Fight, mend, release: Advocating fashion activism

ON April 24, 2011, Rana Plaza, an eight-story building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed, taking with it the lives of over a thousand garment workers in just 90 seconds. This building, which housed several garment factories, was kept operational despite structural failures and safety violations. Corners were cut to keep the cost of clothing down — a rather huge sacrifice for a shirt that someone would probably just wear once and then throw away.

The Rana Plaza collapse fueled fashion activism profoundly, birthing organizations like the Fashion Revolution, a global movement that seeks to end human and environmental exploitation in the fashion industry. Fashion Revolution Week is an initiative that they have every year around April 24, not only to remember the lives that were lost in the name of fashion but to encourage all fashion stakeholders, i.e., those who make clothes, those who wear clothes, and everyone in between, to do better.