Common Read: Where Am I Wearing?

A partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corportation (IFC) to improve the lives of garment workers by securing safe, clean, equitable working environments.

Alliance of organizations in 16 European countries, including trade unions and NGOs, focused on women's rights, consumer advocacy, and poverty reduction. “The Clean Clothes Campaign is dedicated to improving working conditions and supporting the empowerment of workers in the global garment and sportswear industries.”

“The Dributts diaper was created to work in extreme environments with hot climates and where there is no running water or electricity. Our main focus is to prevent sickness and disease caused from uncontrolled fecal matter.”

In the fall of 2010 a class assignment at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan asked students to design something to fill a social need. One student, Veronika Scott, met with people who were homeless in Detroit and then designed and constructed a prototype for a heat-trapping coat that transforms into a self-heated and waterproof sleeping bag. At the end of the semester, she created other prototypes and improved the quality and design of the coat. Scott went on found a non-profit organization, The Empowerment Plan. “Our goal is to help build a better life for those that have become trapped in the cycle of homelessness. We mostly hire homeless parents from local shelters to become full time seamstresses so that they can earn a stable income, find secure housing, and gain back their independence for themselves and for their families.”

A UK-based non-profit whose mission is “ We believe in fashion – an industry which values people, the environment, creativity and profits in equal measure, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that this happens.”

The "largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries."

U.N. agency that sets labor standards, develops policies and devises programs "promoting decent work for all women and men."

Collection of videos related to clothing production available through Kanopy, a streaming video database.

Information, videos, maps about where clothing from Patagonia is produced and the conditions under which production happens. Patagonia’s corporate mission statement is “to build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”. As an apparel company, they have led the way in social and environmental corporate responsibility and action.

Documentary about fashion industry (available on Neftlix). “This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?"