A Revolution

In a nutshell, Fashion Revolution Week prompts us to ask the question "Who Made My Clothes?" to brands and stores and we extend this questions to all kinds of 'stuff' - shoes, accessories, furniture and electrical items, anything really! This was in response to the Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka Bangladesh 5 years ago where 1138 lives were taken and 2500 more injured, all because of an unsafe factory environment where management insisted workers continue to sew despite cracks appearing in the walls days and hours before the whole building gave way.

Can you imagine how ludicrous that is? Imagine you are working on the top floor of a corporate inner-city sky scraper and you see cracks appearing in the walls. You bring it to the attention of your supervisor and they tell you to keep working unless you want to lose your job. Nek minute, the building collapses. Outcome 1, you survive! Forget WorkSafe, insurance or any kind of compensation. Where will you work now? Another sky-rise? Outcome 2, you're injured badly. Forget WorkSafe, insurance or any kind of compensation. Will you be able to ever work again? Outcome 3, you didn't survive. I mean, WHAT THE EVEN?

So. Who made your clothes? The reality is someone somewhere in the world has made your stuff. The questions that follow are 'how much were they paid?', 'are they being exploited?' and 'do I support exploitation?'. Maybe you've never thought about it that way because I will admit I am a big-time over-thinker so yes, these things quite literally keep me up at night! But I digress (as always). Do you support exploitation? You! Yes, you! I guarantee something you own has been made by exploited hands, myself included. A lot of things actually, and I do feel guilty sometimes when I think about it too much. (I actually wrote another blog all about guilt because it's a big thang, right? Check it out here >>) But wait! Don't get overwhelmed into a pool of guilt!

This is where you become part of The Revolution. You can be part of something that overthrows the unjust and progresses whole industries to new and better systems, ones that care for people and the planet! This is worth celebrating! Attached are a few images of how we got involved this Fashion Revolution Week. Spreading the message plays a massive part in the movement so I encourage you to get amongst it, not just this week either but every time you encounter clothing (I'm guessing that's everyday?) and stuff (definitely everyday). We can do this! 

Until next time,