Garment workers are seen leaving the factory after their shifts while wearing face masks as a precaution during the Coronavirus restrictions. Photo Credit: SOPA Images via Getty Images
Society United KingdomApp Sells Clothes That Fashion Brands Don’t Want – Cash Goes to the Workers
A shopping app in the UK is selling unwanted stocks of clothes to raise money for garment workers hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh.
Global fashion brands affected by sales amid the pandemic have been letting go of piles of clothes. To avoid waste and to help struggling workers, the Mallzee Lost Stock initiative is selling boxes of clothes for around $44 each, donating 37% of the retail price to a charity providing food and supplies to out-of-work and unpaid garment workers in Bangladesh.
“We had the industry contacts to be in the perfect position to connect consumers with the cancelled stock supporting garment workers and helping avoid the clothes ending up in landfill,” says Melanie Gray, a spokeswoman for Mallzee.
Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh garment manufacturers and exporters association, says such an initiative is “imperative” in a nation where millions of households rely on the now-suffering garment industry. Mallzee sold 80,000 boxes of clothes within two weeks, gathering enough funds to help 80,000 workers and their families.
