A Private Prison Is Rehabilitating Female Prisoners By Having Them Make High-End Designer Items

One of Britain’s largest private jails is home to a number of prisoners that have a hand in the production of some of the most high fashion designer labels. The female inmates at this notorious prison even get paid for their service and the new skill can even help when they are released from prison.

The practice of these female prisoners creating these outrageously expensive fashion items is being questioned for its transparency, but the company in charge was established for the sole purpose of helping prisoners to have gainful employment and an actual skill once they leave the prison system.

Blue Sky Inside is the subsidiary of a multimillion-pound social enterprise known as Blue Sky whose 2005 establishment stipulated that the company’s goal is to help offenders get back into employment. Blue Sky Inside operates the project, known as Stitch in Time, out of the prison in correlation with the outsourcing company Sodexo, which runs the prison.

Female Prisoners Are Making Designer Items In A Private Prison https://t.co/6hGDaphIho

— Alan White (@aljwhite) January 17, 2016

The fact that brands like Brora and Sue Bonham work with the female prisoners of HMP Bronzefield, Surrey, is public knowledge and so too is the fact that male prisoners from HMP High Down are currently working on making an ET Games board game. The evidence that the project, which is paying the females each week, is having a positive impact on the hopes that the prisoners can be rehabilitated is available in abundance.

Brora is another company thought to work with the prisoners since one of their employees is quoted on the Blue Sky website. Over 8,000 jewellery bags have been commissioned by them through the project. One designer who publicly supports her use of the program is Anya Hindmarch. Anya Hindmarch handbags can cost consumers anywhere up to £2,700 and their tiny purses sell for £195. The designer is so popular that even the black and white protective cotton dustbags that the handbags come packed in have become their own fashion accessories and statement and all her items are heavily sought.

According to The Sun, the dust-bags have been sold individually on eBay regularly for up to £50, and in 2007, the site actually sold one of the Hindmarch black and white dust-bags for £225 from a private seller. Based on the sheer expense of her items, the designer came under fire late last year when it was discovered that the female prisoners making the bags were only being paid £9.60 per week.

Blue Sky was quick to point out however that it is not responsible for setting prison wages, The National Offenders Management Service (NOMS) does that, and all the prisoners who participate in their project are actually making more than the average weekly wage. One spokesperson for Anya Hindmarch actually stated that only a small amount of their protective cotton bags are produced by Blue Sky Inside and it actually costs them more to outsource the production. What keeps them using the service is the knowledge that “the project making a real difference to women trying to get their lives back on track.”

“Women working on this scheme are more likely to secure employment on release having learned new skills and gained experience for their CVs. We feel this is ‘women supporting women’ and encourage other companies to participate in schemes which promote better outcomes for offenders.”

Buzzfeed News quoted Blue Sky Inside’s annual accounts and it showed that the company employs 144 prisoners, and approximately 32 percent of the prisoners that it supported moved into paid employment once their sentences ended.

The managing director of Blue Sky, Kate Markey, also advised that “women who have worked at Blue Sky Inside are three times as likely to find work or volunteer opportunities when they leave prison.” The project also “provides QCF Levels 1 & 2 in Fashion Techniques” as well as other skills and even supports the women upon their release by providing a grant program that helps resettle the women and gives them access to mentors.

Markey also went on to state that the partnerships with the commercial entities is critical in their aim to rehabilitate the female prisoners.

“To date Blue Sky has employed 1,150 ex-offenders with commercial partners and over 40% of them to get jobs afterwards. The Ministry of Justice found that Blue Sky’s approach can reduce re-offending by up to 23%. This is one of the highest scores recorded.”

[Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia]