Fashion Activism @ Home
Hi guys! Wow it’s been a while since I wrote a blog post, I can’t believe how much has changed since I last uploaded a post in early March. Coronavirus hit the UK in late January and has so far sadly claimed over 5000 lives here, and over 74,000 worldwide. We’re on lockdown and only allowed to leave our houses for essential travel (collecting medication, food shops, assisting the vulnerable). It sort of feels like we’re living in a new age now, like things will always be different after this.
With all this going on, it’s difficult to comprehend that the rest of the world’s problems are still continuing, and even worsening from this outbreak, but they are. One such problem is the treatment of garment workers across the world in the fast fashion industry. With retailers shutting down their physical stores, they have seen a huge decrease in demand, almost overnight. This led to retailers cancelling large orders with their garment factories and even refusing to pay for pre-bought materials or goods that have already been made (read more here). Workers are being threatened with dismissal if they don’t go back to work even though it’s against social distancing guidelines and puts them in increased risk of contracting the virus. We have to remember, these people don’t have the options we have of being furloughed, receiving sick pay or support with childcare.
Every year, in memory of the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in 2013 where 1138 people lost their lives, Fashion Revolution holds a week-long campaign to call on brands to be transparent about their supply chains and the people behind their clothing. This year Fashion Revolution Week (20th – 26th April) calls for us to campaign from the comfort of our homes, but there are still lots of ways to get involved and feel connected to something bigger than ourselves! You’ve most likely got more time on your hands (unless you’re a key worker or looking after kids at home – shout out to you guys, don’t know how you’re doing it!), so why not put this time towards some actions that support the Fashion Revolution campaign?
Here are some ways you can get involved with Fashion Revolution Week from home this year…
Ask brands #WhoMadeMyClothes
Post a selfie on your social media and tag a fashion brand, asking them who made your clothes or what’s in my clothes (#WhatsInMyClothes). You can even turn your top inside out, showing the brand’s label, and hold up a Who Made My Clothes sign. If social media isn’t your thing, you can always email the brand and ask them questions about their supply chain, and what measures they have in place to guarantee the safety of the garment workers in the factories they are partnered with, as well as monitoring fair wages and worker’s rights.
Send a postcard to a policy maker
If you have a printer, Fashion Revolution have a printable postcard you can fill out and send to your local policy maker. It has a pre-typed message written by F.R, but you can write your own personal message instead. This is a great way to let your local council or MP’s know that this is an issue important to their constituents, and hopefully that will mean they will want to act on it.
Get together (digitally)
Have a House Party/Zoom/Skype/WhatsApp group video call with your friends or fellow activists and pick a topic of discussion. You could share it on your social media so other people can hear what you talked about. I think you can even do an Instagram live session with multiple people and your followers can join a live chat along with you (I’m not that techy so check this out, I may be wrong haha).
Share your fashion love story
Tell people on social media about a piece of clothing that you absolutely love and couldn’t be without. Tell them about its story and why it’s so special to you, maybe this will inspire other people to rediscover their wardrobe and find old pieces that they’ve forgotten about, hopefully proving to them that they don’t actually need any new clothes!
Watch these documentaries
…and share them with your friends and family. Documentaries are a fantastic way to take in a lot of facts in way that they’ll stay with you and can be an experience you’ll want to share with the people around you.
Last but not least, you can join in with Fashion Revolution’s virtual events
The annual ‘Fashion Question Time’ will be streamed live on their YouTube channel at 11am BST on the 24th April, with a fantastic panel of speakers and you can even submit your own questions ahead of time (check out their Instagram post and leave your question in the comments)
They are also hosting a virtual ‘Stitch & Bitch’ on their YT channel on the 26th April where you can bring along a mending or making project and listen to a roundtable discussion about the future of fashion.
Click here to set a reminder for yourself to join these events!
Let’s make this year the biggest Fashion Revolution Week – and hopefully get more people involved digitally then ever before! You can find Fashion Revolution’s complete guide to Digital Activism here for more inspiration. Let me know if you have other ways you plan on joining in with the campaign – I’d love to hear them.
Stay safe, stay home, stay connected xx