The very first customers entering the newly opened Zara XL branch were presented with flyers. Those handing them out wished to draw attention to the inhumane labour conditions in the textile factories the company uses.
On the stroke of ten a.m. the glass sliding doors of the Brabant Zara ‘flagship store’ opened with the staff clapping their hands. Then the first customers trickled in. At the entrance, they were handed a leaflet about the apalling conditions the Uyghurs are forced to work in the garment factories.
Activist Sofie: “We do not expect people to stop buying at Zara. But we do want them to realise what goes on in the garment industry. It is a process. When we plant just one seed, more and more people are bound to start realising that it is not O.K.”.
Bubble
A hip-looking boy has already slipped the leaflet into his pocket unread, but wants to give his opinion on the action. Which he likes. “When I go to the checkout, all I think about is whether the clothes suit me and whether they have style. We all live in our own little bubbles. Maybe we should all think a bit more about how that affects other people”.
Responsible
Clothing store Vielgut in the Emma District believes a garment can only feel good if it was made under decent conditions. The owners bear this in mind all the time. “It can be quite a quest to find the right manufacturers”, says Arnold Raaijmakers. Does he see those garment factories from the inside? “Occasionally, yes. And sometimes you just know everything’s okay when you know the manufacturer”.
A good example is the baby Alpaca-wool sweater in the shop. Manufactured by a small company in Den Bosch, INTI. Raaijmakers:”This owner spends six months of the year in Equador and knows all her knitters. I once visited her when she had a phone call from her staff . When she was told that one employee had fallen down the stairs she had tears in her eyes. It shows the intensity of her engagement”.
Empathy
Whether the Zara manager in the Eindhoven city centre is likewise empathetic Studio040 failed to find out. The Zara head office did not give her leave to react in front of the camera.
Source: Studio040
Translated by Greta
