These last four days in Phnom Penh we learned how to sew! We partnered with a super cool garment manufacture called Fairsew. What is special about this company is that when they are making clothing, they take in consideration the consequences that it has on the environment and they care about the wellbeing of their employees. They minimize waste and they do their best to avoid using toxic materials and recycled fabric. They take care of their employees by providing them with a salary well above the minimum wage of garment manufacture in Cambodia, with a safe working environment, opportunities for learning and development, and benefits like health care and vacation days.
At Fairsew, we did a couple of projects. The first day we met Anne Elise, the woman who founded Fairsew and worked with us during the week. She talked about the company and the garment industry. Then we made a "mood board" which was a way for us to show our ideas and what we would come up with. We used pictures from magazines and fabrics to come up with a design. Also, that afternoon we went shopping for clothes! (Don't get excited) We went to a second hand clothing store and were given $5 to buy whatever we wanted. Those clothes would be used for an upcycle project.
The second day we learned how to use a sewing machine. I had already learned how to sew when I did the upcycle internship back in Costa Rica, so it was nice being familiar with the machine. Some people got the hang of it very fast and some people didn't. I still had to learn how to use that machine since it was a little different. The one here had a button that I had to press in order for it to start sewing. The one in Costa Rica had a pedal that I would press so it would sew. I got the hang of it again pretty fast, I find it pretty entertaining and I didn't mind it at all. The only thing is that sewing is actually very tiring after a couple of hours. Also putting the string into the machine is such a hassle, I could never do it right. Anyway, after practicing with the machines, we sewed a pencil case. We started sewing the zipper to the fabric and then the fabrics together from the inside. Then we flipped it over and had our finished product. That afternoon we saw a movie called "The True Cost" which I recommend everyone to watch it. It's about the garment industry and the horrible working conditions that garment workers have to suffer through.
The third and fourth day we worked on the upcycle project. This project was for us to learn how to take different clothing that will not be in use anymore and turn it into something useful. What I did was I took a long sleeve denim shirt and a couple of different t-shirts to make a shirt. The long sleeve shirt would be the piece I would sew fabric to. I used the fabric of the t-shirts to make pockets, I added a zipper, and I changed the back of the shirt. It was a very fun project. It was so fun and interesting to do and also so fun to see what other people made. People made all kinds of stuff like dresses, rompers, skirts, pants, shirts, and vests. Also, the last day we made a cool group project that consisted of coming up with your own clothing company. Some ideas that the groups came up with was making shoes out of used rubber, creating a company that doesn't overproduce clothing by having the costumer order it and then making it, and using hemp leaves and donated clothing to make cool shirts in order to reduce waste.
Working with Fairsew was so much fun. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about the garment industry. There are so many fashion lines and clothing stores that have their clothes manufactured in factories with horrible conditions that I honestly think it's not worth buying clothes from them. I hope people start noticing this and choose not to contribute to the problem. I'm so thankful to have been able to work with Fairsew and Anne Elise, I really appreciated my time there.
Phnom Penh was a phnomenal place! -Words by Elise Nelson and Prathana Shrestha, they like to come up with puns.
Next Stop: Siem Reap
