Beautiful Clothes, Ugly Reality: Cambodian Garment Workers Turned Models to Fight for Rights

Garment factory workers model clothes for the 'Beautiful Clothes, Ugly Reality' fashion show in Phnom Penh.
Photo courtesy of Nicolas Axelrod/Roum

Two weeks ago, the Workers Information Centre (WIC), an organization striving to improve working conditions for women garment workers, held a fashion show in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. However, the women donning these clothes were not your usual 6 foot-tall, waif-like models. Rather, the fashion show engaged the very same people who toiled under deplorable conditions and paltry wages to model the clothes they make for well-known, global brands to spotlight the social injustice facing them.

The aptly themed 'Beautiful Clothes, Ugly Reality' fashion show serves as a platform to highlight the huge income disparities between garment workers and apparel brand owners as well as to advocate for a living wage and better working conditions for these workers. Garment workers in Cambodia not only face poor working conditions and low pay but also live in fear due to violent government clampdowns that have killed five garment workers. Ruom Collective, a Cambodian-based social journalism platform, provides an excellent coverage of the fashion show including the issues facing these garment workers.

The Workers Information Centre is a partner organisation of the International Women's Development Agency (IWDA), a Melbourne-based NGO that I support. Above is a video made by IWDA to educate consumers on the unfair and often exploitative treatments of Cambodian garment workers, of which 90 percent comprises of women. It serves to highlight the good work carried out by WIC to empower women garment workers in Cambodia by helping them fight for a fairer wage and working conditions.

According to reports carried by just-style and Shanghai Daily, global brands including H&M, GAP and the Inditex Group (Mango, Zara etc.) have indicated that they support higher minimum wages for Cambodian garment workers. As consumers with voting rights i.e. purchasing power, let's hold these highly-profitable labels accountable for the promises they have made.

Blueprint: Supporting Emerging, Ethical Designers

Forty Red Bangles

Several weeks ago, I visited BLUEPRINT an annual fashion trade show that showcases emerging and established Asian designers as well as international brands looking to enter the Asian retail markets. Obviously, my primary purpose was really to suss out new ethical labels that are making a difference to their communities and the world at large. I'm happy to report that I've found several stylish, sustainable brands gracing the 5th Edition of the event.

One of the brands I was looking forward to check out was Forty Red Bangles, a socially conscious fashion brand from India that sells a wide-range of products from organic apparels to upcycled accessories from the House of Wandering Silk as well as handmade toys. They also have an adorable kids line called Four Red Bangles that sells kurta pyjamas made from certified organic cotton and printed with low impact GOTS certified dyes. Since I have so many friends with young ones, I can foresee Four Red Bangles being a major source of gifts for their kids.

The story behind the brand fascinates me. Ramona Saboo, the founder of Forty Red Bangles, hails from Australia and migrated to India after marriage and has since moved to Singapore. The name Forty Red Bangles was inspired by the forty red and white bangles traditionally worn by Indian brides as a symbol of luck and safety. For Ramona, the bangles represent the connection between her past and her future. The brand was established as a way for her to showcase the beauty of India's craftsmanship and design with sustainability in mind.

Community development is a major part of Forty Red Bangles philosophy.They work with small artisan communities in India as well as non-governmental organisations. They are heavily involved in projects that focus on the empowerment of marginalised women such as the Sambhali Trust in Jodhpur and Gramshree in Gujarat. These organisations provide women, especially those from the lower-caste, with the means to achieve financial independence as well as preserve traditional skills and craftsmanship.

Clockwise, Zariin Jewelry, Betel Life and Kolombiana

Apart from Forty Red Bangles, several other ethical brands that also caught my attention at the trade show includes Zariin Jewelry, Betel Life and Kolombiana. Zariin Jewelry sells semi-precious jewellery fairly made by Indian artisans with a portion of the proceed for every piece of jewellery sold going to the SOS Children's Villages India. Betel Life from Taiwan, on the other hand, sells eco-friendly slippers made of betel leaves which creates jobs for Taiwanese farmers as well as Taiwanese aboriginal weavers. Meanwhile, Kolombiana sells tribal bags handmade by artisans from indigenous communities across South America to provide them with means of livelihood and allowing them to preserve their hand weaving traditions. Kolombiana also has a brick-and-mortar shop in Haji Lane so drop by their store when you're in the Kampong Glam district.

Help Anna: Style It Forward

Have any gently-used designer apparel and accessories to give away? If so, head to the Hilton Hotel between 29 May and 1 June to donate them as part of Club 21 Cares initiative. The donations will be used to fund the Singapore Committee for UN Women's Help Anna campaign through its charity sale. The campaign serves as part of its wider initiative on ending violence against women across the region.