Today is Fashion Revolution Day. Last year, on the one year anniversary of a horrible tragedy, there was a global campaign to get people to wear their clothing inside out in order to expose their clothing labels and ask the question, "who made my clothes?" and the campaign returns again.
The campaign asks that we become curious about how our clothes are made and who makes them. You can do it by wearing your clothes inside out, starting the dialogue and becoming more mindful of unfair and unsafe working conditions that have been in the media since the collapse at Rana Plaza.
Do something! In recent years there has been many books, documentaries and articles on the shift within the fashion landscape. Ignorance is not bliss and knowledge can change the world. ReThink recently did a brilliant ad campaign for the Canadian Fair Trade Network (CFTN) you can check it out here.
The label doesn't tell the whole story indeed. It is not just clothing labels. I've noticed that labelling at the fabric store doesn't tell much of a story either. Nothing irks me more than searching for the label that is stamped "Unknown Fibre Content" or not finding a label at all. As a consumer, I want to be informed. I think that is what today is about, being informed and making changes in our lives so that we can help make positive changes in other people's lives.
I still have a lot to learn. This campaign and several books I have recently read have forced me to re-examine the world around me.
Collecting clothing labels has been a real eye opening experience. I have been collecting these in hopes to make a conversation piece for today but it didn't materialize in time. But I digress... Clothes from by-gone years were made of higher quality materials in countries where there are labour laws. Some of the vintage clothing items even have "union made" labels, something that is not easily found in today's labels.
I won't be wearing my clothes inside out because I know who made the clothing I'm wearing to work today--I did. And I'm going to work where we have a dress code.
But my thoughts are with the people who have lost their lives and who continue to work in horrid conditions in the name of fast-fashion and fast-profits. With awareness comes change. Spread the word.
The campaign asks that we become curious about how our clothes are made and who makes them. You can do it by wearing your clothes inside out, starting the dialogue and becoming more mindful of unfair and unsafe working conditions that have been in the media since the collapse at Rana Plaza.
Do something! In recent years there has been many books, documentaries and articles on the shift within the fashion landscape. Ignorance is not bliss and knowledge can change the world. ReThink recently did a brilliant ad campaign for the Canadian Fair Trade Network (CFTN) you can check it out here.
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The label doesn't tell the whole story indeed. It is not just clothing labels. I've noticed that labelling at the fabric store doesn't tell much of a story either. Nothing irks me more than searching for the label that is stamped "Unknown Fibre Content" or not finding a label at all. As a consumer, I want to be informed. I think that is what today is about, being informed and making changes in our lives so that we can help make positive changes in other people's lives.
I still have a lot to learn. This campaign and several books I have recently read have forced me to re-examine the world around me.
Collecting clothing labels has been a real eye opening experience. I have been collecting these in hopes to make a conversation piece for today but it didn't materialize in time. But I digress... Clothes from by-gone years were made of higher quality materials in countries where there are labour laws. Some of the vintage clothing items even have "union made" labels, something that is not easily found in today's labels.
I won't be wearing my clothes inside out because I know who made the clothing I'm wearing to work today--I did. And I'm going to work where we have a dress code.
But my thoughts are with the people who have lost their lives and who continue to work in horrid conditions in the name of fast-fashion and fast-profits. With awareness comes change. Spread the word.
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