The 1 Hour Shirt project, realised by the collaboration of Fashion Revolution Germany and a circular fashion brand DETTO FATTO, started out to highlight inequality and enable change in the fashion industry around 1 year ago. While fast fashion has created an industry that values profit over people, the project turned time into a currency and created a shirt aiming to help fast fashion become fair fashion. According to information shared on the project’s website, it takes one hour for workers in Bangladesh to make one shirt, from spinning the yarn to sewing the shirt and to packaging it. Starting from this point of view, the project is based on the idea that one hour of their time for one hour of the people who buy it. Carina Bischof CEO and chairwoman at Fashion Revolution Germany e.V. talked to Textilegence about the gains in the industry with these shirts which were offered for sale about 1 year ago.
Incomes from 1 Hour Shirt are used again for the change within the industry
When 1 Hour Shirt is purchased, one part (€12.50) goes directly back into the value chain of these t-shirts, to cover the cost of making and distributing it. This includes everyone from the Bangladeshi producer to the various stakeholders, starting with cotton crops and ending with logistics, who are all committed to fair pay and good working conditions.
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The rest is a donation that goes to organizations that fight for workers’ rights and sustainable development. To ensure that all donations make an impact and are managed in a transparent way, Fashion Revolution Germany e.V. is responsible for receiving and distributing them to different organisations within the garment industry. Moreover, in addition to Cradle to Cradle Certified® GOLD certification and the German Green Button, every shirt has an OEKO-TEX® MADE IN GREEN label number. Simply enter the corresponding code (M24LG8M28) and transparent & traceable information on the producer can be received. In addition, the shirt is made of organic cotton.
Carina Bischof CEO and chairwoman at Fashion Revolution Germany e.V said that the 1 Hour Shirt is an incredible project for them for many reasons and explained: “The first of course is the practical, the money we make goes back to unions in Bangladesh, which they use to advocate for their rights. This includes things like fair wages, better working conditions and safety measures. While it is difficult to connect exact results at this time with just the shirt project, we are happy that the income from the project, as well as Fashion Revolution’s ongoing work with Bangladesh, continues to make a difference to the industry.”
“We have had people openly speak to us about why they have not bought a shirt and how guilty they feel”
Stating that the second is the conversations and awareness that they have around the project, Bischof disclosed: “Not only have we had people buying T-shirts for significant prices – we have had people openly speak to us about why they have not bought a shirt- and how guilty they feel. Multiple times, people have approached us and said that they feel embarrassed about how much they would need to pay for a shirt, in comparison to what the average garment worker makes. It’s been interesting to hear the conversation surrounding that, and how people’s opinions on where their clothes come from and where they shop have changed.”
“We have been slowly spreading the word through people who love the idea”
Carina Bischof expressed that as this is mainly a word-of-mouth campaign, with little budget, they have been slowly spreading the word through people who love the idea, and gaining traction as more and more people become aware of it, noted: “The last four weeks have been an important time for us, with the campaign really launching and starting to be shared throughout social media and other outlets.”