From the small, backstreet sweatshop to some of the biggest corporations in the world - child labour, forced overtime, poverty wages, unsafe conditions, harassment of women workers, and intimidation of trade unionists are commonplace. 
 
Murder on the Catwalk, an event put on in Carlisle last weekend, sought to explore some of these issues in greater depth. A group of enthusiastic young people gathered in the city centre wearing white masks to show solidarity with sweatshop workers and to highlight the faceless nature of fashion production which allows companies to abuse workers' rights while continuing to make massive profits.
 
The fact is in Bangladesh, young women work for as little as 5 pence an hour to make clothes that are sold in the UK.
 
The evening event challenged the attendees to look behind the bargain of their favorite high street retailers, not pointing a finger of blame but getting consumers to ask the simple question, “Who makes my clothes?”
 
Creative workshops and postcard making took place among a backdrop of acoustic music, models, and an excellent talk from Lindsay McWilliams (director of fair-trade clothing brand, www.pimpfishclothing.com) and poetry from Nick of Speak Easy.
 
The postcards were creative and poignant, let’s face it the fashion industry won’t clean up its act if we don’t push for it, consumers have remarkable power and all for the small cost of a stamp, maybe more of us should be asking the same question…
 
Nick Pemberton runs a spoken word night in Carlisle and performed two pieces; and here is an extract from his 'SONG OF THE SHIRT # 243872':
 
“...and the men who run your high street claim
in all good conscience there's no one to blame
for the fact that though we know their logos
no one knows her name
 
and so she works till her eyes and her fingers are sore
then she sleeps for a little and then works some more
 
she works for a crust of daily bread,
she works to keep her family fed
she works with her sisters, her brother, her mother
 
and she's only twelve years old.
 
Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to endless night.
Who's going to stop it? Who's going to make it right?”

Words and photos: Holly Davis