Victoria group campaigns for fair wages for Cowichan sweater knitters
The knitters of a famous sweater designed on Vancouver Island make roughly $1 an hour, according to the Victoria Native Friendship Centre (VNFC), which is working to increase the knitters’ earnings.
The centre is striving to provide a fair wage to the people who make authentic Cowichan sweaters, which come from the Cowichan Tribes.
“They are wholesaling their sweaters for between $90 and $140 a sweater, which turns out to be about $1 an hour for the average knitter,” said VNFC executive director Ron Rice, pointing out the cost of labour and wool.
On Thursday evening, the friendship centre launched Knit, a website where people can buy authentic Cowichan sweaters made by local artists.
The centre buys the sweaters directly from Cowichan knitters for $500 each. They’re being sold for $895.
“We’re looking at using the proceeds to help design a curriculum for the knitters who want to become more entrepreneurial,” Rice said.
The curriculum will explore business planning, distribution and e-commerce.
“We think there will be knitters who want to… take more control over their individual retail sales,” he said.
By supporting local makers, Rice hopes to prevent cultural appropriation. The designs have previously been copied by several major retailers.
“If you can’t ask somebody who the knitter is, odds are it’s a knockoff,” Rice said.
“A lot of the stores who’ve been doing this for a long time have very deep relationships with their knitters and they can tell you which member of the family knit the sweater, which member of the family spun the wool.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.