In September, the PayUp Fashion movement published a manifesto of 7 actions, co-created by garment workers, union leaders, and activists, that offer a framework that could revolutionize garment manufacturing from the top down. Action 2 of the demands is to Keep Workers Safe.

In recent months, global outrage over the discovery that Turkic-speaking Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region have been forcibly involved in creating textiles for major fashion retailers around the world has highlighted the very reason why transparency is crucial for the future of the industry.

“Made in America” was once synonymous with fair wages, decent working conditions and quality clothing, but for garment workers in Los Angeles, the heart of domestic clothing manufacturing, that’s no longer a given. It may have taken a global pandemic, but the misconception that fast fashion brands only exploit garment workers in far-flung countries has finally been shattered.