The Social Journal

Afghan Women’s Sewing Circle - since early February we began offering free sewing classes in Blacktown for a group of 20 Afghan women who arrived in Sydney late last year. This project has come together through partnerships with community leaders, the Afghan Community Support Association (ACSA) and CORE Community Services.

After all the restrictions on 2021, we are beyond thrilled to be running four brand new community programs and the Afghan Women’s Sewing Circle is one especially close to our hearts! The classes came about when a community leader – Hogai contacted us, asking if we could help support this group of recently arrived women, some of whom have tailoring experience.

We jumped at the chance to work together looping in a couple of other partner organisations to support with access to a community hall, nearby to the Blacktown Mosque (thanks ACSA!) and sewing machines (thanks CORE!) with The Social Outfit providing our projects team and two sewing trainers, including our Production Manager Joucelen and Marzia, one of our Afghan Sewing Technicians.

In consultation with the community, we have developed an 8-week program that would be easily accessible for the women, designed to offer free sewing classes to support social connectedness and contribute to a more positive settlement experience, while teaching basic textile construction and sewing.

The group bring a diverse range of skills with some of the women learning to use a sewing machine for the first time, some are learning to cut and others are using the time to develop and work on their own projects with resources and support from our team.

These weekly classes offer a stepping stone with pathways to build and consolidate skills suited to women interested in furthering their abilities in sewing with a view to progressing into TSO's earn and learn programs and growing their experience in textile manufacturing.

Marzia, who arrived from Afghanistan four years ago is assisting Joss with the classes. She says, “I feel very good for us to support these women because they need help. They need everything because Australia is a new country for them. Some of them know each other and are staying in the same hotel and they can bring their children with them because we have childcare. My job is to help them learn, some of them don't know how to thread a sewing machine so I will help them and when they don't know the name of something like a bobbin, I can translate.”

Joss shares, “The experience has been challenging but very fulfilling. It’s amazing to see these women who’ve come from such a volatile environment, take pleasure in making themselves a new garment. We’re working with absolute beginners all the way through to skilled tailors. Everyone needs a different kind of support, but we’re working with them to help realise their vision for what they each want to make.”

We’re providing fabrics and trims to the women and are looking to source some domestic machines to donate to them so they can work on their projects at home. If you have a machine you are no longer using please get in touch by emailing us at info@thesocialoutfit.org!

Last week The Social Outfit Retail Trainees went on an excursion with THE UPSIDE. CEO Paul Burdekin and his passionate and energetic team offered our young retail trainees a day of work experience in their business including in retail, design, production and even the accounting department...

As 2021 draws to a close, I can’t help but feel relieved in the hope that the new year will be one presenting us all with less challenges.

But I also feel enormously grateful.

I am grateful to The Social Outfit’s passionate, dedicated and hard working team. A team that doubled down in its efforts while more than half of the sewing staff was stuck in LGAs of concerns (hey Joss I’m looking at you) that did not shy away from starring on national TV (wink wink Nat and Raja) did not leave one fundraising stone unturned (well done Kate!), and continued to grow our presence online (yeah Tim) while we danced away our blues on ISO-Breakers (ola Mariam) which saw us deliver a variety of online classes attended by over 100 students from refugee backgrounds.

I am grateful to The Social Outfit’s Board for their continued guidance and advice, helping us keep our eyes on impact and not get lost in the minutia of the daily hiccups.

I am grateful to our fashion industry partners who helped us pull off the best photo-shoot yet (what stars you are, PSP and Diego), showered us with large donations of fabric (shout out to latest donor Camilla & Marc) and helped us save more fabric than ever from land-fill (cheers to MAAS and the iconic Linda Jackson for enabling us to engage 13 women in an Earn & Learn program to manufacture limited-edition tote bags.)

I am grateful to our customers for their purchases - without sales a fashion label wouldn’t survive - but also for their constant cheering us on, their feedback and joyous participation in our community events.

And I am grateful also to the many supporters of our work, spanning from the Atlassian team, to the Atomic 212 team, to Rahul at Citizen Wolf, to Steph & Mark at Publisher Textiles, to the numerous interns, volunteers, artists, models… it takes a village doesn’t it?

