Pay Up might just change the world

The industry needs to step up After the [@payupfashion]( campaign debuted in March 2020, it went viral thanks to one simple request — make brands pay for completed work. As lockdowns were announced, brands looked at the disruption to the global market, assumed that they would lose money, and decided to push those losses on to the workers. Thanks to the pressure from Pay Up, many of the brands have finally paid their workers, resulting in $22 billion of that original $40 billion being recouped.⁠[LEARN MORE ABOUT PAY UP'S SUCCESS HERE]( This had an immediate knock-on effect for garment workers who overwhelmingly are living paycheck-to-paycheck. The fashion industry was quietly screwing over their third world employees, even more so than usual. "The decision to cancel orders created a modern slavery situation," says [Elizabeth Cline]( one of the founders of the Pay Up campaign. "It’s corporate theft that is creating the conditions for a humanitarian crisis on a level that we haven't seen in our lifetimes." And so Pay Up was born: a grassroots campaign that centered on people, mainly young women, pressuring brands on social media, either through leaving comments on IG posts or sharing images of themselves holding a “Pay Up” sign. Thanks to the campaign, many of the brands have finally paid their workers, resulting in $22 billion of that original $40 billion being recouped. The tenets of that reform are The 7 Actions: Pay Up, Keep Workers Safe, Go Transparent, Give Workers Center Stage, Sign Enforceable Contracts, End Starvation Wages, and Help Pass Laws. These actions campaign for systemic change that centers people, not brands. "The more you trace your supply chain, the uglier it gets," says Barenblat. The message is clear — the current fashion system is broken and it needs to change. [LEARN MORE ABOUT INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY HERE]( ● RELATED READING [THE TWILIGHT OF THE ETHICAL CONSUMER]( [THIS IS NOT YOUR GOLDMINE; THIS IS OUR MESS]( [THIS IS WHAT A TRACEABLE FASHION BRAND ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE]( [YOUR CHEAT-SHEET OF TERMS USED IN SUSTAINABLE FASHION]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Snapchat]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Pinterest]( You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website: {EMAIL}. You can [unsubscribe from this list]( or [update your subscription preferences](. © 2021 Highsnobiety, Highsnobiety Genthiner Str. 32-34Berlin 10785 Germany [Add us to your address book](