we’re living amidst one of the greatest
humanitarian crises our world has ever
known it’s unfortunate to think of this
statement as non surprising issues such
as poverty environmental degradation
gender inequality and slavery all come
to mind these however are merely
symptoms to a much larger issue in my
opinion the world’s greatest
humanitarian crisis is our own lack of
humanity our inability to see one
another and to recognize the humanity we
share is damaging our planet and its
people in an exponential manner
what would you say though if I were to
tell you that there’s one simple
decision that we make every day that
could begin to solve this crisis as well
as the social ills I mentioned I believe
our personal fashion the clothing that
we purchase and wear every day has the
power to change our world for the better
and to begin to unite us in a shared
sense of humanity it simply comes down
to knowing who made your clothes allow
me to explain one in six people on the
planet work as a part of the global
fashion industry from raw materials to
production designed to sales our
clothing has become a three trillion
dollar business internationally you
don’t have to look farther than the seat
in front of you to understand the scale
of this industry as well as its
integration into our daily lives after
all we’re all wearing clothes except for
the one naked guy in the back thanks for
coming Gary good to see you made you
look
what’s not so obvious however is it also
happens to be the second largest
polluter of our planet and it’s filled
with human rights and justices such as
slavery gender inequality and child
today garment manufacturing is one of
the largest contributors to modern-day
slavery over 70% of this population
being female needless to say I find it
quite absurd that more of us have an
awareness of whether the eggs we
purchased were produced by cage free
chickens than whether the clothes we
wear were made by people who were
treated fairly this has to change but
until it does it will unfortunately
serve as a reminder of the
disconnectedness we share with our
fellow humans our our obsession with
inexpensive trend focused clothing
otherwise known as fast fashion is
forcing suppliers to cut costs which in
turn is creating grave consequences for
our planet and the millions of people
who are a part of the manufacturing
process and yet amidst all of these
challenges I think there is reason to
believe that the clothing we wear can
actually better connect our world we
just have to look at it from a more
human point of view but before I get any
further I have to share with you all my
unlikely road to becoming the co-founder
of two ethical fashion brands and
witnessing the power of using clothing
to connect people in high school I
learned to crochet from a very unlikely
source
my friends and I subsequently started a
headwear company selling custom hats to
skiers and snowboarders in the Pacific
Northwest and we were creatively dubbed
the crochet kids our hat Empire grew
rapidly based on the novelty of
adolescent boys mastering a
traditionally elderly craft we spend the
majority of the money earned at that
time in the most important way we could
think of our senior prom pastel tuxes
with ruffles and cumber buns a sunrise
hot-air balloon ride for our prom dates
the works years later we would spend the
remainder of our earnings officially
incorporating our business but with a
new twist we would travel to Uganda to
Train war affected women how to crochet
as a means of restoring dignity and
self-reliance through job creation a
simple phrase had kicked started this
notion to give work instead of donations
or handouts and it was a sentiment
expressed to us by people on previous
volunteer trips abroad for words
repeated over and over we want to work
choosing to see people to listen and to
understand their desires sent us on a
journey of learning what it meant to
address people and not the statistics
that they made up the summer of 2007
came along and it changed my life
forever after a year of planning and
coordinating with organizations on the
ground myself and a group of fellow
university students traveled to Uganda
to train women in our craft shortly
after I arrived in country we had our
first day of crochet training nervously
20 of us crammed into a small room in a
rural community in the northern part of
Uganda
on one side you had women many of whom
were human trafficking survivors who had
experienced decades of conflict and
rebel army violence in their communities
and on the other side us visitors
predominantly male all white privileged
2° we had not yet understood until that
very moment by every measure our life
experiences were worlds apart and we
were all a little bit unsure as to
whether we we would be able to relate at
any level the tension and uneasiness was
palpable in the room yet over the course
of the day as we sat together fumble
through crocheting sang the Beatles
loudly and laughed even louder one thing
became clear we actually shared more in
common in our humanity than we held
different a simple yet profound
realization that would have far-reaching
impacts Alice the young woman that I was
paired with to teach crocheting produced
a nearly flawless hat on her first
attempt and very little of that had to
do with her instructor by the way this
gave us all great hope for not only the
beautiful products we’d be able to
create but even more for the opportunity
we’d have to connect others to the
amazing individuals who made them a
thought resounded in my head that day
people are people are people are people
