April 24, marked the second anniversary of the terribly sad and uncivil catastrophe at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh.

An unthinkable tragedy–1,134 people died and more than 2,500 were severely injured when the poorly built and managed Rana Plaza factory collapsed into rubble. Although this disaster was horrible in every way, it did bring the unjust effects of the fashion supply chain onto the global stage, causing labor rights and factory safety to come under further scrutiny. It also led to an increase in support of Fair Trade and sustainable fashion labels to grow.

Several lower-end, fast fashion chains outsourced their production to the Rana Plaza factory, including Benetton, Primark, H&M, Walmart and Mango. Some companies were quick to pay up for the damages and loss caused by the collapse, but several have yet to pay their agreed inputs, even two years on. Not to mention, the accord that was signed by several of these companies outlines rules for better factory safety compliance and auditing, which has still not been taken into account by several brands.

As of March 24, 2015 only $21.5 million has been paid into the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund by buyers, the Bangladeshi government, and private donors. The money in this fund is used solely to make payments to Rana Plaza victims and their families, who so far have only received a maximum of 70 percent what they are owed. This is largely due to the fact that the fashion brands involved have failed to pay the $9 million remaining to deliver fair compensation to the individuals with eligible claims.

Ineke Zeldenrust of the Clean Clothes Campaign said in a statement: “That we have been unable to secure a mere $30 million from a group of brands that collectively earn tens of billions of dollars profit each year is an outrage – this anger is clearly shared by consumers here in Europe –  only weeks ago over a million of them signed a petition calling on Benetton in just a few days. If brands and retailers really want to show to workers and consumers alike that the industry has changed since Rana Plaza, they need to prove it by paying up now, without any further delay. The countdown starts now.”

Luckily, there are other brands that have taken advantage of this new arena for sustainable fashion, such as Vavavida, whose handmade jewelry is pictured above. Brands like Vavavida are invested in full circle economics and Fair Trade schemes, supporting artisan cooperatives and female entrepreneurs in order to create sustainable fashion systems. Not only do they support and work with non-profits that are helping to build more feasible and effective infrastructures in both the U.S. and third world countries, Vavavida also educates its consumers about issues surrounding the fashion industry.

So in the name of the victims and consequences of the Rana Plaza tragedy, please take a moment today to become more conscious of your actions and decisions as a consumer of fashion.

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Image: Vavavida

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April 24, 2013 was a horrifying day in fashion history. The catastrophic events of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh have sparked a momentous movement a year later. That day is now known as Fashion Revolution Day.

More than 1,100 garment workers—a third of those who entered the clothing factories that morning in Bangladesh—died in the collapse of the massive eight-story building. Ordered to come to work despite the warnings that cracks found in the building the day before could lead to an imminent collapse, the fashion industry demands flew in the face of safety, and the factory operators ignored the warnings for fear of losing money and clients.

The Rana Plaza collapse triggered protests and riots in Bangladesh over fashion factory working conditions. On June 5^th, police in Bangladesh opened fire on protestors who were demanding back pay and compensation that had been promised by the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the government. Several months later, more protests over wages led to fighting and gunfire from police.

No garment is worth this price.

The idea for Fashion Revolution Day was born out of the atrocity in Bangladesh and countless other conditions around the world that exist in the name of cheap, fast fashion. Fair Trade pioneer Carry Somers, fashion activist Lucy Siegel and Livia Firth came up with the idea to redefine the day and empower those lives lost in Bangladesh as a means to prevent more unnecessary tragedy. The event “will keep the most vulnerable in the supply chain in the public eye,” FRD says on its website. “Fashion Revolution Day is the day on which we will celebrate fashion as a positive influence, and all those who contribute to making it so. It will rally the high street, the high end, the new, the ancient, the innovators, the buyers, the shoppers, the media, the commentators, the activists and everyone in between.”

“We want people talking about the provenance of clothes,” Somers told Vogue, “raising awareness of the fact that we aren’t just purchasing a garment, but a whole chain of value and relationships. FRD will become a platform for best practice – for brands to show off what they are doing to improve things.”

But, Firth warns that we should be wary of greenwashing. “A paper bag here, an organic T-shirt there – some brands tick a couple of boxes and ignore the main issue,” she says. “Some mega brands still don’t give a damn but there are brilliant examples like Paul Smith who is absolutely in charge of his production chain.”

“As consumers, we want people to re-engage with fashion, slow things down a bit, love the clothes we buy more,” adds Firth. “Care about how they are made and by whom.”

It used to be this way. People we knew made our clothes, or people who sold the clothes to us knew who made them. Garments had tremendous value. Clothing, blankets, accessories, were made to last—and they did, for decades, generations. They were handmade, crafted with time and precision, not against corporate deadlines, ignoring safety and human decency.

Cate Blanchett told Vogue that garment manufacture demands the same attention as we’ve been giving to climate change, an issue she’s extremely passionate about. “If you offer options then it’s not sacrifice, it’s choice,” she says. “As well as the fundamental improvement to our spiritual health, buying with conscience is about the option to buy something for £1 that has the potential to blind 15 children as a result of an inhumane production line – or something else for £1.50 that will have a positive effect. Like climate change – we need to change the way we consume fashion. And if more individuals do then we make a change collectively.”

