What Is Fashion Revolution Day And Why Is it Important?

[dropcap1]O[/dropcap1]n the 24^th April every year, it’s Fashion Revolution Day. If the day passes just like every other day without you even noticing, it’s time to realise just how important it is to mark it on your calendar. Here’s why.

What Happened Five Years Ago

You’ll probably remember that on the 24th April, 2013, the Rana Plaza factory complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed. More than 2,500 people were injured, while 1,135 people died. In 2016, a court in Bangladesh charged 38 people with murder for the collapse. The building had been built on swampy ground, making it horribly unsafe. This tragedy might feel like others we read about in the news before forgetting about, but it’s essential to remember it ever year.

Do You Know How Your Clothes Get Made?

For starters, the senseless tragedy makes us spare a thought for the people who are making our clothes. These are people we’ll never meet in our lives, but who could be making a pittance sewing our clothing. Just look at this stat: the minimum monthly income for garment workers in Bangladesh was reported by The Guardian as $68, while it’s $280 in mainland China. Those workers could also be working in harsh and unsafe conditions, just like the ones who’d been in the Rana Plaza.

Sick Clothing

Fashion Revolution Day highlights our obsession with fast fashion. We buy clothing that’s cheaply produced and then we throw those garments away, contributing to the overflowing landfills. We’re wearing clothing that’s dangerous to our health, filled with toxins that can literally make us sick. That’s why, on Fashion Revolution Day, we need to ask the important question, “Who made my clothes?” This empowers us with knowledge about how our clothes are made and what materials are sourced (and how!) during their production. By increasing our knowledge of clothing and chemicals, we force brands to take greater responsibility for how they’re producing clothing that can affect our health.

Get In On The Cause

So, on the 24^th April, you need to take an item of clothing and turn it inside-out, before taking a selfie with it. Post the pic on social media with the hashtag #whomademyclothes. Don’t be blind to fashion. Let’s make it more honest and healthy, for everyone concerned.

At Native Interiors knowing who makes our wares is paramount and we take immense pride in knowing who made our products and to ask serious questions of our suppliers. Find out more here about the people, families and communities, behind the brands we work with.