My Book Comes Out in Two Months!

Here's a little more about it.

My book, Worn Out: How Our Clothes Cover Up Fashion’s Sins, comes out in exactly two months! It’s a wild feeling, because the journey to publishing this book has been a long one (and it’s not nearly finished).

The fashion industry is full of some of the most amazing creatives, but also some of the worst corporate behavior this world has. Millions of the people who make our clothes work in terrible factory conditions. They are constantly dealing with wage theft, and are often subjected to abuse. On top of that as consumers, our relationship with clothing has gotten toxic. We treat our clothes like they are disposable, and never acknowledge all the work and hands that had to touch it before it got to our closet.

I tried to address this a few ways in the book. For starters, I speak with the workers who have been impacted the most. They told me devastating stories of harassment, working hours without pay, and even being given toxic chemicals to use without any information about it. I also try to unpack how we got where we are, and how the more glamorous sides of the fashion industry have actively covered it up.

It’s not just a reported story about the fashion industry’s secrets, though. I also get into how I came to love fashion in the first place, and why I want it to be better.

I made a little video to explain it a bit more here.

If this interests you, you can pre-order your copy of Worn Out on Amazon, Target, Barnes and Noble, or Bookshop. It will come in hardcover with a gorgeous book jacket created by Emily Mahon and Alex Stikeleather. Alex hand-dyed and embroidered the fabric, then took a photo of it which is what you’ll see printed on each copy.

Thanks so much for your support! If you care about garment worker rights, I would encourage you to follow the Garment Worker Center and support them any way you can.

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Thank you for reading!!

This Stuff is a newsletter by me! fashion journalist, Alyssa Hardy. Three times a week, I unpack the ways our clothes impact the world through news, essays, interviews and more. Subscribe for free here and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.