Outland Denim
Outland Denim’s Sienna ($239.9 RRP), Lucy ($229.9 RRP) and Harriet jeans ($199.9 RRP) are a few of the company’s best-selling pieces.
You may think that a pair of jeans is ordinary, but it is related to our environment, the gap between rich and poor, and even the destiny of a girl…
Australian sustainable fashion brand “Outland Denim” created a clean, bright training and production facility in Cambodia in 2016 to provide jobs for vulnerable girls who were forced into sex trafficking.
The founder of Outland Denim James Bartle said that he witnessed human traffickers forcing young girls into sex trafficking. Then he decided to create the “Denim Project” which produced jeans with the most ethnically and environmentally sound raw materials, from upcycled pocket linings to recycled packaging.
“If you were going to produce anything, why wouldn’t you produce the most staple part of a person’s wardrobe? Jeans aren’t a throw-away item, but something you keep for years.” Mr Bartle said. Outland Denim country manager Caleb Bjorem said it was challenging when he first started training the girls’ skills in Cambodia because of the language barrier and different cultural background.
Photo taken by Caitlin Duan.
“In Australia, if people do wrong things, they will admit their mistakes and actively correct them. However, due to Asian culture, they will be afraid of losing face by admitting their mistakes,” he said.
Outland Denim has brought significant changes to the lives of women in Cambodia, providing jobs and teaching them new skills to earn money for their families. A female worker Leakena in Cambodia said now she works for Outland Denim, she can take her children to school before work and she has time to spend with her family.
“Outland Denim has helped me a lot. When people buy jeans, it helps us and gives us more work, and when they say good things about our work, it makes us happy,” she said.
