#PayUp – These Major Fashion Brands Need to Pay Their Workers

Kira Simpson

It’s no secret that fashion industry has been one of the hardest hit during the coronavirus crisis.

More than 50 million garment workers around the world have been negatively impacted because of COVID-19, with factories closing and fashion brands cancelling orders, over 3 billion dollars worth, leaving the women who bring our fashion to life with no source of income, no healthcare and no safety net.

The #payup campaign by Remake launched in April and thanks to your voices and Remake’s hard work, several major fashion brands have paid their workers.

Remake #PayUp campaign

And while this is great news but there are dozens of major fashion brands still withholding wages from millions of garment workers worldwide.

The #PayUp campaign is a human rights campaign. By not paying for cancelled orders, brands are openly disregarding black and brown garment workers livelihood.” – Remake Founder, Ayesha Barenblat

@anthropologie@athleta@instarcadia@bananarepublic@bestselleroneworld@burton_menswear@ca@childrensplace @fashionnova@forever21@freepeople@gap@jcpenney@kohls⁣⁣⁣, @levis@liandfung@mothercareuk@oldnavy@primark,⁣⁣⁣ @rossdressforless@sears@topshop@urbanoutfitters, @walmart – We’re looking at you.

I type this from the safety of a country where I have financial support and opportunities to find work in these uncertain times. I’m incredibly fortunate and if you are too, please use your voice to speak up for those who can’t. If garment workers don’t receive timely wage payments during factory shutdowns, they will have no means to support themselves and their families.

What you can do

  1. Support the campaign by signing the Remake Petition here
  2. Share a post on Instagram or Stories tagging the brands who need to #PayUp and put pressure on the ones who have made promises but are yet to follow through.
  3. Write an email or send a DM to the abovementioned brands – Continue to pressure brands to #PayUp until money has exchanged hands

As Vogue Business said “When consumers stamp their feet on social media, these days brands are quick to respond. Almost overnight, consumer power has strengthened exponentially.”

Kira Simpson

Kira Simpson is an environmentalist and sustainability expert. She started The Green Hub as a blog in 2015, which has since grown to become one of Australia’s largest education sites dedicated to helping people live a more sustainable lifestyle.