this is what I’ve devoted my life to
ever since connecting people in an
effort to break down misconceptions and
to unite us in our common experiences my
mechanism for doing this has been
clothing what started out as hats like
the one I wear today and every day
quickly expanded to producing other
fashion accessories as well as a whole
range of clothing products for men and
women all made in different communities
around the globe
vision that I have is for a human
centric fashion industry one where every
consumer could know directly the
individual who crafted their garment and
this is more than a nice idea this is a
reality every one of the products we’ve
produced since 2007 has been hand signed
by the person who made it by going
online and viewing the profile of the
specific maker who made their t-shirt
consumers for the first time have been
able to see and know the Forgotten
individuals who are behind the clothes
they wear they learn about similar
interests in personal dreams that are
shared between them and misconceptions
formerly held begin to dissipate in my
work I’ve been able to see tens of
thousands of these connections take
place and see the positive impacts that
those have had on both individuals and
it’s proven to me the power of this
connection but while connecting those
who may close with those who wear them
is one important aspect there’s more
that needs to be done if we’re to truly
leverage fashion in an effort to better
connect our world and unite us in our
humanity we must also work to foster
collaboration from within the industry
as well you see one of the things that
became really clear in the first decade
of our work was that the negative
consequences of fashion were not only
misunderstood by consumers they were
also misunderstood by the very designers
merchandisers and owners of the
commercial fashion brands themselves
that is why a core component of my work
today rests in a desire to partner with
other companies to help them improve
their supply chain transparency and to
begin celebrating the incredible
individuals who are behind the products
they sell we started an entirely new
platform to accomplish just this called
known supply and the results from our
part
ships with other fashion brands have
become very clear it’s possible to do
better and in doing so we won’t only be
contributing positively to a more
equitable world but there also happens
to be some real business benefits in the
process we’ve seen product quality
improve as makers begin to take pride in
the value of their work customer bases
are growing as brands begin to engage in
the millions of shoppers
who are looking for ethical alternatives
waste decreases as consumers are
shopping less disposable pieces and most
importantly in my view cross-cultural
understanding increases as shoppers and
makers begin to connect and learn more
about one another knowing who made your
product is an interesting if not
intriguing concept but I wanted to share
with you all a tangible example a story
of what this has looked like in the real
world my friend Kara gifted her daughter
one of our products for her birthday and
they proceeded to go online and learn
more about the woman in Peru who had
crafted that item together they learned
about the geography of South America and
the unique challenges faced by women
living in poor communities on the
outskirts of capital cities but they
also learned something else they learned
about the specific interests of
Jacqueline Barra ona
the woman who made her hat they
discovered that they both loved music
and enjoyed spending time with family
kara and her daughter submitted a
thank-you note telling Jacqueline what
an incredible job she had done making
her new favorite accessory a week later
this same young girl received another
clothing item from the family member and
she immediately began inspecting that
item looking through it inside and out
her mother being a bit concerned went to
see if
thing was wrong and that was when she
came to find out that her young daughter
was looking for the signature of the
person who made that item as well it
wasn’t there
but her expectation was what if we all
had this expectation that we could know
the individual who crafted the clothing
that we wear and that our purchases were
positively impacting and improving the
lives of those who made them how would
our world look different I’ll tell you
it looks like a cot Beatrice whose
circumstances in a post-conflict region
of northern Uganda left her with few
prospects to be optimistic about whose
income earned equated to less than $2 a
day she was a representative statistic
of extreme poverty in every way but she
didn’t view herself that way and neither
did we because of her job making
clothing the support of consumers who
purchase the items she made and most
importantly her own self-determination
Beatrice was able to discover her
passion for entrepreneurship and she
started multiple businesses as a result
she was able to send her children to the
best schools in Uganda and through the
highest levels of education and she even
began providing job opportunities to
others within her community
all because shoppers thought a little
more consciously about the products they
purchased and the companies they chose
to support so the next time you’re
getting dressed I want you to think
about the way your clothing connects you
with the world around you and the person
who made it choose to see others and to
recognize our goals our ambitions and
ultimately our collective success is
bound up
in one another or as I like to say who
makes it matters [Applause]
