Who Made My Jigsaw Green Label Dress?

I made this video for Fashion Revolution Day which will be April 24, 2014. To commemorate the one year anniversary of the horribly tragic Rana Plaza collapse. We want everyone to consider the question, Who Made Your Clothes?

You can join the conversation on the FRD Facebook page and make your own video.
As I said in the video above, I really thought this would be easy for me as I’ve invested a great deal of resources, both financially and in terms of research, into having a wardrobe that I can enjoy wearing with a mostly clear conscience. I’ve also made it my job to implore anyone who would listen to simply ask the question, “Where was this made?” or “How was this made?”. So when I chose one of my favorite Jigsaw of London Green Label pieces, I expected to make a complete video.

The folks at Jigsaw were really wonderful! When I got in touch with them, they took my question very seriously. Even though it took several weeks, they did get back to me with a thorough response. I share it with you here:

We here at Jigsaw USA – myself and our head designer Mary included (who created the GL) – believe in a transparent, responsible model. In fact, we’ve created a new division of the GL for just this reason. GL is made from up-cycled fabrics in an effort to limit our footprint on the earth. Due to the nature of these fabrics, it can be tricky to find a specific fabric and/or color if required. When this is the case, we resort to buying fabric from a line, which is obviously not the same as recycling fabric from previous productions. In a concerted effort to remain transparent and provide our customers with an honest product we created Made in US: same contractors, same designs, same quality, different fabrication.

I know you’re interested in who makes our clothes, so let me give you a short run down of how we operate and hopefully I will answer your questions! Both the GL and Made in USA are all made in downtown LA using a handful of small, family-operated manufacturers. They collaborate with us throughout the production life of the garment from design concept through final delivery. As we are a family-owned business, it was important for us to choose small, family-operated manufacturers who have a commitment to quality and share our ethos of a work/life balance.

Each shop is small. The teams of 5-15 have been working together for years and we work directly alongside the patternmakers and sewers on a daily basis. We carefully selected these manufacturers and they carefully selected us! They won’t work with just anyone! We are very fortunate to work with such close knit teams who are a huge part of making Jigsaw GL a truly special endeavor.

So there, you have it! I can now enjoy my Green Label dress even more knowing that it was made collaboratively with a great deal of care for both the people and the garment.

Game on! Pick your favorite piece of clothing and see how easy it is to answer the question. I guarantee you, whether it’s an easy process or a challenge, the experience will be surprisingly gratifying. I’d love to see your video too.

Go ahead, post it on the Facebook page.

It’ll be fun and informative all at once.