Fashion Revolution Week 2022

Picture of Róisín O'Connor Flanagan

Róisín O'Connor Flanagan

This year will mark the ninth anniversary of the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh. The building was a garment factory for many high-street fashion brands and in April 2013 the structure collapsed due to poor building regulations. The accident resulted in the death of 1,134 people, most of whom were young people, about 85% women, and over 2,500 were left severely injured.

Fashion Revolution was founded in 2013 in reaction to the outrage people felt about the collapse of Rana Plaza. Fashion Revolution advocates that no one should die for fashion and all workers should be protected. The disregard for safety precautions displayed by these large brands is a clear reflection of their attitudes towards their workers’ wellbeing. The Rana Plaza disaster exposed the fashion industry’s corruption of power and wealth and the pressing need for change.

The fashion industry can be driven by greed, evident from the industry’s high-speed production chains which can produce garments at a rate that has never been seen before. The quantity of garments the industry can produce has dramatically increased in recent years while the cost of clothes has fallen. The sheer convenience and low cost of clothing has altered society’s consumption patterns as clothes seem worthless and disposable. We as a society are overconsuming at a rapid rate with little to no regard for the people on the other side of the supply chain.

We need a Fashion Revolution!

Fashion Revolution place their focus on the wellbeing of garment workers by fighting for equal pay in the industry which is essential in sustainable fashion. Advocating for law and policy to monitor fair wages will bring massive change to workers’ lives and has the potential to raise communities out of poverty.

Fashion Revolution Week is an annual event honouring of the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster, running this year between 18th-24th April. This is the world’s biggest fashion activism movement. Throughout the week Fashion Revolution will hold a series of events and workshops to educate and inspire people to place value in their clothes. A Fashion Open Studio programme will be taking place throughout the week with many online events available. There will be opportunities to take part in talks, panel discussions, clothes swaps, workshops, fashion shows and much more as the week goes on. This year’s theme is Money Fashion Power. This is an opportunity for us to reimagine a just and equal fashion system, one free of exploitation and poverty.

“Fashion Revolution Week is the only Fashion Week worth caring about.”

— Grazia Magazine

Through radical and revolutionary action, Fashion Revolution demands change in the industry. Their manifesto cries out for an industry that can adapt its business models in order to protect our environment and honour garment workers and designers. Through activism, Fashion Revolution aspire to be a catalyst for solidarity, inclusion and change.

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