Patched advice column: Solidarity in a time of earthquakes and tariffs

Welcome to Patch 2.0 - I hope you like the new collage 😸

The previous graphic was slung together to experiment with the idea of Patched in a bleak winter while I wondered if my new book proposal would ever get picked up. [Spoiler: Spring arrived and I received multiple offers. A year later and and the manuscript is almost finished!]

It felt like time for a visual refresh that captures some of what this column has achieved. Thank you so much for reading Patched over the last year - it has been an honour to receive your letters. Please keep them coming, if you have a question, email me at: DearPatched@proton.me

For new subscribers wondering what this is about: In between my regular newsletter I send out Patched - a members-only series where people can ask me a fashion (or fashion-adjacent) question, and I'll reply with a short letter from an anti-capitalist perspective.

The title Patched is a reminder that at this critical time we need repair and regeneration as well as analysis. I will keep unpicking and unravelling the fashion industry but Patched makes space to explore mending - finding solutions to both personal and structural problems.

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Financial solidarity: Garment Workers Solidarity Fund

Dear Patched,

I’m reaching out because I’m grappling with some questions related to “sustainable” fashion. (I'm using quotation marks because after reading The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion I understood how this word has been misused).

I’m creating a brand of upcycling clothes because I love design but I refuse to use raw materials. However, after your incredible book I want to offer more real support to garment workers.

In order to get from Individual Change into Political Change, I’d like to know how I can directly help workers. Are there trustworthy trade unions or worker rights groups that you recommend supporting financially or what kind of volunteering can I offer?

How can we ensure that our contributions truly benefit the workers and their communities?

I really want to learn how to align my actions with my values. Any resources, organizations, or insights you could share would be incredibly valuable.

Thank you so much for your time and expertise. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, feelings, everything you want to share <3

Best regards and also a big hug,

Mara

Dear Mara,

Thank you for your letter and the hug. Seeing as this is a historic week for global finance, I am going to focus on the question of financial support because those of us who are not billionaires or hedge fund managers need to get organised.

Trump's new tariff regime is going to make life exceptionally hard for garment workers. The Trump project is built upon undermining labour rights, women's rights, LBGTQ* rights, civil rights and so on. His tariffs will be used by fashion brands and factory owners as yet another excuse to attack workers - undermining the fight for living wages, maternity leave and sick pay. (For more on tariffs and garment workers please see the links at the end of this newsletter.)

There will be more urgent calls for solidarity from trade unions and workers rights groups in the Global South - when union leaders are imprisoned, protesters brutally attacked or if things become as they were in the pandemic - when soup kitchens and food banks for garment workers need support.

It is important that we answer these calls for solidarity. But you want to get money directly to workers, and this is very difficult - national laws have clamped down on the ability of many groups to receive donations, banking systems are complicated, and how will you know if your money is going to the frontline?

I can recommend one group, based in the UK, who has successfully used its solidarity networks to get money to people who need it most: No Sweat.

I like No Sweat because they make a strong distinction between solidarity and charity - charity can be institutionally problematic, top down and condescending. Whereas solidarity means standing shoulder to shoulder with people who are your equal. I also like that solidarity is a two-way street - that activists in the Global North find solidarity, inspiration and support from their comrades in the Global South.

No Sweat are currently running a vital fundraiser to support recovery efforts after the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, where the death toll could exceed 10,000 and rescue efforts are horribly hampered by the military dictatorship and civil war.

Much of Myanmar’s cultural heritage, including pagodas, Mandalay Palace, monasteries, mosques, universities and schools and many, many homes and buildings were also destroyed. The earthquake is heartbreaking enough but to see the military continue to drop bombs and destroy more lives and buildings is a lesson in what vindictive madness looks like.

No Sweat is working with the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar which is directly supporting earthquake rescue teams.

My advice would be to support the Garment Workers Solidarity Fund, both today and going forward. It can and will pivot to whichever call for solidarity is most urgent. A donation to this fund is a political act, as would be organising a fundraising event whether small or large.

Wishing you well and I really hope your new upcycling project is both a personal joy and a social and professional success.

In solidarity, Tansy.

Tariffs

Tariffs are taxes imposed on goods that are manufactured elsewhere and imported to be sold in a country - for example, a Made In Bangladesh t-shirt being imported into the US.

The US imports over 97% of all clothing and footwear Americans buy, and the US is also the biggest market for exports for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and others. The garment sectors in these countries are dominated by big US or global companies such as Victoria’s Secret (2024 revenue 6.2 billion USD), Gap (15.1 billion USD) or Nike (51.4 billion USD).

Additionally many factories in affected countries are owned by wealthy factory groups in South and South East Asia, for example Sri Lanka's Mas Holdings is worth close to 800 million USD.

It is vital that workers who are already struggling under precarious conditions and poverty pay are not made to pay the cost of these tariff wars.

Clean Clothes Campaign statement on the tariffs: https://labourbehindthelabel.org/workers-trump-tariff-war/