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Manifesto for a Fashion Revolution

Remembering Rana Plaza this Fashion Revolution Week
Katie Hill - Editor-in-Chief, My Green Pod
Fashion Revolution in Berlin

Fashion Revolution Week is an annual campaign that brings together the world’s largest fashion activism movement for seven days of action.

The theme for this year’s campaign is Manifesto for a Fashion Revolution which will run from 22-29 April. To mark the tenth anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, Fashion Revolution is #RememberingRanaPlaza and using its 10-point Manifesto to demand a safe, just and transparent global fashion industry.

As part of this, the movement is promoting its EU-wide campaign, Good Clothes, Fair Pay, to demand groundbreaking living wage legislation for garment workers worldwide. 

Remembering Rana Plaza

Fashion Revolution Week happens every year in the week coinciding with 24 April, the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster.

On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh collapsed in a preventable tragedy.

More than 1,100 people died and another 2,500 were injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history.

Fashion Revolution Week means remembering RanaPlaza and demanding that no one dies for fashion.

On 24 April, respects will be paid to the victims, survivors and families affected by this tragedy, and Fashion Revolution will cease all other campaigning on this day. 

Safety agreement for workers

This is also a time to reflect on and celebrate the progress made in the Bangladesh Ready-made Garment (RMG) sector by the Accord.

The International Accord on Fire and Building Safety was the first legally binding brand agreement on worker health and safety in the fashion industry and is the most important agreement to keep garment workers safe to date.

This year, Fashion Revolution will pay tribute to the joint efforts of all Accord stakeholders who have significantly contributed to safer workplaces for over 2 million garment factory workers in Bangladesh, including the Bangladeshi trade unions representing garment workers, alongside Global Union Federations and labour rights groups.

The movement welcomes the introduction of the Pakistan Accord and would like to see the adoption and success of the International Accord replicated in all garment-producing countries. 

Fighting for living wages

10 years on from Rana Plaza, poverty wages remain endemic to the global garment industry. Most of the people who make our clothes still earn poverty wages while fashion brands continue to turn huge profits.

Fashion Revolution believes there is no sustainable fashion without fair pay, which is why it launched Good Clothes, Fair Pay as part of a wider coalition last July.

The Good Clothes Fair Pay campaign demands living wage legislation at EU level for garment workers worldwide, building on Manifesto points 1 and 2.

EU citizens can help to push for legislation that requires companies to conduct living wage due diligence in their supply chains, irrespective of where their clothes are made. Click here to add your name to the campaign. 

Campaigning for industry transparency

Rana Plaza placed greater scrutiny on the global fashion industry and exposed how a lack of transparency costs lives.

Since 2013, Fashion Revolution has campaigned tirelessly with citizens, brands and policymakers to demand greater accountability and to fight for industry-wide transparency.

First launched in 2017, the Global Fashion Transparency Index is one tool that Fashion Revolution has developed to help bring about systemic change in the industry.

The Index is an annual review of 250 of the world’s largest brands and retailers ranked according to what information they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts, in their operations and supply chain. 

Transparency levels have increased over the last five years. In 2017, just 32% of 100 brands reviewed disclosed their first tier manufacturing lists. In 2022, 48% of 250 brands reviewed disclose their first tier manufacturing lists but only 4% of brands are disclosing whether their garment workers earn a living wage.

10 years after Rana Plaza, there is still much to be done and our Manifesto provides the building blocks for revolutionising the fashion industry. 

Manifesto for a Fashion Revolution

Back in 2018, Fashion Revolution created a 10-point manifesto that solidifies its vision for a global fashion industry that conserves and restores the environment and values people over growth and profit.

Since then, over 14,500 people around the world have signed their name in support of turning this vision into a reality.

The Global Network of Fashion Revolutionaries in 75 countries is bringing people together to sign the Manifesto and to act on their chosen points.

The Fashion Revolution Week programme is a celebration of global responses to the Manifesto and will showcase the events and projects the Global Network is planning to bring the Manifesto to life.

The last five days of Fashion Revolution Week (25-29) are themed around two complementary Manifesto points each, to zoom in on global solutions and inspire local action. 

Get involved in Fashion Revolution

Anyone can be a Fashion Revolutionary; it starts with a simple dialogue about the impact our clothes are having on people and planet.

To mark the start of Fashion Revolution Week on 22 April, the Fashion Revolution Map will be launched to encourage and capture these conversations.

Developed by Talk Climate Change, the Map will serve as a global forum to reflect on the week’s themes and events, using the Manifesto as a talking point.

Here, you can share what you discussed with your peers and explore the discussions of other Fashion Revolutionaries worldwide. Submissions will be spotlighted in daily roundups across social media; contribute to the map and make your voice heard. 

Whether you’re a student, designer, producer, brand, retailer, educator, maker, union member or citizen, sign the Manifesto here and share your reason why.

Think global, act local – click here to find your country team and support their upcoming Fashion Revolution Week events and projects. 

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