Dispersing manufacturing jobs to marginalised communities
Paskho is a US fashion brand, founded by designer Patrick Robinson in 2015. Patrick had spent decades designing clothing for companies from Gap to Armani.
However, Patrick says, "I never wanted to create 'just another clothing brand' - I want Paskho to be a vehicle for meaningful change. building a more equitable landscape for all of us."
This has resulted in the concepts of 'walk lighter on the earth' and creating good jobs in marginalised communities.
'Walk lighter on the earth' is an answer to the question, "Could we create clothes that could actually do more for you and have more uses in your life than just the single use that a lot of clothes have?”. To that end, Paskho works diligently to be a sustainable brand. In 2019, 43% of fabrics used were reclaimed, and 85% of the company’s fabrics are vegan, meaning no animal products are used. Paskho also uses recycled paper shipping envelopes instead of plastic polybags, saving 8,000 kilograms of CO2.
On the jobs side, there is the 'Community-Made' initiative. Paskho has created a model that disperses well-paying jobs into communities that need them across the country. Makers work in pods - community-driven groups who work together or on their own time to create the clothing pieces in set locations.
in 2020, Paskho launched its first maker pod in New York City. The next year, another opened in Alabama, which has an average annual income per capita of $12,000 and a majority Black population. In 2022, a third pod opened on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, which has an unemployment rate as high as 80% in winter months.
The wages set by Paskho are well above the minimum wage. There is, of course, a training program. In one pod, six employees train daily with a professional tailor who has over 25 years of experience. They hire and train groups of six makers at a time, with a new intake every one to two months.
They plan to open two more maker pods this year.
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