Victoria group campaigns for fair wages for Cowichan sweater knitters
CTV
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 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.
