Fashion Revolution Week – a few words from our founder, Nick Brown

Fashion Revolution Week is an initiative commemorating the Rana Plaza tragedy which occurred on 24th April 2013, killing 1138 people and injuring many more and bringing light to gravely unethical practices in the fashion industry. During the weeklong campaign, people are encouraged to ask their favourite clothing brands #whomademyclothes on social media. 

Do you know who made your Analogy Jacket? Read on to find out.

25 years ago, our founder Nick Brown was looking to realise his idea for a new kind of outdoor clothing that would keep you drier and more comfortable in all conditions. During a visit to Colombia, he came across “Creaciones Miquelina”, a small workshop with a few secondhand sewing machines. It had been set up by a local religious order to provide practical help to women trapped in prostitution or exploitative situations, often due to the massive internal displacement and violence from decades of civil conflict. This was the beginning of Páramo and of a remarkable partnership. Since then, Páramo and Miquelina have been consistently creating high performance clothing that changes lives – both in the outdoors and in a poor community in Bogotá.

2017 has been an important milestone in our partnership, marking a quarter century of ethical production and Miquelina became a certified member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). In light of Fashion Revolution Week, here are a few words from Nick about ethical production and what the partnership means to him.

“One thing has kept on driving me to return to Bogotá and to Miquelina. It is the extraordinary spirit of the ladies who now make Páramo clothing, and their determination to overcome the history that led them to Miquelina. A word that is used often in Miquelina is “superar” – it means overcome, but also, go to a higher level.

Miquelina achieves a very high level of quality in their work, but, more than that, the workers there tell me that their jackets are made with love. This sounds sentimental, but in reality, what it means is that this work has transformed their lives. In the end, outdoor enthusiasts, who have had no idea of the journey their waterproof clothing has travelled, have helped finance that transformation.

It is therefore entirely appropriate that Miquelina’s work should be certified as Fair Trade with the WFTO. Páramo’s customers should know that they contribute to a better, and a much more optimistic world. They are building a world where oppressed people can overcome cruelty and cynicism, and become extraordinary.”