I am further grateful to our donors, those who participated in our Wear The Change crowdfunding efforts, and the philanthropic foundations who continue to believe in our work, as well as new donors who choose to fund us, between a variety of worthy non-profits (but yes, we are indeed the most colourful!).

Most of all, I am grateful to our community of refugee and new migrant women who have been teaching me about resilience in the face of any and all challenges. They have shown us how to keep hopeful even when we were about to lose hope. This past year has been hard for everyone but for no group has it been harder than for our Afghan friends.

And while a part of me wishes for a COVID free 2022, my biggest wish is for 2022 to bring change to Afghanistan and to provide Afghans in Australia and elsewhere the assurance their loved one are safe and allowed to be reunited with their families and friends.

Thank you to The Social Outfit community for keeping it real, keeping it creative and making a significant impact to so many lives.

Cheers to the holidays and to a 2022 filled with health and happiness.

Yours sincerely,

Camilla

Last week our latest group of retail trainees graduated from the Retail Training Program...

When it comes to shopping for the holidays, we're of the opinion that preparation is key!⁣
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That's why we wanted to let you know ahead of time the dates we can ship by and still get your gorgeous ethical gifts to where they need to be.

We've got gorgeous jewellery, perfect purses and all manner of stocking fillers available in-store and online for that special person!⁣

If we have your item in stock at our shop, we are able to ship express up until Sunday December 19 and it should arrive in time for Christmas as per Australia Post's guidelines. If you're not sure whether your item is in stock , please feel free to give our store a call or send us an email and we'll happily confirm whether your item is in stock for you!⁣
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However, if your order is not in stock at our shop and needs to be produced, please order express shipping by COB Wednesday December 15th if you're looking to put something Social Outfit under the tree this Christmas, or regular shipping by COB Sunday December 8th.

Please note that we are no longer able to guarantee delivery by the 25th if you are shipping to/from WA or NT as per Australia Post's guidelines.⁣
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Please note that orders over $250 qualify for free REGULAR post. If you require your order to come before Christmas, please note the above date and nominate express shipping at checkout.

You can find more information at Australia Post: https://auspost.com.au/sending/christmas-sending-dates

It might seem like déjà vu, but that doesn't mean we're any less joyful to announce that we are re-opening our Newtown shopfront to fully vaccinated customers from Saturday, 16 October!

It's been a tricky and challenging lockdown, but the team has been working away in the (socially distanced and COVID-safe) workroom to bring you a whole variety of beautiful new products.

The health and safety of our staff, our community and our supporters is the most important thing for us - that's why all staff in the store will be fully vaccinated and wearing a mask, so we ask that you help us by following all of the current regulation set out by the NSW Government. Supporters that visit the store will need to provide proof of vaccination and check in at the door, and masks are mandatory within the shop (we've got our own gorgeous reusable ones if you're looking for some!) 

We'll be doing a soft re-open on Saturday, 16 October & Sunday, 17 October. We'll be closed during the week (18th Oct - 22nd Oct), but will be open with our regular trading hours from Saturday 23rd October! Check out the re-opening schedule below for more info.

We can't wait to have you back in the store and amongst all the beautiful clothing that our wonderful refugee and new migrant sewing technicians have been working on. If you can't make it into the store - fear not, you can get your ethical shopping fix online!

Re-opening Schedule

Satuday, 16 October: 10AM - 6PM

Sunday, 17 October: 11AM - 5PM

Monday, 18 October - Friday, 22 October: CLOSED

From 23 October, trading hours will resume as usual.

Satuday, 23 October: 10AM - 6PM

Sunday, 24 October: 11AM - 5PM

Monday, 25 October: 11AM - 5PM

Tuesday, 26 October: CLOSED

Wednesday, 27 October: 10AM - 6PM

Thursday, 28 October: 11AM - 7PM

Friday, 29 October: 10AM - 6PM

TO: The Hon. Scott Morrison, MP Prime Minister of Australia

FROM: The Australian Fashion Industry

Dear Prime Minister,

As members of the Australian fashion and textile industry, we, the 52 companies listed below, write to express our deep concern for the evolving situation in Afghanistan and to call on the Australian Government to urgently increase its efforts to resettle Afghan refugees.