humanitarian crises our world has ever
known it’s unfortunate to think of this
statement as non surprising issues such
as poverty environmental degradation
gender inequality and slavery all come
to mind these however are merely
symptoms to a much larger issue in my
opinion the world’s greatest
humanitarian crisis is our own lack of
humanity our inability to see one
another and to recognize the humanity we
share is damaging our planet and its
people in an exponential manner
what would you say though if I were to
tell you that there’s one simple
decision that we make every day that
could begin to solve this crisis as well
as the social ills I mentioned I believe
our personal fashion the clothing that
we purchase and wear every day has the
power to change our world for the better
and to begin to unite us in a shared
sense of humanity it simply comes down
to knowing who made your clothes allow
me to explain one in six people on the
planet work as a part of the global
fashion industry from raw materials to
production designed to sales our
clothing has become a three trillion
dollar business internationally you
don’t have to look farther than the seat
in front of you to understand the scale
of this industry as well as its
integration into our daily lives after
all we’re all wearing clothes except for
the one naked guy in the back thanks for
coming Gary good to see you made you
look
what’s not so obvious however is it also
happens to be the second largest
polluter of our planet and it’s filled
with human rights and justices such as
slavery gender inequality and child
today garment manufacturing is one of
the largest contributors to modern-day
slavery over 70% of this population
being female needless to say I find it
quite absurd that more of us have an
awareness of whether the eggs we
purchased were produced by cage free
chickens than whether the clothes we
wear were made by people who were
treated fairly this has to change but
until it does it will unfortunately
serve as a reminder of the
disconnectedness we share with our
fellow humans our our obsession with
inexpensive trend focused clothing
otherwise known as fast fashion is
forcing suppliers to cut costs which in
turn is creating grave consequences for
our planet and the millions of people
who are a part of the manufacturing
process and yet amidst all of these
challenges I think there is reason to
believe that the clothing we wear can
actually better connect our world we
just have to look at it from a more
human point of view but before I get any
further I have to share with you all my
unlikely road to becoming the co-founder
of two ethical fashion brands and
witnessing the power of using clothing
to connect people in high school I
learned to crochet from a very unlikely
source
my friends and I subsequently started a
headwear company selling custom hats to
skiers and snowboarders in the Pacific
Northwest and we were creatively dubbed
the crochet kids our hat Empire grew
rapidly based on the novelty of
adolescent boys mastering a
traditionally elderly craft we spend the
majority of the money earned at that
time in the most important way we could
think of our senior prom pastel tuxes
with ruffles and cumber buns a sunrise
hot-air balloon ride for our prom dates
the works years later we would spend the
remainder of our earnings officially
incorporating our business but with a
new twist we would travel to Uganda to
Train war affected women how to crochet
as a means of restoring dignity and
self-reliance through job creation a
simple phrase had kicked started this
notion to give work instead of donations
or handouts and it was a sentiment
expressed to us by people on previous
volunteer trips abroad for words
repeated over and over we want to work
choosing to see people to listen and to
understand their desires sent us on a
journey of learning what it meant to
address people and not the statistics
that they made up the summer of 2007
came along and it changed my life
forever after a year of planning and
coordinating with organizations on the
ground myself and a group of fellow
university students traveled to Uganda
to train women in our craft shortly
after I arrived in country we had our
first day of crochet training nervously
20 of us crammed into a small room in a
rural community in the northern part of
Uganda
on one side you had women many of whom
were human trafficking survivors who had
experienced decades of conflict and
rebel army violence in their communities
and on the other side us visitors
predominantly male all white privileged
2° we had not yet understood until that
very moment by every measure our life
experiences were worlds apart and we
were all a little bit unsure as to
whether we we would be able to relate at
any level the tension and uneasiness was
palpable in the room yet over the course
of the day as we sat together fumble
through crocheting sang the Beatles
loudly and laughed even louder one thing
became clear we actually shared more in
common in our humanity than we held
different a simple yet profound
realization that would have far-reaching
impacts Alice the young woman that I was
paired with to teach crocheting produced
a nearly flawless hat on her first
attempt and very little of that had to
do with her instructor by the way this
gave us all great hope for not only the
beautiful products we’d be able to
create but even more for the opportunity
we’d have to connect others to the
amazing individuals who made them a
thought resounded in my head that day
people are people are people are people
this is what I’ve devoted my life to
ever since connecting people in an
