Gyals Making Change in Fashion: A Recap and Action Plan

Last week, Gyals Network brought awareness to the impact of cheap fashion by hosting It’s a Fashion Revolution: a screening of The True Cost movie followed by a panel discussion on the importance of connecting the dots between fashion, consumerism, capitalism and structural poverty and oppression.    This event was part of our Gyals of Impact initiative where we develop programs to bring awareness and change to issues impacting our communities.  In the following we will summarize what we learned during this event and how we can all play a part in making change.

Our amazing guest panel included:

First, let’s talk about what we learned:

We learned that 97% of items are now made overseas by roughly 40 million garment workers; many of whom do not share the same rights or protections that many people in the West do.  We witnessed footage of workers who had been beaten unconscious because they asked for a living wage.   We saw the proceedings of a funeral being held for a Cambodian worker who was killed just for asking for a livable wage.

We learned that fashion is the 2nd highest pollutant in the word and has been linked to cancer, birth defects and other serious diseases.  During the screening of The True Cost movie, one of the most painful scenes was of a community where many of the residents had been born with an alarming skin condition due to the contamination of their water supply from a leather manufacturer.  We saw communities where many children were born with severe disabilities that prevented them from ever taking their first steps.

What can we do?

After watching The True Cost movie, we were left asking ourselves “what can we do as the consumer to make change?”   Although we know we don’t have all the answers (sorry Kanye), we've gathered the following with some help from our amazing panel.

      1. Share and reference this quick guide courtesy of Dhana

2. Buy from brands that focus on sustainable and fair trade fashion (See links below)

3. Buy high quality garments that will last longer #qualitynotquantity

4. Buy used clothes to reduce landfill

5. Continue the conversation on sustainable and fair trade fashion and spread awareness on this issue

 

Join the DhanaWORLD2016 campaign!

 Dhana will be hosting an opportunity for you to share your thoughts on this issue with the goal of communicating your values from the consumer’s perspective to brands. Opt into the #DhanaWORLD2016 campaign today to share your thoughts.  Provide your email using this link and you will be contacted in a separate cover.  Check out their video from last year here:

We hope you enjoyed this recap.  Join our mailing list to stay in the loop of future Gyals Network events.

Other Resources/ Suggested brands

Dhana.com

Ecouterre.com

Eileenfisher.com

Ethicalfashionforum.com      

Indigenous.com

Modaventi.com

Nneka.me

Vermeulenandco.com

Zady.com

 

Feature on Our Special Guest, Vermeulen & Co.

Feature on local indie designer Vermeulen & Co.
 

The Vermeulen & Co. line represents the company’s commitment to offer beautiful, fashionable and sustainably made garments to complement artistic living.  High-quality fabrics such as organic cotton, silk, Tencel twill, and wool lend both a luxurious feel and sophisticated look to styles that take you from a day at the office to a gallery opening or night on the town.
 

Are you curious about how and where your clothing is made?  Vermeulen & Co. garments are designed and sewn in Oakland.
Do you love clothes with design details that add a spark to your day?  Limited edition styles make a unique addition to your wardrobe.
Have you experienced an increased confidence when wearing clothes that fit well and step your style up a notch?  Elevated basics designed for the curves of your body can offer a positive and transformational experience.
Are you too busty for a great fit in off-the-rack dress shirts?  Designed for shapely sizes 2-16 and offered in several fabrics, the Vermeulen & Co. buttondown shirt fits a B-G cup and highlights the shape of your waist.

Find something special at the Vermeulen & Co. PopUp Shop + Sale!

La Clotherie
461 43rd St, Oakland, 94609
Saturday May 14th 11-3
Sunday May 15th 2-5

RSVP here:
https://vermeulensale2016.eventbrite.com

or here:

Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/257102621302683/
Sunday: https://www.facebook.com/events/1191012934244308/

For personalized shopping and styling attend an event or reach out to us at info@vermeulenandco.com to schedule your private appointment today.

Lets Talk Fashion, our Environment and Fair Treatment

Gyals Network will host a special free screening of the groundbreaking documentary film, True Cost with an interactive discussion with the Associate Producer and other leaders in the fashion industry. This event is sponsored by McKesson's Emerging Professional's Employee Resource Group and will include special guests from Vermuelen & Co. and Dhana. Connect with amazing professionals while you uncover the untold story of the high costs of fashion and how you can make a difference.

Wine and delicious Hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Limited free admission available with RSVP.
 

Join Us and Take Your Career and Network to the Next Level!

Gyals Network will convert the beautiful FAME building into an awesome GAME BAR filled with SF’s most diverse group of emerging female leaders.   If you're a professional woman, entrepreneur, or just want some #gyalpower fueled inspiration, you don’t want to miss this.  Our events are one of a kind featuring FUN facilitated networking and empowering panel discussions that will help you take your career and network to the next level.  Connect with amazing professionals while you participate in our #playwithpurpose segment, playing games that bring you back to your inner child! 

