Rana Plaza Factory

In my facebook memory this morning I had the post below from Corban Addision about the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh  several years ago.

If you want a good understanding of social issues, Corban Addison writes some excellent novels that address these big pictures. His book "A Harvest of Thorns" tackles the overseas fashion industry.

And despite all the cries of outrage at the time, still next to nothing has been done. Take action now and call on Canada to finally pass a law requiring Canadian companies and importers to respect human rights throughout their supply chains.

It’s been 7 years [it's now 10] since the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh claimed the lives of 1,132 garment workers—mostly young women—who were making clothes for the world’s biggest brands. The brands promised change. They chipped in cash to a relief fund. They ramped up their CSR (corporate social responsibility) efforts. They tightened their supplier contracts. But few, if any, took a deeper look at their business model. Few, of any, asked if exploitation was baked into the system where price and time pressure from the top drive thinner margins and cost cutting at the bottom. Why would they? Fast fashion is a money mint. It doesn’t pay to question it.

Unless investors and consumers demand it.

Seven years on, the fashion industry is again in the midst of crisis, this time a global pandemic. And, again, the world is getting a peek behind the veil at what the brands actually value. Some like H&M, Target, and Zara are taking the high road, standing by their suppliers and paying for cancelled orders, so that the workers at the bottom—still mostly young women who have no safety net—can feed their families. Other brands are claiming poverty and holding out. 

But the fundamental question remains: When will the industry take a hard look under the hood at the engine that drives exploitation, that funnels money to the brands and leaves workers in such desperate straits? The answer, as always: Only when investors and consumers demand it. 

If ever there was a moment for introspection, it is now.

The pandemic has slowed the whole world down. Why not slow down fast fashion? Why not take this opportunity to hit the pause button on our own fashion addictions? We don’t need to stop buying clothes. We just need to change the way we relate to our wardrobes, recover old favorites, take up my friend, Livia Firth’s, #30Wears challenge, buy less, and enjoy what we have more. 

We should also use this time to look at the labels in our closets and change who we buy from. At the very least, we should all commit to walking away from any brand that has abandoned its poorest workers in the hour of their greatest need. Right now, the biggest COVID holdouts are Gap, Primark, Anthropologie, and Walmart. They’re still refusing to pay for cancelled orders. But more than that, we should adopt a more ethical approach to all of our purchases. I used to buy my casual shirts from JCrew. Now I buy from Everlane. My own closet is far from clean, but I’m trying. I’m committed to trying harder.

During this #FashionRevolution week, will you join m