These Clothes Can Actually Help Haiti

by Te-Ping Chen · 2010-02-17 07:19:00 UTC
Topics:

Following the apparent modern axiom that there is no crisis so deep that it can't also be made fashionable, an abundance of earthquake-themed T-shirts are now being sold. There's the "To Haiti, With Love" shirt, which retails for $25, a selection of "Save Haiti" tees (super-soft, slim-fitting) available, the Lady Gaga tee, and many more.

It's hard to fit the worst natural disaster since World War II on a T-shirt. But what if there was some article of clothing out there whose purchase would do more than kick a few dollars toward an aid agency, and actually help rebuild Haiti's economy?

If that article exists, it's probably not "To Haiti, With Love," which, as it turns out, was sewn in El Salvador.

Prior to the Jan. 12 earthquake, Haiti's clothing sector accounted for about 75% of the country's exports, and employed over 25,000 people -- down from a peak in the mid-1980s, when a spate of political instability decimated the industry. Likewise with the earthquake, the industry has taken a hit, but in tandem with agricultural investment outside of Port-au-Prince, remains a key part of Haiti's longer-term economic strategy. Already, the groundwork has been laid: currently, the country has duty-free access to the U.S. market under the HOPE (Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement) Act, as well as other legislation.

The president of Multitex, the Sirius Group's apparel division, reports that at the moment, there are just 12 companies that source their products from Haiti. If you could multiple that number to 50, as he says, "we could create thousands of jobs." Accordingly, the White House is asking U.S. clothing manufacturers to help with Haiti's reconstruction by importing 1% of their clothing production from the country. It's not a lot, but the hope is that the move will help kick-start investment to help get Haitian factories back on their feet.

Since the quake, a virtual wave of donated U.S. garments have flooded Haiti: packaged socks, undergarments, and -- in the wake of the Colts' Super Bowl loss -- $2 million worth of Colts-themed hats and tees. But when it comes to building up Haiti's prospects, for the apparel-minded, the better motto would be to "Buy Haitian," instead.

Photo Credit: peyri

Te-Ping Chen Te-Ping Chen is a freelance writer and U.S. Truman Scholar whose writing has appeared in the Nation Magazine, the South China Morning Post magazine, Le Soir, and Slate.com.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Interact with the Mapping of Crisis and Response
NEXT STORY:
Campaign about Apple Factories in China Gains Wide and Diverse Support

COMMENTS (0)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.