Project Pieta is an ethical brand…made in prison. It’s not what you think! Read on to see why
By Chere Di Boscio
It all started with compassion.
Writer, designer, and artist Thomas had always felt a lot of compassion for prisoners. He understood they, like the general population, were comprised of people who were ‘good’, but down on their luck, and ‘dark’ characters too. He knew that the hardened criminals on the inside were often no different than certain CEOs and politicians on the outside, and was also aware that many innocent people were incarcerated due to human error, bad luck and poor lawyers.
So, he invited his friend’s theatre troop to show their play in the Castro Castro prison of Peru, to entertain the men locked up there. He got to know some of the prisoners and was impressed by how kind and gentle many of them seemed. He noted that they had access to sewing machines to make clothing for themselves, and got an idea: why not keep the prisoners busy by involving them in the creation of a new brand? After getting the OK from the prison’s Heads, Project Pieta was born.
Unique Designs, Made In Prison
The brand works with three prisons (2 men’s and 1 women’s) to create unisex hoodies, T-shirts, shoes and accessories with a prison theme, like knuckle duster and gun shaped purses and T-shirts that are hand-embroidered with words like ‘Notre Dame de la Haine’ (our Lady of Hate), ‘I AM a MAN’, alpaca sweaters and other rather macho slogans. The brand boasts ‘no logo, no tag, no sizes’ and says the designs may be a bit hard, but they are inspired by the hard lives of those on the inside.
The Project not only pays prisoners for their work, but for every day they work, their sentences are reduced by a day. And perhaps best of all, creating this clothing gives them a sense of self-worth and kills the boredom and monotony that prisoners suffer from every day.
But what if your purchase is helping some mad axe-murder reduce his sentence? Thomas explains this is not the case: prisoners who are given access to things like needles and scissors are not the most violent, and besides he says, there are actually surprising numbers of innocent people who have been incarcerated in Peru.
The Project not only pays prisoners for their work, but for every day they work, their sentences are reduced by a day. And perhaps best of all, creating this clothing gives them a sense of self-worth and kills the boredom and monotony that prisoners suffer from every day.
Friendships Made
- Our Top 10+ Natural Toothpastes - March 27, 2024
- Why LED Light Therapy Skincare Works - March 21, 2024
- 10 Places To Rent Designer Clothes - March 15, 2024
This sounds like a unique and inspiring project. I admire the idea of giving prisoners a project and a goal to utilize their skills. I think it’s a great way to encourage their confidence and give them other options to pursue once their out of their current situation.