When birds sing
Just woke up to the sound of birds singing….
NOT!
It was only my baby girl calling me out to prepair her for our morning routine…not exactly music to my ears! But I don’t complain. I like mornings as I spent them at home with her and we are free to take our time, have breakfast and cuddle. And choose our outfits - all colourful and comfy. She enjoys that. She seems to have already acquired a sense of style. And always asks : who bought this for me mommy?
A question that creates sequence of thoughts in my mind around the significance of a piece of garment we choose to wear. Who bought it for us, what it makes us feel…how was it created. Shouldn’t it be important, to know about the way the item you use has been created?
I think I would love to be able to tell my daughter an inspiring story behind the creation of her favourite clothing. To trust that the used yarns have been dyed naturally, that the artisans who put a garment together have been treated with respect. To let her know that there are a lot of female workers out there who produce and are paid equally in healthy work environments.
We all are enough informed to know that this is not exactly the case. But there are brands who refuse to go with the no-matter-how-profit-gain norm. Birdsong is one good exaple of social responsible brand. To quote them here:
we dream up designs, and then work with expert women makers who face barriers to employment and pay them a London living wage to bring our creations to life.
Their aim is to connect women from worker to wearer and to make sure that representation of the female is following the reality of a woman. Photoshoped pictures are not an option here. Social awareness goes furthermore at Birdsong. As a response to hostility and turmoil surrounding Brexit, they collaborated with creative project ‘Still European’ and XXY Magazine and launched a super limited edition range of locally embroidered t-shirts and zine.
I am really excited to see what comes next from Birdsong. Hope to see more brands like that emerging so as to have greater stories to tell my daughter about.
