and other necessities. They can’t even imagine what they’ll do if they or a family member needs medical treatment for Covid-19. The meager income these workers earned was barely enough to cover their living costs, and as a result, they have little to no savings set aside to deal with a crisis such as this.”
When brands responded to the pandemic with massive retroactive cancellations of orders, U.S. consumer activist non-profit Remake spearheaded the demand that brands #PayUp the billions they owe, joined forces with CCC and other advocate groups, and a global movement was born.
This isn’t a new behaviour from brands. As cited by Transformers Foundation 2020 Annual report, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights stated that retailers including Kohl’s, Arcadia (Topshop), and Primark used the now-infamous force majeure clause in their contracts to unilaterally cancel orders at any time for reasons that were out of their control. But their definition was so vague as to include almost any circumstance.
Source: Fashion Revolution @fash_rev
Did the #PayUp movement succeed?
The #PayUp campaign went viral over the summer of 2020 through a successful social media campaign. Citizens all around the world used the #PayUp hashtag and over 270,000 people signed the original #PayUp petition.
As of December of 2020, the #PayUp campaign, using relentless protesting and petitioning and citizen and worker solidarity, has helped to recoup at least $15 billion (according to WRC/Mark Anner estimates) owed to garment factories worldwide from over a dozen major fashion companies, including Zara, Gap Inc. and Next.
Turmoil unfolds globally across the fashion supply chain
The onset of COVID-19 and its lasting social and economic effects have indisputably put a strain on the entire fashion industry globally - not just impacting the fast fashion sector but the small businesses, artisans and garment makers. According to the Artisan Alliance, artisanal craft is the second-largest source of employment across the so-called developing world. WIEGO estimates there are around two billion informal workers around the world that lack basic labour, social and health protections. As a result of Covid-19 threatening global trade flows, workers cooperatives, artisan groups, local crafts-based communities, home-based workers, agricultural workers and farmers face desperate economic circumstances.
Similarly, the often underground nature of the fashion industry, in general, left many without unemployment benefits, paid family leave, and disability insurance due to the ‘off the books’ nature of the industry.
As many countries begin to navigate the reopening of their economies, questions remain in how garment workers will be protected from infection. In a recent BoF podcast, Bangladesh labour campaigner, Kalpona Akter cited transportation to work, close working quarters and lack of protective equipment as major barriers to worker safety as factories reopen. While governments in producing countries may request that factories operate at lower capacity, space workers further apart, and supply them with masks and gloves, the burden of these requirements cannot be financially undertaken by factories while the big brands place new orders and demand discounts.
The way forward
Brands and consumers need to step up.
It is the responsibility of those with power in the fashion industry to demand transparency and improvement in work practices from every step in the supply chain to ensure the rights and security of all fashion textile workers.
Brands urgently need to support the workers whose livelihoods have been compromised by crisis. By choosing to work with suppliers who will ensure the safety and security of their workers, brands can make a world of difference to the quality of millions of fashion worker’s lives. Choosing traceability solutions like FibreTrace® will give brands the ability to have full transparency into their supply chain, monitoring and overseeing each step to ensure the right protocols are followed, rights are acknowledged and needs are met.
COVID- 19 has exposed the rotten business relations in the industry but has also created a brief window in which we can transform the industry for the better.
How can consumers impact the global fashion supply chain?
It must be recognised that consumers too have a powerful impact on the global fashion economy, and have a role to play in the revolution of the global fashion supply chain. Consumers must act and protest through their purchases, for brands to understand the needs and wants of their audience. Even on an individual level, consumers have the power to enforce their values and incite change.
Here are some ways that consumers, on an individual level, can get the message across:
Research and support brands that have shown a commitment to sustainable and safe work practices in all their factories
Shop brands that source and create locally, with small or transparent supply chains.
Don’t be afraid to speak to brands at a management level to discuss your queries or concerns.
Avoid shopping fast fashion brands - rethink a purchase if the cost of the shirt is less than the cost of producing it.
Make informed, researched decisions - does this brand deserve your money if it will not be using it to pay its workers properly?
Invest in quality pieces that will last season after season, limiting overproduction.
Upcycle existing fashion by reworking your old clothes, shopping at second-hand stores or even swap clothes amongst friends and family.