In the between of 19-25th April there was the so-called Fashion Revolution Week, organised by the non-profit organisation Fashion Revolution, in which manufacturers, retailers and consumers put up a united front in the fashion industry to draw attention to issues considered to be "hot" in order to make the industry not only more sustainable but also more ethical.
This week has been chosen because it coincides with the anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh, where over a thousand people died on 24 April 2013. They were all workers employed in the production of clothes by several Western clothing brands, due to a lack of safety regulations. For this reason it is considered the worst industrial disaster in the fashion industry.
This movement was born with the aim of putting an end to the exploitation of workers, often hidden behind a facade of beauty of the clothes and the fashion shows in which they are presented to the public.
The mission is to make the fashion industry more ethical by letting consumers know who makes the clothes and how they are produced along the supply chain, so that they are aware of the real value of what they are buying. "Who made my clothes" is the slogan that accompanies the Fashion Revolution, asking people to question themselves about where the clothes they buy come from and the conditions in which they were made, choosing garments that respect the environment and the human rights of the people who work in this industry.
To learn more about the fashion supply chain and the meaning of "Made in ..." labels, British filmmaker Andrew Morgan's documentary The True Cost shows what lies behind the bargain prices of the fast fashion world.
Also this week, the 22th of April is also World Earth Day, the largest environmental event on the planet to celebrate the Earth and promote environmental protection. This date was set in 1970, inspired by the book Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson in the 1960s, a manifesto of the environmental movement, and following the Santa Barbara oil disaster in the California seas in 1969.
On this day, the focus is on natural processes, green technologies and innovative ways to restore terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems around the world that have been damaged by the production processes of various industries. In this day a proactive, not just reactive, approach to climate change is promoted, so as to prevent future deterioration. The fashion industry is also committed to this, as it is one of the industries that consumes the most resources and produces the most CO2 emissions. Several initiatives have been put in place by companies in the sector to outline areas of intervention and where efforts can be concentrated to achieve climate goals in line with the SDGs of the UN.