Ayesha Barenblat founded Remake, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, to use visual storytelling as a way to connect brands and consumers with the people behind their clothes. Her Meet the Maker series takes viewers to several countries, including Pakistan, where Rubina, a 22-year-old, explains why she abandoned her plans to become a doctor, something she thinks about often as she sews hoodies and sweatpants, and her hopes for the future.
“Even the word maker, instead of worker, is deliberate,” Barenblat told Devex. “She made that for you. She put time and love and care into it. A worker is a balance sheet item.”
According to the Fair Fashion Center in New York City, 1 in 6 people on the planet works in the global fashion supply chain, and 3 in every 4 garment workers are women. Barenblat spent a decade working with companies, governments and nonprofits in an effort to change fashion supply chains, but she found it was difficult to convince brands across the industry to improve worker well-being. So she launched Remake in an effort to mainstream conscious consumerism, the movement to take into account the social and environmental impacts of products when making purchases.
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
