On April 24th it will be two years since the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh.
At least 1,133 garment workers were killed, and over 2,500 injured in the collapse. Many of the brands linked to Rana Plaza have failed to contribute at all / sufficiently to the compensation fund set up to support victims and their families, meaning the fund is still $9 million short of the amount required to provide adequate compensation.
Fashion reuse charity TRAID are asking sewists to take part in a #SewSolidarity challenge, to show solidarity with garment workers, and keep attention on Rana Plaza and the ongoing fight for adequate compensation, by refashioning a garment, giving it longer life, and showing solidarity with the garment workers who created it.
How to Take Part
- Source a piece of clothing (from your wardrobe, a charity shop, or a friend) that was made in Bangladesh, or by a brand who was having clothing manufactured at Rana Plaza, or by a brand which manufactures in Bangladesh. The Clean Clothes Campaign has information on brands who were involved with Rana Plaza, including those who have failed to make adequate (or any) contribution to the compensation fund.
- Refashion the clothing, and post your progress and the finished refashion online using the tag #SewSolidarity on, or in the lead up to, the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse on April 24 2015.
You may also want to challenge the brand who produced the original clothing item to pay into the Rana Plaza compensation fund / ask them about working conditions and safety in their factories (particularly, if using a clothing item by one of the companies who has, so far, failed to pay adequate compensation).
More information is available on my blog, and in TRAID’s blog post about the challenge, which includes a list of further resources.
TRAID
If you’re not familiar with TRAID, the charity setting the challenge, their work is very pertinent to sewists, and is focused on reducing the negative impacts of textiles and the fashion industry on the environment and people’s lives.
TRAID do this by selling donated clothing, and garments produced from donated textiles, and investing the funds in global projects designed to improve conditions and working practices in the textile industry.
TRAID are a UK charity but their work is global, and I hope sewists worldwide will get involved.
Great intitative! So important. I’m wondering if you’d mind if I ‘reblog’ your post on my blog, frivolousatlast.com to help spread the word? Thanks.
That would be amazing x
Reblogged this on Frivolous at Last and commented:
Charlotte over at sewcialists.wordpress.com posted this recently and I thought it was such a great initiative that I got her permission to reblog her post in its entirety. Have you got anything in your closet you could refashion in #SewSolidarity ?