Today, April 24, marks two years since the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing over 1000 workers and injuring 2500 more.
Rather than rehashing old content, you can read more about the collapse, my response to it, and the response of the fashion industry generally in this post I wrote on Fashion Revolution Day 2014 and in this piece I recently wrote for The Ethical Consumer.
In summary: use your power as a consumer in the form of your voice and/or your money to encourage global fashion retailers to change their ways and stop making profit at the expense of the safety and dignity of the world’s poorest people. The simplest way to do this? Ask them #whomademyclothes to demand transparency; and, to demand accountability, tell them that you care about the conditions of the workers who make your clothes.
Want to use your voice?
I’ve put together a TEMPLATE LETTER for you to send to the major retailers (or simply copy the text into the contact boxes on their websites):
- Just Group – Portmans, Just Jeans, Peter Alexander, Dotti. (Pssst… the Just Jeans Group still haven’t signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh to agree to more rigorous standards following the Rana Plaza collapse.)
- Zara
- Topshop
- H&M
- Forever New
- Cotton On
- Lorna Jane
- Forever 21
- Mango
- Gap
- New Look
- Primark
- ASOS (ASOS are already on their way with the Green Room but still have room for improvement with the rest of their range)
- Target
- Walmart
Want to use your money? Why not take advantage of some of the Fashion Revolution sales on TODAY and use your money to support an ethical brand?
Want to read some other perspectives and learn more? Read:
- this blog from Fairtrade Australia, with a link to the 2015 Fashion Report by Baptist World Aid, which finds a staggering 91% of clothing companies do not know where their cotton comes from.
- this blog by Elizabeth (The Note Passer) (and her roundup of blog posts about Fashion Revolution written by other ethical fashion bloggers)
- this blog by Johanne (Bedremode) including another template for a letter you can send to brands to ask #wherearemyclothesmade?
I’m excited to be part of change in the fashion industry. Let’s start a Fashion Revolution!
Yours Fairly,
Ashlee
