Example: Solidarity Clothing

In Bolivia, Solidarity Clothing collaborates with sewing cooperatives, particularly cooperatives of indigenous women, to create fun, fashionable clothing.

The women are doubly disadvantaged. Bolivian society often undervalues the worth of women in the workplace and many of their 50+ artisan partners have faced a lifetime of racism and discrimination because of their Quechua heritage. Solidarity Clothing also partners with immigrant communities in K’anchay, Bolivia who have been driven from their homes by drought and those in Piedras Negras, Mexico who were stranded when the plants operated by Levi’s and Dickies moved to Asia.

SC has helped the women organize and provided start-up loans and regular orders so that the women could improve their own lives, receive a living wage, and be connected to the global market. Socially, Solidarity Clothing also facilitates opportunities for the women to manage, operate, and innovate within their cooperatives.

To learn more about their work in Principle 1 and all the Principles, visit SolidarityClothing.org