Fashion Revolution Week

Today, Monday 18th April marks the beginning of Fashion Revolution Week 2022 – an annual campaign fighting for a sustainable and equitable fashion system. This article will discuss the importance of the movement and how you can get involved.

What’s it all about?

Fashion Revolution is a global, people-powered campaign. Every year, around the 24th of April, Fashion Revolution Week takes place. The yearly event brings together the world’s largest fashion activism movement people to rise up for a new fashion system that is regenerative and restorative.

This year Fashion Revolution Week will run from Monday 18th April to Sunday 24th April with a theme of MONEY FASHION POWER. The week is filled with in-person events and free online workshops on Fashion Open Studio, celebrating those making a difference.

The 24th of April is a significant date, as it marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh. In 2013, the collapse of a building in Dhaka killed at least 1,132 people and injured more than 2,500. The Rana Plaza building housed five garment factories, all of which exposed thousands of (mostly) girls and women to unsafe work environments for some of the lowest wages in the world.

Why is the cause important?

The Rana Plaza disaster awoke the world to the poor labour conditions faced by garment workers, indicating the desperate need for change within an industry that values profit over people and nature. Since the tragedy, 109 further accidents have occurred.

Whilst fashion brands are making millions through cheap, trendy clothing, the workers in their supply chains and the environment are paying the price. One of the most shocking examples of the industry’s detrimental impact on the environment – and its contribution to the climate breakdown – is the drying up of the Aral sea, pictured below.

Fashion Revolution is fighting for an industry that adopts alternative business models whilst preserving the environment and treating the people who make our clothes with respect.

How can you get involved?

In tandem with Fashion Revolution Week, local artist and owner of ReThread Denim, Kerry Gibson, will be hosting events in Lincoln throughout April and May as part of Project Fashion Fixed – a creative, community-driven project involving Lincoln students.

The idea is to harness the power of collaboration in order to promote the benefits of sustainable fashion through art, photography and more. This will be Lincoln’s first event of its kind.

The main events will be taking place in the LPAC on Sunday 1st May, with sustainable fashion stalls, a catwalk and DJ sets from the Barefoot Sound System Collective between 11am-4pm. The evening event will feature a showcase of Lincoln’s young musical talent, running from 7-11pm with £2 entry on the door.

You can get involved by attending the events, sharing information about Fashion Revolution and Project Fashion Fixed on social media or creating your own work – spread the word about sustainable fashion!

For more information, you can follow @projectfashionfixed2022 on Instagram.

Other Ways You Can Help

Watch, read and listen

Even by taking a short time to educate yourself on the issues surrounding fast fashion and its impact on the environment, you can contribute to the Fashion Revolution movement. The following content is a great place to start:

1. The True Cost (2015) – A documentary on the Exploitation of the Fashion Industry. Available to watch here.
2. The Wardrobe Crisis – A chart-topping sustainable fashion podcast available to listen to on all streaming platforms.
3. A Beginner’s Guide to Sustainable Fashion – VICE Asia
4. Consumed by Aja Barber
5. Can Fashion Be Sustainable? – BBC Earth
6. Confronting High Street Shoppers with a Shocking Truth: Stacey Dooley Investigates – A clip from BBC Three documentary Fashion’s Dirty Secret, available to watch here.
7. Loved Clothes Last by Orsola de Castro

Think before you buy

Thinking before you shop often results in more considered purchases and better items. Ask yourself: Do I really need this item? Could I find something similar in an independent store or charity shop? Is it worth the cost per wear (cost of an item divided by the number of times you’ll wear it)?

Becoming a conscious consumer means thinking carefully about whether or not you need the item. After that, you can work towards buying items that are eco-friendly, ethical and sustainable.

Donate!

Donating your clothes to local charity shops or clothing banks aids in fighting landfills whilst reducing demand for resource-hungry new clothes (fast fashion). As well as preventing further harm to the environment, you’ll also be helping those less fortunate than you.

If you can’t attend any of the events listed above or do not have any clothes in need of a new home, you can donate money to the movement on the Fashion Revolution website here.