Sweatshirt Ford Dagenham Women's Strike

The June 2024 design celebrates the women workers at Ford’s Dagenham plant in England who walked out on strike for equal pay with male workers on 7 June 1968. The women, who sewed car seats, were classified as "unskilled", while men working at the same or similar jobs were classified as "skilled", and so were paid at a higher rate. All 187 women walked out, but even though the thousands of men in the plant remained at work, car production was brought to a complete standstill. Around 200 women at another UK Ford factory walked out in support. Initially, Ford refused to negotiate. One of the workers, Eileen Pullen, later recounted to the Guardian: "Some of the men said: 'Good for you girl', but others said: 'Get back to work, you're only doing it for pin money'… But our wages weren't for pin money, they were to help with the cost of living, to pay your mortgage and help pay all your bills. It wasn't pocket money. No woman would go out to work just for pocket money, would she? Not if she's got a family". After three weeks, the strikers eventually agreed to return to work for 92% of the men’s wages (up from 85%) in a deal brokered by the government. The strike was the key reason for the Equal Pay Act of 1970, although nominal pay equality at Ford was only achieved after a later strike in 1984.

The June 2024 design was done by Scotland-based labor activist and cartoonist Jamie-Max Caldwell. It is a take on a photograph of the women with their banner declaring "We want sex equality" partially unfurled so that only "We want sex" was visible. The photograph was published by a newspaper deliberately trying to disparage or ridicule the women. This couldn't stop the women Ford machinists of 1968 though as they kept strong, stuck together, and thus helped improve the conditions not just for themselves but for women across the country.

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Brand: Stanley & Stella

Material: 100 percent organic cotton

Printing and Finishing: High quality skin and ecofriendly print, direct-to-garment (DTG) or direct-to-film (DTF), depending on design and textile.

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Please note on colours: Since every screen displays colours slightly differently and textiles may vary slightly depending on the batch and material, minor colour deviations between the product image and the delivered item are possible. This is completely normal when printing on fabric and does not constitute a defect.

Please note: If, in exceptional cases, your size or colour is not available, we reserve the right to send you an alternative organic textile of equivalent material quality from another Fair Wear Foundation member company.

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Product Safety (GPSR)

This product complies with the requirements of the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR – Regulation (EU) 2023/988).

Responsible person (EU): Anton Wundrak Mantovanini, dna merch | Solidarische Textilien, Richardstr. 60, 12055 Berlin, E-Mail

For questions regarding product safety, please contact the person named above.