FASHION REVOLUTION WEEK IS HAPPENING 18-24TH APRIL, 2022

Fashion Revolution week happens every year in the week surrounding the 24th of April. This date is the anniversary of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse.

Rana Plaza, a building in Bangladesh, housed a number of garment factories, employing around 5,000 people. The people in this building were manufacturing clothing for many of the biggest global fashion brands. More than 1,100 people – mostly young women – died in the collapse and another 2,500 were injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history. 

No one should die for fashion.

The theme for this year’s Fashion Revolution Week is MONEY FASHION POWER.

The mainstream fashion industry is built upon the exploitation of labour and natural resources. Wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a few, and growth and profit are rewarded above all else. Big brands and retailers produce too much too fast, and manipulate us into a toxic cycle of overconsumption. Meanwhile, the majority of people that make our clothes are not paid enough to meet their basic needs, and already feel the impacts of the climate crisis – which the fashion industry fuels.

As global citizens, we all have the power to take action. Now is the time to rise up together for a regenerative, restorative and revolutionary new fashion system. Now is the time for a Fashion Revolution.

There is no sustainable fashion without fair pay. Throughout the pandemic, fashion brands have made billions, while the majority of workers in their supply chains remain trapped in poverty. To address this, we are calling for new laws that require businesses to conduct due diligence on living wages. This will transform the lives and livelihoods of the people that make our clothes, and help redistribute money and power in the global fashion industry.

We know that both people and nature are paying the price of the fashion industry’s unregulated exploitation and waste. Brands are avoiding the realities of climate breakdown by continuing to pursue extractive business models and greenwashing their way to sustainability. In 2022, we need brands to radically reduce their environmental impact by shifting their focus away from growth. Small businesses and independent creatives around the world are already enacting these ideals; their courage and wisdom will lead the charge.

Currently, there is a lack of understanding and appreciation of the true cost of clothing. Price tags fail to reflect the social and environmental cost of production, while as consumers, we don’t always care for our clothes in the way we should. We need to scrutinise what it is we’re really paying for. Throughout Fashion Revolution Week, we’ll educate and inspire our global community on the real value of what we buy and wear.