Fashion Revolution Week

On the 24th of April in 2013, a building named ‘Rana Plaza’ collapsed in Bangladesh, because they were building two extra floors on top of it, illegally. 

The disaster caused 1133 people’s death and 2500 wounded, and there are still 200 people missing. These people lost their lives because their employers retailers were unwilling to invest in safe and healthy work environments. The real tragedy is that this loss of life could probably have been avoided if the workers had been evacuated in time. More than a day before the disaster, the cracks in the building were already clearly visible.

It became clear that urgent action was needed to tackle these unsafe factories and improve the employment situation of the millions of garment workers in Bangladesh - and of course other garment-producing countries such as China, India, and Cambodia.

As a counter-reaction to the indifference of these companies, the ‘Fashion Revolution Day’ was founded.

Seven years later, the textile factories are slightly safer, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The degrading conditions in which the workers have to work have not yet disappeared, not to mention the environmental impact of the polluting fashion industry. That is why Fashion Revolution Week was created. Every year, Fashion Revolution Week brings attention to this problem and is aiming to make consumers more aware. In addition, it puts pressure on brands; are they sustainable (enough)?

This year, Fashion Revolution Week will be held from April 19 to 25. Fashion Revolution stands for bringing an end to the exploitation of people and the environment in the global fashion industry. Making a shift from throwaway culture to a more sustainable system of material usage. Safe and dignified working conditions and a living income for all people in the supply chain.

#whomademyclothes

To ensure that we never forget such disasters as Rana Plaza, Fashion Revolution set up the campaign ‘’Who made my clothes?’’. This campaign wants to make a change in the fashion industry, by making consumers more conscious of where their clothing comes from, and more importantly: who made them. 

If you have been reading and buying sustainable fashion, chances are big you have spotted pictures of workers holding cardboard saying ‘I made your clothes’ in social media. Meaning: the 8 years of campaigning have shown off! These posts have mostly been created by brands, which are now ensuring that their garments are made in healthy working conditions with a fair living wage. 

What can you do?

1. Join the #whomademyclothes campaign
   Put on the garment of your favorite brand, and take a photo showing your clothing label. Post that photo to social media, tag the brand, and use the hashtag #whomademyclothes. A quick search on Instagram shows that more than 780,000 people preceded you. In addition, a new hashtag was launched last year: #whatsinmyclothes. In this way, you demand transparency from the fashion brands and you will find out who makes your clothes and which materials are used.

2. Contact the brand
   You can also email directly to a clothing brand: ask them for more transparency and to pay all workers a living wage. On www.fashionrevolution.org you can find a temple you can use. The more emails a brand receives, the more they are put under pressure to changes their processes.

3. Raise your voice on Social Media
   The more awareness is created, the more impact we’ll have. Fashion Revolution is asking people to especially post on Twitter. The template can be found on their website. 

Craving for more information about fast and sustainable fashion in general? As the current pandemic continues events are held digitally. This makes it even easier to join/attend.
In addition, extra attention is paid to purchasing policy in the fashion sector. Large retailers and clothing brands often only pay for their orders after delivery, so that the factory where the production takes place itself is responsible for purchasing the materials. In this crisis, it is more important than ever to put brands and retailers on the grid and demand that they pay for their orders. This year you can also draw attention to this specific problem with the hashtag #Payup.

How does Kleiderly contribute?

Besides producing plastic out of textile waste, Kleiderly contributes in the movement of sustainable fashion and spreading awareness by educating consumers and businesses in the form of blog posts, podcasts and speaking at events and universities.

Sources:

www.fashionrevolution.org
https://fashioninsiders.co/features/inspiration/who-made-my-clothes-movement/

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/manifesto/
https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_008075/lang--en/index.htm