Proving that it’s possible to be fashionable and socially responsible, one Duke University alumna has taken a stand by launching School House, her own ethically produced clothing line.  Rachel Weeks, 26, visited the university on Friday, Sept. 4, hosting an informal meet-and-greet to publicize her new brand of ethical, collegiate clothing now sold in the Deacon Shop.  “I wanted to start a trendy line, more fashion influenced than typical collegiate lines,” Weeks said. “It’s not the same box lettered T-shirt for every school … We really try to get as involved as we can on the ground.”

The brand has also developed collections for Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State, East Carolina, Appalachian State and Yale, and it will soon expand to include Harvard.  Weeks and designer Colleen McCann, the company’s creative director, visit each school, see the sites and speak with students to find their inspiration for each collection.

The clothes aren’t the only thing that sets School House apart. Weeks’ goal is to support an ethical manufacturing process by implementing living wages, the minimum wage necessary for shelter, food and other basic needs.  “In addition to getting a great fitting product, you are supporting our living wage factory in Sri Lanka,” Weeks told one university student.

The brand’s first three orders, from Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and Wake Forest, allowed Weeks to open the factory and start production in January of this year.  The factory’s 55 employees earn at least $165 per month, two to three times as much as the wages that other manufacturers in Sri Lanka pay.

To establish a living wage pay structure, Weeks consulted with the Apparel Industry Labor Rights Movement, as well as a number of trade unions and labor rights organizations in Sri Lanka.  And she isn’t stopping there. Not only will she use School House’s new factory to promote living wages across the manufacturing industry, but she hopes to demonstrate employee-support in other ways.

“The women over there have continued to come up with ways to support the factory and help them,” Weeks said. “It can be as simple as English classes or learning how to work a computer.”

It’s no coincidence that Weeks works in an industry where women make up the majority of her consumers, as well as her employees. Since she graduated in 2007 with a major in women’s studies, Weeks has always expressed an interest in women’s issues.  Her honors thesis on the intersection of fashion, feminism and globalization led to a Fulbright fellowship, allowing her to continue research in Sri Lanka.

“I’ve seen a lot of societal problems through the lens of gender, and I always wanted to do something to help other women. But I also love clothes and fashion,” she said. “Those two always seemed to be at odds – well, until now.”  School House is a way in which Weeks can combine her interests, along with her entrepreneurial spirit. “It’s not kind of everything I am – it is everything I am,” Weeks said.

Weeks hopes that School House will continue to grow both in size, becoming a national collegiate apparel distributor, and in influence, demonstrating and supporting the shift toward ethical manufacturing practices.  Currently, the company is looking for brand representatives and student interns. “Nobody understands our market better than them,” Weeks said. Students interested in working at School House’s head office in Greensboro can contact Weeks at rachel@shopschoolhouse.com.