This Friday, 24th April, is Fashion Revolution Day. It is an annual event to commemorate the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh 2 years ago.
Fashion Revolution is a campaign to change the fashion industry into a ‘force for good’, which means that clothes and accessories are made by people who are paid fairly in safe working conditions..surely this is a pretty basic ask in 2015, you would think? Not so, sadly – and the Rana Plaza incident is proof.
Carry Somers, Fashion Revolution co-founder said: “When everything in the fashion industry is focused on making a profit, human rights, the environment and worker’s rights get lost. This has got to stop and we plan to mobilize people around the world to ask questions. Find out. Do something. Buying is only the last click in a long journey involving hundreds of people: the invisible workforce behind the clothes we wear. We no longer know the people who made our clothes so therefore it is easy to turn a blind eye and as a result, millions of people are suffering, even dying.”
Orsolade Castro, co-founder said: “Fashion Revolution is about building a future where an accident like this never happens again. We believe knowing who made our clothes is the first step in transforming the fashion industry. Knowing who made our clothes requires transparency, and this implies openness, honesty, communication and accountability. It’s about re-connecting broken links and celebrating the relationship between shoppers and the people who make our clothes, shoes, accessories and jewellery –all the things we call fashion.”
#whomademyclothes is the official hashtag for the day and Fashion Revolution are asking people to turn their clothes inside out and ask retailers the big question.
We’ll be doing that (a great excuse to show off our reversible bags!) and have made a video of some of the people behind the SAHEL Design label, and what it means for them to be a part of our brand.