Sheridan Wilbur

In 2018 Sheridan worked in the clothing and textile industry in Cape Town at the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU). She documented the lives of two dozen shop stewards and garment workers across local factories in Cape Town. These oral histories were published digitally as an educational resource for new hires. 

As the industry faced job losses from imports and globalization, she was a part of the research team that compiled the largest database of procurement in South African history. Together they established the number of locally grown, produced and manufactured clothing compared to what was officially reported. Their data was used in national collective bargaining meetings and repurposed in SA’s major news outlets. 

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