Fashion Revolution Day, April 24th, is a very simple idea that arose out of a terrible tragedy, from the mound of rubble that used to be a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and in memory of the 1,113 people whose lives were lost as the building fell. It is a day to remember that our passion for fast fashion comes with a human cost, that sometimes that human cost is unacceptably high, and that as fashion consumers we are responsible for holding our clothing manufacturers to account by asking one simple question.
Who made my clothes?
For us sewists, it might seem that the excesses of mass clothing production have very little to do with us. After all, we are our own garment manufacturers. We make our clothes. But I think we need to be asking ourselves a different question about where our clothes come from. Because I don’t know about you, but I don’t weave my own fabric. I don’t press my sewing machine needles or manufacture buttons. Who makes these? How much where they paid? How was the fabric produced, and using what chemicals? Are my sewing machine components better-travelled than me?
I don’t claim to have the answers to all these questions. But I do think it’s important to ask them. Let’s hold all our suppliers to account, and try to make a fairer fashion world for everyone.
Absolutely!