Fashion Revolution WEEk

Fashion Revolution week is held every April following the devastation of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013. The factory collapse killed 1138 garment workers and injured many more. If you are interested in finding out more about this and the cost of fast fashion, I'd recommend watching The True Cost film. https://youtu.be/OaGp5_Sfbss

Fashion Revolution calls for fairer and safer working conditions and transparency, to bring positive change to the fashion industry. The movement encourages customers to ask clothing brands "Who made my clothes?" and seeks to change the way that clothes are sourced, produced and purchased.

Behind every item of clothing are unique individuals that make the fabric and garments that we wear. You might not ever consider #whomademyclothes? and often this information isn’t made available by brands.

Jenerous A transparent fashion brand

As a transparent fashion brand we want to share with you more about the people that make our Jenerous clothing as part of Fashion Revolution week. We make our Jenerous clothing in a Fairtrade factory called Jacobs Well, in Bangalore. Jacobs Well are based in the heart of the bustling and busy city. The small factory is on the first floor and employs approximately 10 staff, providing safe and fair work.

One of the best parts of setting up Jenerous has been travelling to India and meeting the people that make our clothing. When I wear one of our dresses, it’s such a great feeling to personally know the people that have printed the fabric, ironed and sewn the garment, quality checked it, added the labels etc. and also to know that they have fair and safe working conditions.

Find out who makes our clothing here.

who makes our jenerous clothing - Ammu’s Story

Ammu, a producer at Jacobswell, holds up a sign reading ‘I made your clothes’ for Fashion Revolution Week #WhoMadeMyClothes

One of the Jacobs Well team is Ammu, who has worked at Jacobs Well for many years and is a great asset to the team, speaking english well and with a wealth of experience in garment construction and sourcing.

Ammu was orphaned along with her siblings at an early age. After leaving school Ammu became very ill with tuberculosis. When she had started to regain her health, a family friend introduced Ammu to the factory where some light work was found for her and she was supported in paying her medical bills. It soon became evident that Ammu had a passion for design and embroidery and so was encouraged to create her own designs.

Today Ammu’s health is a lot better and she is motivated and passionate in her work. With a sustainable income allowing her to rent her own home, Ammu has also been supported in returning to school several hours a day to complete her qualifications, opening the door to many further professional opportunities. Ammu helps clients like me with sourcing, and she is now completely responsible for quality control.

Jenerous Hand block printers

Banu works at Tharangini, a sustainable block printers in India where Jenerous’ printing is done

Our prints are crafted by a team of block printers at Tharangini Print Studio in Bangalore. Banu (in the picture above) works at Tharangini print studio as the lead dye master, hand mixing the dye colours that are used for the block printing. Banu has been working at Tharangini print studio for 37 years, juggling family and work. She is highly skilled and an expert at her job.

Tharangini is a lovely, tranquil hideaway in the busy city of Bangalore. I love visiting the team when I'm in India and finding new prints and watching the artisans at work. Our Jenerous organic cotton printed dresses are all lovingly and carefully printed by Banu and the rest of the team.

Jenerous’ Impact - giving back from sales

At Jenerous not only do we make our products ethically, we also give back from every purchase. We believe that fashion can be a force for good, used to bring positive change to marginalised communities in India. Find out more about our impact so far here.