Amazing Guest Line-Up :

  • Heather Gold – National Comedian
  • Alexandria Lafci - Co-founder of New Story
  • Francesca Valdez - Body Language/Leadership Presence Expert
  • Amber Jenae - Published Author

Discounted early-bird tickets are available for $15 in limited quantities.   Door tickets may not be available.

Check out photos from our previous events: https://www.facebook.com/gyalsnetwork/photos_stream

WANT FREE ENTRY?  We’re looking for volunteers to help out!  More info available here: http://gyalsnetwork.com/volunteer

Lets Play!

Hashtag your event photos #gyalsnetwork and #playwithpurpose on social media for your chance to win during our drawing at the end of the night.  You must be present to win and your post must be public.

Be sure to also sign up for our mailing list to stay up to date with events and get them sent straight to your inbox.  Sign up on our website here http://gyalsnetwork.com/

**THIS EVENT IS AGES 21+ **

Opportunities Available to Join Gyals Network Leadership Team!

Gyal's Network is focused on expanding our women's empowerment reach nationally and need more help!   Our network is growing so we have opened some great opportunities in our Leadership Team! If you have a passion for women’s empowerment, seek community involvement, or simply want to gain experience in leadership, check out our open opportunities before they close on 2/11.  We also have opportunities to volunteer at our next event on 3/10 in SF.



Win Free Tickets to our EPIC Gyals for Impact Event ($50 Value)-November 12th 2015 in SF

Want to win 2 free tickets ($50 value) to one of the Bay Area's most unique, and FUN networking events next week?

Gyal's Game Night has worked hard to bring you our very first community focused event and we've came up with a fun way to get you involved.

First, what is the event?

On Thursday, November 12th 2015, Gyal’s Game Night will host #gyalsforimpact , a new community initiative bringing together one of the most diverse groups of professional women in the bay area in effort to combat youth homelessness. We are partnering with the Covenant House to raise funds for care kits to benefit the homeless youth in Oakland.  Learn more about the Covenant House here : http://covenanthousecalifornia.org/index-pg.php

This event will be held at the swanky Empire Room in SF and we will #playwithpurpose over classic games like UNO, speed, dominoes, Operation (yes, you read that right), and more! Network with the most diverse group of young professional women in SF! Hors d'oeuvres will be served.

How Can You Win Tickets?

The winner gets 2 free tickets, which include complimentary drinks and a raffle entry for the big grand prize ($50 Value).  Simply write a post on our facebook page and tell us what social/community issue you would like to see addressed at our next event and why you should win a free ticket.  Be sure to include the hashtag #gyalsforimpact

We will contact the lucky winners on Friday, November 6th.

What you need to know:

  1. You can enter once a day (no duplicate entries)
  2. You must like our facebook page
  3. Posts must contain the hashtag #gyalsforimpact
  4. The deadline is Thursday, November 5, 2015, and the winners will be announced shortly thereafter.
  5. If you’ve already purchased a ticket, no worries. If you win, we’ll either give you a full refund or you can give your spare ticket to someone you really like.
  6. No purchase is necessary to win.

We look forward to seeing your posts. Good luck!

Gyals Creating Change

We are excited to bring you a series we call Gyals Creating Change where we will occasionally showcase female pioneers making an impact in their communities. Our goal is to support their work and empower you Gyals to support them too. Our first Gyal Creating Change is the Karen Fleshman (www.karenfleshman.com), a sought after public speaker who's mission is to dismantle systemic racism. Prior to starting her consulting practice in the Bay Area, Karen was a founding team member of Year Up New York, where between 2007 and 2012 she led a fundraising team that fueled its growth from serving 27 students a year to 270 students a year. Previously, she served in the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations in the City of New York Department of Youth and Community Development in a variety of capacities, including Assistant General Counsel and Director of Internal Review. She is a cofounder of Citizenship NYC, a city service that assisted 50,000 New Yorkers to apply for naturalization, and of Ladders for Leaders, a city service that connects low-income high school students to corporate internships and college. Karen began her professional career as an immigrant community organizer in Austin, Texas.

Karen has now partnered with Dr. Dionne Wright Poulton, and Dr. Verenice Gutierrez to create trispectives, a training consulting group focused on making workplaces more diverse, inclusive, and engaged. Come out to their first joint engagement on October 26 at General Assembly in San Francisco. More details in the link below:
https://generalassemb.ly/…/exploring-in…/san-francisco/18072

Are you a Gyal Creating Change? If so please visit the GCC section above and tell us about yourself!

Gyals Creating Change

We are excited to bring you a series we call Gyals Creating Change where we will showcase female pioneers making an impact in their communities. Our goal is to support their work and empower you to support them too.   Are you a Gyal Creating Change?  If so, please fill out the form below for a possible feature.  We will contact you if you are selected. 

Thank you - GGN Team