Hello there 🙂
We write here every day at Who What Wear about designers, models, activists and actresses, but International Women's Day made me think about brands that could actually change the lives of women – and Carcel immediately came to my mind. Carcel is a Danish brand that manufactures upscale basics like t-shirts, sweaters, pants and more. The brand employs imprisoned women who volunteer to learn new skills and receive a living wage that allows them to send money back to their families outside of prison and save money for their lives after they are released. The women then have the opportunity to continue working with Carcel after being released.
Carcel won the renowned Danish fashion award Magasin du Nord in November and presented its first "show" at Copenhagen Fashion Week in January, where no models or clothes were actually on display. Instead, the audience watched a video that "raises questions about overproduction and overconsumption and encourages the press, buyers, and creatives to pause the status quo and step onto the empty catwalk to take an active role in creating change." it in the Carcel press release.
Fascinated? I thought it was you I interviewed the brand's founder and CEO, Veronica D & # 39; Souza, to learn more about Carcel. "For us, we believe that employing someone in a prison should have the same fair rights and wages as employing someone outside," D & # 39; Souza told Who What Wear. "Our employees benefit financially both for themselves and for their families. They no longer have to rely on relatives to cover their own basic needs in prison. But more than just financially, we experience a change in their self-esteem and mental health. You everyone expresses the importance of devoting great products and team collaboration. "
D & # 39; Souza also provided more context about why the brand wants to offer new skills and living wages, particularly to this population group, which has little chance of financial independence in prison. "The main cause of women's detention worldwide is non-violent crime related to poverty," she said. "The women we work with come from poor backgrounds with little chance and are carers for their families. For example, they use narcotics to take care of their children and have been detained for many years. In the meantime, their children are losing their children Provider. "
Knowing this, you can see how beneficial it can be to give imprisoned women the opportunity to send money back to their families. If you want to find out more, Carcel's website goes into detail about the wages of its employees, which are above or equal to the living wages in both countries of employment: Peru and Thailand. The website also explains how the working conditions are monitored personally by the Carcel team several times a year.
Carcel is also transparent about the limits of its effects. "Working with detained women does not address the reasons why they are in prison in the first place," Carcel explains on his website, "but it creates opportunities for them and their families while they are detained and released."
Sustainability, including avoiding overproduction, is also an important part of Carcel. The brand uses 100% natural materials – never synthetic – and only sources them locally from their production sites. "The biggest problem in fashion is overproduction and waste," said D & # 39; Souza. "That's why we don't have seasons and collections, we only have limited quantities of high-quality essentials that last. And we never sell our products because we believe that if you make good things out of good materials, they shouldn't be good. " Lose value. This enables us to sell what we produce and produce what we sell. "
After taking a look behind the scenes at Carcel, scroll down to buy the parts that will last a lifetime.
Next, Anna Wintour unveils her five favorite brands of the month.