The fashion and textile industry represents an important sector of the Australian economy having contributed more than $27.2 billion to Australia’s economy last year.

As a sector, we stand ready to support refugees from Afghanistan to build safe and fulfilling lives in Australia. This is something we have done before. Australia has a long tradition of responding decisively and generously to humanitarian crises, as demonstrated by special intakes of Albanian Kosovars in 1999 and Vietnamese refugees following the Vietnam war as well as more recently, with the intake of refugees from Syria and Iraq. Numerous members of these communities have been employed by the Australian fashion sector, especially in manufacturing. We can do it again.

Fashion labels such as The Social Outfit have made it their raison d'être to train and employ refugees to put them on a path to successful integration and the Australian fashion and textile industry is committed to continue supporting this work.

The enormity of the present crisis and the threat it poses to life and freedom cannot be underestimated and warrants a similar increased humanitarian intake as has been extended in previous crises. This has been recognised by Canada and the United Kingdom with each committing to taking 20,000 Afghan refugees.

In addition, it is critical that family reunion, especially for immediate family, be prioritised and urgently expedited. There are many Australian residents and citizens with immediate family in Afghanistan. Many of them are employed in our sector and we have seen first-hand how settlement cannot be achieved without family reunion. The current situation calls for a renewed action in facilitating family reunion.

Further, all Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in Australia must be granted permanent protection in light of the changed circumstances in Afghanistan. These individuals will not be able to return to Afghanistan with the Taliban in power. Given they are likely to be in Australia indefinitely, they should be granted permanency as this is critical in being able to fully participate and contribute to life in Australia.

In closing, we wish to reiterate to the government our willingness to support all Afghans seeking safety in Australia, and our readiness to support Australia in increasing its humanitarian commitment to the people of Afghanistan.

Signed, 

AC Official

AWPR

Albertini

Algorithm Designed

Artisans of Fashion

Aurelio Costarella

Australian Fashion Council

BJs PJs

Bianca Spender

Citizen Wolf

Cloth and Co

Compuknit

Corban & Blair

Doodad and Fandango

Dorsu

Double Rainbouu

Electric Collective

Eloise Rapp

Gary Bigeni

Ginger and Smart

Gogos

Isadora Nim

Jillian Boustred

Juju and Co

Kit X

Lisa Barron

Luna and Sun

MORE BODY

Manning Cartell

Meri Fatin

Mighty Good

New Romantic

Ngali

Nique

Orche Revival

Outland Denim

Peter Simon Phillips 

Publisher Textiles

Romance was Born

Sam Bags

Shona Joy

Showroom X

Soxy Beast

The Common Good

The Social Outfit

The Upside

The Very Good Bra

Thread Together

Timbuktu

Tommie

Victoria Buckley

Witchery

#WeWearAustralian was born from a need to create a sense of commitment to our community, unite the Australian fashion industry and in the process uplift local Australians in need. 

Ethical, sustainable and local production sits at the heart of everything we do at The Social Outfit. The on-going pandemic deeply impacted the our local fashion industry and the brands that have committed to employing and supporting Australians. #WeWearAustralian is a rallying cry of support for our community that needs your support right now.

All of our garments are produced right in the heart of the inner-west of Sydney in our on-site Newtown workroom. Our garments are crafted by refugee and new migrant women that we support and empower through employment.

By supporting brands that manufacture locally just like us, you're ensuring that sewing technicians and makers, many of them women, are and will continue to be employed during this difficult time. 

The campaign asks - as do we - of the Australian public to back Australian made, to support local employment and production, to look to local industry for inspiration and use your money to make a difference!

If you'd like to find out more, click here.

And the best way you can support us? By buying our wonderful ethically made products - created on-site by refugee and new migrant sewing technicians, of course!

By purchasing our gorgeous garments and accessories, you provide us with the means to support, employ and upskill more women just like our Retail Trainees and Sewing Technicians.

Click here to shop some of our incredible garments, all locally and ethically made in Newtown.