Who made your clothes? An anniversary post.

Fair warning, this is not meant to be a light-hearted read.
You'll probably have heard the term 'fast fashion'. This post looks at a real consequence of fast fashion.

The day I wrote this post was the 6th anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. You might remember it. Bangladesh is probably a long way away, from where you're sat reading this, right?
1,134 people died. 2,600 were injured, many of them seriously and irreparably. This includes kids in the nursery at the bottom of the building.
This is jaw-droppingly bad.
Still, we are removed from it. Unless we have a direct connection with Bangladesh; family, friends, travel, it’s hard to be genuinely emotionally moved as much as we should be, at least without watching footage or seeing photos. That’s just human distancing.
What if I told you that the connection you had with those people was that they were in effect working for you. They were making your clothes. The people in that factory were sewing clothes for western high street fashion brands including Primark, Monsoon Accessorise, Matalan, Benetton, Walmart and Bonmarche.
​That brings it closer to home, right?

The enforceable agreement that was signed three weeks after the Savar building collapsed that housed Rana Plaza is currently threatened. Not everyone wants the accord in place. Ask yourself - why was the Savar building built to 8 stories, way above building regulations? Why, when huge cracks started to appear and workers were scared to go in, could work not be suspended? Why did people in charge threaten workers with pay suspensions if they didn’t enter unsafe buildings, ultimately paying with their lives for fear of losing their appallingly tiny wages? 

Because of Western greed for cheap fashion.

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It’s an unpleasant truth.
This is not meant to be about guilt. This is not meant to be about perfection. 
This is about joining a movement. A groundswell.
Buy less. Buy better. Ask questions. Be informed.

Choose sustainable, slow fashion brands. View your clothes as an investment. By doing this, you're not only buying clothes, you're investing in people.
Find out a bit more about my rain cape design and manufacture team HERE
How can I help with this fight?
Follow hashtags #slowfashion #fashionrevolution #fashionrevolutionweek and #whomademyclothes #imadeyourclothes

​Blog sources:
https://cleanclothes.org/ua/2013/rana-plaza
https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/04/26/these-retailers-involved-in-bangladesh-factory-disaster-have-yet-to-compensate-victims/
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/fashion-revolution-week-2018-rana-plaza-collapse-who-made-my-clothes-a8317756.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22476774
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/style/survivors-of-rana-plaza-disaster.html

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