Rana Plaza and The Fashion Revolution – Who Made My Clothes?
In the wake of the tragic fourth year anniversary of Rana Plaza, the fashion industry is rumbling with change and integrity and The Sreepur Village charity are in support of this. The Fashion Revolution is a movement aimed at delving into the background and ethics of fast fashion. The top you’re wearing right now - do you know who made it, where it’s been, if the person who made it was paid fairly for it, if it was made by a child even? You’re not alone if you don’t. Majority of society has no idea about the implications of their fashion purchases. The Fashion Revolution poses this question to consumers and brand distributors – “Who made your/my clothes?” Perhaps if we adopted a more mindful approach to our purchases we may enrich the lives of those ‘behind the seams’.
The collapsed Rana Plaza - Google Image
Victims of Rana Plaza - Taslima Akhter
Rana Plaza Afermath - Taslima Akhter
Rana Plaza was a large eight storey building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, housing several garment factories supplying many well-known brands across the world, particularly in the west. The foundations for the building, however, were only laid for six storeys, which were to be used as offices and shops only. The structure of the building couldn’t cope with the extra two storeys nor the vibrations, extra weight and movement caused by the heavy industrial textile machines. On 24th April 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapsed taking with it the lives of 1,138 people in a horrific and devastating way. Children left orphaned, families left destitute without their breadwinner, the entire community left bereft at such a vast tragic event. It’s hard to believe that this horrific tragedy went largely unnoticed by those affiliated. Rana Plaza supplied clothing to numerous well-known global brands and yet only a handful provided financial support, despite being an industry worth approximately €16 billion which saw many workers paid as little as €30 a month.
So this week we are sharing the Rana Plaza story so that we hopefully help others to become more conscious of where their clothes came from. At The Sreepur Village mothers are taught many life skills, including a profession which will enable them to have an independent and successful future, far from their impoverished pasts. As part of fundraising for the charity, women in the village produce a beautiful selection of handmade and hand-embroidered scarves, using natural dyes and materials, in a pleasant and safe environment. The sales of these products are returned entirely to The Sreepur Village charity, which then continues to rescue destitute mothers and children providing them with a brighter future including a trade, a salary and savings for their future independence.