To participate in Fashion Revolution Day, people are being urged to wear one article of clothing inside out to signify their support of ethical fashion and more transparency in production. Take a picture or video of yourself in the inside out clothing and post online to Instagram or Twitter to @Fash_Rev with the hashtag #InsideOut. The campaign is also urging people to get in touch with the brands that make their favorite clothes and ask the question: “Who Made Your Clothes?”

“Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of the Rana Plaza disaster was that, even a week later, many brands did not know whether or not they had been producing clothing within the building,” the campaign explains. “The theme for the first year brings the consumer to the forefront and tell brands that they want to know who made their clothes.”

The fallout from Rana Plaza has brought attention to the discussion about why “ethical fashion” needs to come to have the same definition as simply “fashion”—all fashion should be produced ethically, all the time. No one should be forced into working conditions that are unethical, unhealthy and unfair. If that’s the price of clothing—if we can’t do better than this—then perhaps we should wear nothing at all. “This is a global problem – we need to question how loyal we are to all brands to flush out sweatshops all over the world, even in developed countries, on our doorstep,” says Firth. “If we imagine we are voting every time we buy something, and we use our purchase power, then things will change.” They just have to.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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Image credit via Fashion Revolution Day

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Victims and family members of the Rana Plaza disaster to receive financial compensation for devastation caused by the factory collapse. 

On Christmas Day 2013, the surviving victims and families of victims who passed away in the April 2013 factory collapse at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh received some consolation for their losses. Several of the brands that subcontracted the factory for production of their apparel and accessories have set up a relief fund in order for the victims and their families to create a better quality of life after the tragic impacts of the collapse.

The fund was set up as a collaboration between the Bangladeshi government, labor rights organizations, El Corte Inglés, Le Bon Marché, Primark, and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. fashion brands. Shockingly, none of the U.S. brands like Walmart, Gap and Sears or other global fashion giants such as H&M, and Marks & Spencer that used the factories’ services signed onto the program, which will soon begin compensating victims and their families. Reports say that families of victims who lost their lives in the collapse with receive approximately $25,000 in compensation, whereas surviving, injured individuals will receive financial support to cover their medical needs.

This type of action is a step in the right direction toward repairing some of the damage caused to this community, and ensuring that this horrible violation of human and labor rights is not brushed into the corner. Although we applaud these efforts toward making change and offering aid to the victims in need, several of the working conditions and labor rights issues of the apparel industry have yet to be addressed. It should also not go unnoticed that it has taken more than eight months for the Bangladeshi government and these brands to provide aid to Rana Plaza victims – it seems that this is a rather long time when considering how many victims with life-threatening injuries or in critical condition could have been saved.

This factory collapse, which is one of many that occurred over the last year, and the ensuing 1,129 lives it claimed caused an outrage, but one that lost its spotlight fairly quickly in our media driven culture. As of last week, 13 parties have been charged as responsible for the collapse, and Bangladeshi workers have been given a pay raise from $38 to $68 per month, which is still not enough to cover the cost of basic living. These are indeed positive changes, but ones that don’t necessarily address the underlying cause of disasters such as Rana Plaza, which is the West’s inherent disconnection from the fashion production process.

Image: Utriskdept

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Swedish retail giant H&M may be moving on to another continent to meet its growing worldwide presence. This expansion is occurring instead of addressing the deep issues within the fashion supply chain and making dramatic changes to prevent incidents like the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh.  The African continent—Ethiopia specifically—is reportedly the next victim of the fast fashion mogul’s low-cost production cycle–but can H&M turn the tide and approach the situation less problematically in this country?

A spokeswoman for H&M recently told press officials that the company has already placed test orders with Ethiopian suppliers. Satisfactory results from the test orders indicate that large-scale production will begin sometime this fall, with suppliers providing the company with up to 1 million garments per month. H&M is constantly expanding its number of retail stores worldwide, meaning that continuous expansion of production, the ‘fast’ behind the fast fashion moniker, is also necessary. While Bangladesh is still the most used country for apparel production by H&M, less controversial options are becoming more attractive.

The choice to opt for production in Ethiopia is not merely for appearances’ sake, since production in Africa means lower shipping costs, tax breaks from the government and shorter lead times. Production is also cheaper in Ethiopia than in China, where costs are constantly rising. H&M claims that lower production costs aren’t the key driver behind its choice to take on Ethiopia, but rather the possibility of finding suppliers that satisfy capacity and quality and can meet conduct rules and safety regulations.

The Ethiopian textile industry has been in existence since 1939 (when the country was occupied), and has plans to revitalize itself over the next few years. Foreign investors with the financial ability to modernize machines and factories are part of the plan, which aims to move the country from a primarily agricultural economy to an industrial one. Economists believe that foreign investment and industrial boosts could lead to infrastructure development and better living conditions for Ethiopians. But will labor rights organizations and supposed stricter regulations on the part of labels like H&M prevent Ethiopia from becoming the new Bangladesh?

Image: Cosmikaa

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