Fashion Revolution is a registered charity based in London, advocating for a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry.
The charity was founded in response to one of the worst ever industrial incidents: the Rana Plaza. On 24th April 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh over 1,132 people were killed and 2,500 injured when the garment factories they were working in collapsed.
Fashion revolution offers opportunities and information to push positive change. Rallying people to help change the way the fashion industry runs, helping prevent similar disasters from happening again.
What do they do?
Fashion Revolution advocates for change in the fashion industry, focusing on pushing reform within our culture, fashion industry and industrial policies and practices. They attempt to unite everyone within the fashion industry, including designers, manufacturers, factory workers, consumers and disposal.
The charity raises awareness with groups in 100 countries worldwide, highlighting the often dangerous workplaces, unethical treatment of workers, and unsustainable and polluting production methods within the fashion industry.
It is estimated that around 3.4 billion people are working in the fashion industry worldwide, with 430 million believed to be working in garment and fabric production. Fashion Revolution amplifies these often unheard voices within the fashion industry and holds companies accountable for their actions.
For the last five years, Fashion Revolution has created yearly Fashion Transparency index’s, reviewing 250 leading fashion brands using information regarding supply chains, policies, and practices they have disclosed. The charity pushes brands to be transparent about their practices, thus allowing consumers and the fashion industry to review and hold brands accountable for their practices to reduce the potential of greenwashing.
Fashion Revolution Week
Since 2014 Fashion Revolution has run Fashion Revolution Week, held around the date of the Rana plaza incident, to remember and raise awareness of the unethical and unsustainable sides of fashion through social media, online and physical events.
Due to social distancing measures, Fashion Revolution 2021 took place online, with over 60 designers across 20 countries opening their studios digitally for Fashion Open Studio.
Fashion Open Studio highlights designers who are transparent in their design, production, and supply chain who innovate ways to be as ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible as possible. This helps designers and consumers connect, enabling designers to understand the consumer’s needs and gives consumers an insight into how the clothes they wear are created.
During Fashion Revolution Week, participants are encouraged to contact brands directly and via social media using the hashtags: #whomademyfabric? #whomademyclothes, and #whatsinmyclothes? alongside pre-written templates. The aim is to pressure brands to disclose information relating to their supply chain, environmental impacts, and treatment of garment workers to help create transparency within the fashion industry.
Consumers are also encouraged to take selfies of themselves holding posters of these hashtags and to share them on social media.
I attended multiple online events during Fashion Revolution Week 2021, ranging from studio tours, interviews, workshops and seminars. The wide range of events catered to a broad range of needs and audiences, including students, industry professionals, fashionistas, bloggers, and people new to sustainable fashion. My highlights included a ‘Glorious Garbage’ studio tour, a conversation with Germanier, and an online handbag workshop by Clara Chu. With so many different style events on, there was something for everyone, and I personally left feeling inspired about where the fashion industry is heading due to innovative designers, industry professionals, and the community attending the events.
How to get involved
There are many ways to help support Fashion Revolution throughout the year alongside Fashion Revolution Week. These include:
- Sending an email to a brand using a provided template
- Donating to help the production of free up-to-date educational resources
- Printing and displaying a poster or taking a selfie and using #whomademyclothes
- Getting involved on social media (e.g. Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook)
- Signing up to the weekly newsletter
- Becoming a student ambassador
- Checking out YouTube for past workshop/seminar videos
- Joining your local group
