As we step into a season filled with gratitude and gatherings, author Peyton H. Roberts invites us to pause and look a little deeper at the stories stitched into our everyday lives. In today’s guest post, she shares how one unforgettable Thanksgiving—marked not by turkey and pie, but by heartbreaking headlines from halfway around the world—became the spark behind her women’s fiction novel Beneath the Seams. Her reflection challenges us to consider how faith shapes even our smallest choices, including the ones hanging in our closets.
Somehow another Thanksgiving week is upon us. I am sure you, like me, enjoy this special time to gather with family and friends, thanking God for the blessings in our lives.
Usually, the food-centric holiday comes and goes in a blur of side dishes and pies. But one Thanksgiving weekend had an enduring impact on me and sparked the idea for my novel, Beneath the Seams.
On November 24, 2012, as Americans wrapped up their Black Friday shopping, a horrible fire erupted at a garment factory in Bangladesh. Hundreds of workers—mostly women—were injured and killed in the fire while sewing clothes for several well-known American retailers.
As Thanksgiving turned into Advent Sunday, I couldn’t get those headlines or the fiery images out of my head. My husband and I had just moved back to the States after two years living overseas in Guam, so this part of the world didn’t feel so far away. I couldn’t believe that in 2012, people were literally dying making clothing, all while Americans were feasting and shopping. It further bothered me that no one around me had even heard about the fire.
Heading into Christmas, the tragedy forced me to ask hard questions about my shopping habits. Who was making the things I was buying? Were my purchases reflecting the values I professed to have as a follower of Christ? Were my seemingly innocent shopping trips endangering workers overseas?
Having grown up sewing many of my own clothes, I sensed the Holy Spirit nudging me to seek answers to these complex questions and to explore this tension by writing through it. And so sparked the idea for Beneath the Seams, a fictional story about the people who make our clothes.
One of the daunting but crucial aspects of writing Beneath the Seams was incorporating the true stories of women who make our clothing overseas. Informing the story are personal interviews and first-person testimonials from experts and advocacy groups that strive to improve the working conditions at garment factories.
Along the way, I learned some shocking things about how our clothes are made. Here is a short recap of some takeaways:
- Despite the era of automation, clothing production is still done almost completely by humans using sewing machines and hand-stitching.
- Conditions at garment factories overseas vary widely. Some factories provide ethical and safe working conditions, including childcare and health care for workers. Other factories pay well below minimum wage, require large amounts of overtime, and do not allow workers to take breaks.
- Due to multiple layers of subcontracting, it can be nearly impossible to track down details about which overseas factories your favorite clothing brand is using.
- According to the nonprofit Remake, it is estimated that enough clothing currently exists in the world to dress the next six generations.
The good news is, there are simple steps we can take to be more thoughtful consumers during the holidays and throughout the year.
- Shop at companies that are transparent about where and how their clothing is made. In general, if a brand (clothing or any item) isn’t openly sharing on their website how sustainable/ethical production of their goods and services, they are probably cutting corners overseas that harm workers and the environment.
- Whenever possible, buy used. This reduces demand on the earth’s resources to create new things that have limited usage and keeps existing items circulating longer.
- Limit purchases of new holiday clothing, accessories, and decorations, which are only used/worn a few weeks a year.
- Treat friends and family members to special meals and experiences. Does anyone really need more stuff anyways?
- In general, buy less, repurpose what you already have, and shift your sights away from physical objects to quality time with people you care about.
If the hidden secrets behind clothing production interest you, I invite you to read Beneath the Seams. It’s the story of a dressmaker in Houston named Shelby who unknowingly collides with the dark side of the fashion industry.
Due to the complexity of the story, which is based on true events, it took more than two years to research and write. The effort has been worth it to hear from readers who, like me, have completely transformed their shopping habits. And I know it’s the work of the Holy Spirit when I hear from book clubs that Beneath the Seams sparked one of their most engaging book discussions yet.
The beginning of the holiday season is a great opportunity to look around your closet and your life and assess your personal shopping choices. My hope isn’t to add pressure to your holiday to-do list, but to offer this gentle invitation: let the Holy Spirit guide even the smallest choices.
When kindness, goodness, and self-control lead the way, our lives tell a story that points to Christ. That can make all the difference—in our hearts and throughout the world.
As a creative writer and combat veteran spouse, Peyton H. Roberts writes fiction and nonfiction about love that goes the distance. Her stories have appeared in The New York Times, Modern Love Podcast, Newsweek, Publisher’s Weekly, and more. Peyton’s social impact novel Beneath the Seams (Scrivenings Press, 2021) debuted to five-star reviews as an Amazon #1 new release and was selected as book club picks by Military Families Magazine and Kitabe Club, a nonprofit literary organization in India.
In celebration of her husband’s retirement from the Navy, Peyton’s family is currently on a yearlong RV road trip to national parks while homeschooling their 6th and 3rd graders. Connect with Peyton through her road trip blog and on Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram, as well as her website, where readers can find conscious fashion tips and a detailed discussion guide for book clubs.
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