Stage 7: Buying, Wearing, Returning
Where does this journey end?
When the parcel arrives?
Or when you decide what to do next with it?
At the front door? In the wardrobe? In the return bag?
Our city once grew rich from cotton, at the expense of other human beings. But Mancunions stood up and said no more.
Does "people over profit" mean the same to Mancunions today?
And then the journey reaches us.
Manchester grew rich through cotton. The city’s growth was, and is, deeply tied to a textile industry that relied on colonialism, transatlantic slavery and the forced labour of millions of enslaved people. That history matters here, because it reminds us that cheap cloth has never been cheap for everyone.
In Threads, the shirt finally reaches Charley’s door. But the story does not end there. The modern pressure point is not only the making of clothes, but the speed of buying them, returning them, forgetting them and replacing them. The doorstep is not the end of the journey. It is another turning point inside it.
Looking down at the clothes you are wearing...
Could you ask:
What was this fabric's life before being in my care?
What will this fabric's life be whilst in my care?
What will this fabric's life be once it leaves my care?
Many people here are already taking action.
Stitched Up is a grassroots Greater Manchester community benefit society helping people mend, swap, upcycle and keep clothes in use for longer.
This is our final t-shirt…
If you would like to explore all of the t-shirt locations, you can find the main navigation page for Threads here (link).