We are already halfway through Fashion Revolution Week 2024, and it is bigger and better than ever before, marking the 10-year anniversary of the very first Fashion Revolution Week. Join us as we take a look at the current progress the organisation has made, as well as the challenges the fashion industry are still yet to overcome.
The movement was first created following the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza building in 2013, which killed 1,134 and injured almost 2,600 garment workers and citizens, many of which will still be affected today. The media attention this tragedy brought led to a huge focus on the many other unethical workplaces of garment workers and the lack of sufficient health and safety laws in this industry all over the globe.
A decade ago this month, the Fashion Revolution organisation emerged and has since helped bring these issues to light, encouraging companies to take accountability and be more transparent about their environmental impact and working conditions. Increasing pressures have led to numerous improvements in legislation for garment factories, but there is still a long way to go before Fashion Revolution’s mission is over.
This year the organisation stated that “systemic change is still too slow. The lack of progress in the face of an accelerating climate crisis, deepening social inequality, and environmental destruction is concerning”. They suggest that although there is a greater understanding of sustainability, many people are still uninformed about “human and environmental issues within the global fashion industry.”
In a survey carried out by Fashion Revolution, findings showed that 76% of the female garment workers they questioned in Cambodia stated they ‘rarely or only sometimes felt safe in their factory’, while 52% of questioned garment workers in Bangalore made ‘reports of verbal abuse in their workplace’.
Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), a woman-led trade union, are helping to fight against these problems. Their main goals for the industry include:
- “Transparency across garment supply chains.”
- “Global fashion brands to directly engage with Global South trade unions and labour rights organisations, as part of their due diligence processes, and also when there are labour violations.”
- “Living wages and decent working conditions for women textile workers.”
We asked TTCU if they believe these issues have improved over recent years. They said “Most of the improvements we are seeing – is with respect to greater environmental safety in the fashion supply chain. And here also, the brands are contributing little and most of the burden is being taken on by garment suppliers in the Global South.
“With respect to labour rights – it’s actually getting worse in many cases. Wages are not going up, and there is greater wage stagnation. There are a lot of cases where only if a worker finishes overtime work also, do they even get minimum wages. The issue of gender-based violence is still very rampant. The audit industry and how it functions, has only led to further hiding of these issues, and not addressed it.
“We need to have more direct collective bargaining agreements/enforceable brand agreements involving brands, suppliers and local trade unions like the Dindigul Agreement, if we have to seriously address these issues in the supply chain.”
This demonstrates just how crucial organisations like Fashion Revolution still are in spreading awareness on these ongoing matters in the fashion industry.
When asked what people of the UK could do to help these ongoing issues as consumers, TTCU replied “There are organisations and individuals in the UK like No Sweat, Labour Behind the Label, Tansy Hoskins, and others who are doing really amazing solidarity work with grassroots trade union and labour rights organisations in the Global South.
“They regularly hold solidarity events in the UK based on the needs of different worker campaigns; and I would recommend for consumers to follow and support their work – as a means of pushing greater worker rights in the supply chain.”
They continued: “Also, I think it is important for consumers to stop consuming so many garments – we need to mend our clothes more, love them more, understand where they are coming from, the ecological footprint of garments after and before use – and consume with care.”
So, how can you help this week? Be curious. Find out. Do something. These are the ways Fashion Revolution suggest getting involved this year; From sharing your story on social media to taking part in local workshops, anyone can do it!
Social media has always been a useful tool to spread information for Fashion Revolution, with #WhoMadeMyClothes being posted over one million times on Instagram. This year is no different, so join the thousands of others who are sharing their stories using #WeAreFashionRevolution this year.
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Chloe Haywood, an Acclaimed Luxury Circular Designer who uses UK waste in all her designs, is participating in Fashion Revolution Week by hosting a workshop showing tips and tricks of mending, with hopes to “start conversations on why mending is so great for clothing and for mindfulness.”
We asked Chloe why she believes Fashion Revolution Week is so important today. She said: “I find it important to keep up the engagement and conversation of the wastefulness of fashion on the high street currently”. This is something that we, as citizens, should ensure is talked about more openly amongst social settings – not only during these 10 days, but all year round!
With events not ending until April 24, it’s not too late to get involved so make sure to head over to the Fashion Revolution website here and check out their Instagram @fash_rev.
How will you be supporting Fashion Revolution this year? Let us know in the comments or message us on Instagram @fashion_north.
#WeAreFashionRevolution