effort to break down misconceptions and
to unite us in our common experiences my
mechanism for doing this has been
clothing what started out as hats like
the one I wear today and every day
quickly expanded to producing other
fashion accessories as well as a whole
range of clothing products for men and
women all made in different communities
around the globe
vision that I have is for a human
centric fashion industry one where every
consumer could know directly the
individual who crafted their garment and
this is more than a nice idea this is a
reality every one of the products we’ve
produced since 2007 has been hand signed
by the person who made it by going
online and viewing the profile of the
specific maker who made their t-shirt
consumers for the first time have been
able to see and know the Forgotten
individuals who are behind the clothes
they wear they learn about similar
interests in personal dreams that are
shared between them and misconceptions
formerly held begin to dissipate in my
work I’ve been able to see tens of
thousands of these connections take
place and see the positive impacts that
those have had on both individuals and
it’s proven to me the power of this
connection but while connecting those
who may close with those who wear them
is one important aspect there’s more
that needs to be done if we’re to truly
leverage fashion in an effort to better
connect our world and unite us in our
humanity we must also work to foster
collaboration from within the industry
as well you see one of the things that
became really clear in the first decade
of our work was that the negative
consequences of fashion were not only
misunderstood by consumers they were
also misunderstood by the very designers
merchandisers and owners of the
commercial fashion brands themselves
that is why a core component of my work
today rests in a desire to partner with
other companies to help them improve
their supply chain transparency and to
begin celebrating the incredible
individuals who are behind the products
they sell we started an entirely new
platform to accomplish just this called
known supply and the results from our
part
ships with other fashion brands have
become very clear it’s possible to do
better and in doing so we won’t only be
contributing positively to a more
equitable world but there also happens
to be some real business benefits in the
process we’ve seen product quality
improve as makers begin to take pride in
the value of their work customer bases
are growing as brands begin to engage in
the millions of shoppers
who are looking for ethical alternatives
waste decreases as consumers are
shopping less disposable pieces and most
importantly in my view cross-cultural
understanding increases as shoppers and
makers begin to connect and learn more
about one another knowing who made your
product is an interesting if not
intriguing concept but I wanted to share
with you all a tangible example a story
of what this has looked like in the real
world my friend Kara gifted her daughter
one of our products for her birthday and
they proceeded to go online and learn
more about the woman in Peru who had
crafted that item together they learned
about the geography of South America and
the unique challenges faced by women
living in poor communities on the
outskirts of capital cities but they
also learned something else they learned
about the specific interests of
Jacqueline Barra ona
the woman who made her hat they
discovered that they both loved music
and enjoyed spending time with family
kara and her daughter submitted a
thank-you note telling Jacqueline what
an incredible job she had done making
her new favorite accessory a week later
this same young girl received another
clothing item from the family member and
she immediately began inspecting that
item looking through it inside and out
her mother being a bit concerned went to
see if
thing was wrong and that was when she
came to find out that her young daughter
was looking for the signature of the
person who made that item as well it
wasn’t there
but her expectation was what if we all
had this expectation that we could know
the individual who crafted the clothing
that we wear and that our purchases were
positively impacting and improving the
lives of those who made them how would
our world look different I’ll tell you
it looks like a cot Beatrice whose
circumstances in a post-conflict region
of northern Uganda left her with few
prospects to be optimistic about whose
income earned equated to less than $2 a
day she was a representative statistic
of extreme poverty in every way but she
didn’t view herself that way and neither
did we because of her job making
clothing the support of consumers who
purchase the items she made and most
importantly her own self-determination
Beatrice was able to discover her
passion for entrepreneurship and she
started multiple businesses as a result
she was able to send her children to the
best schools in Uganda and through the
highest levels of education and she even
began providing job opportunities to
others within her community
all because shoppers thought a little
more consciously about the products they
purchased and the companies they chose
to support so the next time you’re
getting dressed I want you to think
about the way your clothing connects you
with the world around you and the person
who made it choose to see others and to
recognize our goals our ambitions and
ultimately our collective success is
bound up
in one another or as I like to say who
makes it matters [Applause]
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