Fashion Revolution Week: Five ways to get involved with this year's campaign, from shopping responsibly to attending virtual events

Event commemorates Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013, which killed more than 1,000 people in Bangladesh

This week marks the seventh anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, in which 1,134 people were killed and thousands more injured.

Following the disaster, Fashion Revolution has been calling for transparency in the fashion industry, with millions of people across the globe taking part in an annual campaign designed to encourage brands and producers to respond in support of greater industry transparency.

“Since Fashion Revolution started, people from all over the world have used their voice and their power to demand change from the fashion industry. And it’s working. The industry is starting to listen,” the organisation states on its website.

“We’ve seen brands being open about where their clothes are made and the impact their materials are having on the environment. We’ve seen manufacturers make their factories safer and more of the people in the supply chain being seen and heard.

“Designers are now considering people and planet when creating new clothing. Citizens are thinking before they buy. But the story is far from over. We are only just getting started.”

While Fashion Revolution continues to drive accountability in the fashion industry, the organisation acknowledges that more needs to be done to ensure clothing is produced, sourced and consumed in a way that is cleaner, safer and fairer for everybody and the environment.

So, what can you do to help? From attending virtual events to writing a love story to your favourite piece of clothing and shopping responsibly, here are five ways you can get involved with Fashion Revolution Week 2020.

Ask #whomademyclothes and #whatsinmyclothes?

This week, Fashion Revolution aims to encourage millions of people to ask brands on social media who made their clothes in a bid to hold retailers accountable for who manufactures the garments they are selling and how those workers are treated.

On the Fashion Revolution website, visitors can find a pre-written Tweet to brands by pressing a button which says: “Use your voice on Twitter.”

A tweet then appears with several blank spaces for specific details, which reads: “I’m name and I want to thank the people who made my clothes. Hi @brand, #whomademyclothes? Signed, email, country.”

After filling out the blank spaces, you then have the option to publish the tweet.

This year, Fashion Revolution is also encouraging people to ask #WhatsInMyClothes? to challenge brands on the environmental impacts of the materials they use.

The organisation suggests people post selfies on social media and tag the brand they want to question in the photo so they can respond.

Question fashion brands and retailers about coronavirus

Fashion Revolution has also composed an email that people can send to brands questioning them on the treatment of workers in their supply chains amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“As global consumption slows dramatically during the Covid-19 crisis, fashion brands have been abandoning their orders with suppliers and ceasing to pay for in-production goods, leaving factories unable to pay garment workers amid closures,” the organisation states.

“Together, we can tell brands to take responsibility for all workers in their supply chains by sending our email template to the brands we buy from.”

The email template, which can be found here, asks brands what effect the pandemic is having on “garment makers who are already paid so little and have no social safety net to fall back on”.

“I understand that this is causing an unprecedented economic crisis and that people like me may be buying fewer clothes right now. But, now is not that time to turn your back on your suppliers and their workers,” it continues.

Attend a virtual event

Every year, Fashion Revolution hosts a series of events to help highlight its cause but due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, it is having to do things a little differently this time round.

For 2020, the organisation will be streaming an exciting line-up of virtual events, making its globalised schedule accessible to everyone around the world.

From workshops and talks to a live-streamed panel, you can register for a week’s worth of educational and creative experiences here.

Some of this year's events include "Fashion Question Time" which is a panel with industry experts that will be live streamed on Friday 24th April at 11.00 AM BST through Fashion Open Studio and a "Virtual Stitch & Bitch" which will be live streamed here on Sunday 26th April at 5.00 PM BST.

Share your clothing love story

As well as campaigning for better treatment of workers in retailers’ supply chains, Fashion Revolution is urging people to shop less and more responsibly.

“By keeping our clothes for longer, cherishing them and taking better care of what we already own, we can dramatically reduce the environmental impact of our wardrobes,” the organisation states.

To encourage people to celebrate and make the most of what they already own, Fashion revolution is asking fashion fans to share their own clothing love story on social media using the hashtag #LovedClothesLast.

This could be a letter penned to your favourite pair of jeans, an essay about the loungewear getting you through lockdown, a poem about the dress that’s been passed down from generation to generation.

You can read The Independent’s guide on how to buy ethical and sustainable fashion here.

Buy the Fashion Revolution fanzine

Each year, Fashion Revolution publishes a fanzine dedicated to help convey its message and raise funds to keep the campaign going.

“For a creative campaign such as ours, the medium is ideal as it can convey complicated messages in a visual way, without taking anything away from the rigour of the conversation,” says Orsola De Castro, Fashion Revolution’s global creative director and co founder.

“Each zine has its own identity which also to me reiterates how the multiple issues we tackle are so different, and have a different set of solutions.”

The organisation’s latest fanzine, titled Action Required: 10 Global Goals That Will Change Fashion, is an investigation of the fashion industry's relationship with 10 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including gender equality, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

This year, the issue takes on a new format, presenting each of the chosen SDG’s in its own mini issue, printed on paper that has been repurposed, recycled or would have previously been thrown away.

The proceeds of this non-profit fanzine will support the cause of the Fashion Revolution. You can order your copy here.