The Delhimmas

You never really respect air until it slaps you in the face. Walking into the open Indian air, we quickly realized we were in for a surprise. You never really understand how the body is made up of 90% water until you see it escaping through every pore. India is a world totally unfamiliar to us, which leaves us yearning to experience and understand this new culture. Our senses are bombarded with sights and smells that leave us in a place of confusion, but with a greater desire to uncover what is unknown. Filling our nostrils with who knows what, the sun continues to hide above Delhi’s thick pollution. Swerving through cars, bikes, horses, tractors, motorcycles, and people, we have made it safely to each factory visit, seemingly by chance. From walking down aisles of department stores to walking down aisles of workers in assembly lines, our eyes have been opened to the other side of the supply chain.
We are blessed to have been able to meet with workers from four factories already, but it has been a lot to digest. Not knowing the language is one of our greatest barriers here. Unfortunately, Hindi and Punjabi are not languages you can learn in a few weeks. Language aside, though, we find ourselves engaging in the stories of the people who make our clothes. Many of our shirts say “made in India”, but what does this actually mean? From what context do our clothes come from? These were questions we found ourselves asking before coming here and are still seeking to address. But one thing is for sure: the people that produce our clothing are real. They each carry unique stories and aspirations. The process of getting to know these narratives has been intoxicating, and it brings us joy to play our part in promoting ethical sourcing.
Our qualitative research has been oriented around discovering more about workers’ lives and the ways in which Labor Link can help to reveal what workers deem important, in an effort to encourage corporations to meet workers’ needs. Obtaining this data can be hard and frustrating, especially with the language barrier, but we continue to push forward with the help of Good World Solutions employees.
Our time in Delhi is coming to a close. We’ve spent the last couple of days reflecting on our factory visits and gearing up for research in Bangalore. We continue to learn more about ethical sourcing and its many implications daily, and we can’t wait to further explore these issues in Southern India. New food, places, and people are waiting for us, and we’re excited to engage in a new realm of experiences.
More to come next week!

-Holly & Matt