Fashion Revolution Week 2021 (April 19th – April 25th) is a change-driven campaign that uses the power of mobilization to uplift garment workers.
The collapse of Rana Plaza eight years ago uncovered the dark side of the fashion industry. The collapse of this large garment factory located in Bangladesh’s capital killed over 1,132 garment workers and injured over 2,500.
To blame for this accident was a persistent ignorance of building code violations and mismanagement of the building, which housed five garment factories and was the center of production for many companies, like: The Children’s Place, Mango, Primark, Walmart, and J.C. Penny.
The perils of the fashion industry do not stop at infrastructural flaws and factory owners failing to heed warnings. Something more pernicious underlies these kinds of accidents- a lack of care for garment workers and a relentless pursuit of profit.
Fashion Revolution emerged as an organization with the aim of uplifting garment workers all over the world and highlighting the many social injustices that exist within the fashion industry.
Make a Difference This Fashion Revolution Week
You don’t have to consider yourself an ‘activist’ in order to make a difference.
Below, I’m outlining some ways you can advocate for garment workers- this week and beyond.
Divest from Unethical Fashion Brands
If breaking up with fast fashion has been on your mind, this week is a wonderful week to finally wave fast fashion buh-BYE.
As consumers, we have the power to vote with our dollar. By divesting from brands that are involved with labor exploitation, you are reducing the demand that sustains and helps profit these brands (at the expense of their workers!).
If you have to buy clothing, consider second-hand or brands that value sustainability and ethical practices along their supply chains.
Education
The first step to making a change is recognizing the need for that change! Share educational resources with your friends and family and engage with them in conversations about worker exploitation in the fashion industry.
Below are some great articles/resources to share with people who are learning about this issue:
Put Pressure on Brands
As previously mentioned, consumers ultimately control corporations. Our demand (or lack thereof) for their products/services determines their very existence.
Though it may seem like your voice is a small force in comparison to the gargantuan size of many large, multi-national fashion brands, your voice DOES have power.
Call upon brands- through social media, direct letter writing, or email- to do better. Below are templates provided by Fashion Revolution that will help you do this with ease.
Fashion Revolution makes it SO easy to send emails out to brands. Just click this link and you will be sent to a page with the email addresses of various brands pre-filled… so you can just select and send!
Social Media
Comment on brands’ posts asking them #whomademyclothes . I love seeing the comment section of fast fashion brands flooded with comments like these, calling on the brands to be accountable to their customers and the people who make their clothes.
Support the efforts of Fashion Revolution by following their work on social media.
I hope you can engage with these materials and all the other amazing resources out there this Fashion Revolution Week. Thank you for reading this piece and caring about the planet and its people.
