brands to behave responsibly, we need to get it in
writing.”
Last fall, PayUp founder Ayesha Barenblat sat down with
the founder of the Awaj Foundation
(http://awajfoundation.org/), an NGO that represents
600,000 garment workers in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Together, they launched the website for Pay Up Fashion
(https://payupfashion.com/), where they outlined
seven demands (https://payupfashion.com/thesolution/) for action going forward: worker’s safety,
transparency, giving workers a platform, enforceable
contracts, an end to starvation wages and the
implementation of labor laws.
“Besides a handful of rich factory owners, executives
and shareholders, it’s an industry where there aren’t a
lot of people bene ting,” Cline said. “I think brands
wanted a pat on the back after they paid up, but for us,
the campaign revealed everything that’s broken about
the fashion industry.”
Resisting a Return to Business
as Usual