by Sonja Kraft
The Revolution
“Fashion Revolution is a global movement calling for greater transparency, sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry. The goal is to unite the fashion industry and ignite a revolution to radically change the way our clothes are sourced, produced and purchased so that what the world wears has been made in a safe, clean, and fair way.”
Its Origin
Fashion Revolution started after the Rana Plaza complex collapsed in Bangladesh in 2013, killing over 1,100 people. The need was realized for more transparency in supply chains and for consumers to be aware of how their clothes are actually being made and the possible negative parts of the supply chain, such as exploitation of the workers and pollution of the environment. If there is transparency, consumers can identify whether or not people are being exploited in the supply chain or the environment is being harmed. Fashion Revolution aims to restructure the fashion industry to value people and the environment while still creating profit for businesses. At Purnaa, we stand behind the vision of Fashion Revolution.
How Purnaa has Joined the Revolution
1. We strive for transparency; anyone can come to take a tour of our facilities, and we are open about who made your clothes, featuring our workers on our website through pictures and interviews.
2. With our Custom Print Gear line, we have our supply chains listed out in detail and explain the sustainable processes used in production. We love that we can offer an ethical and sustainable option for custom print merchandise. Check it out!
3. We do our best to take care of the environment. We use environmentally friendly fabrics in our products, such as organic cotton, bamboo, and vegetable dyed leather. We also up-cycle overstock fabric. Whenever possible we use leftover fabric from a project to make a whole new product. In the past year we have partnered with Doko to recycle our waste.
We would like to see everyone become involved in the Fashion Revolution, whether you are a producer, retailer, or a consumer. We encourage you to ask the question, “Who made my clothes?” Change starts to happen when people become aware of an issue and seek to find more information about it.
4 Ways You Can Get Involved in the Revolution
1. Take a picture showing the label of your clothes and use social media or email to ask the brand #WhoMadeMyClothes?
2. Research and find out more about how to change the fashion industry. Fashion Revolution provides many resources, including How To Be A Fashion Revolutionary.
3.The next step after becoming informed is to change shopping habits to align with what has been learned. Use the information you have gathered to the only shop from brands that you know are treating their supply chain and the environment ethically. If you are not able to afford to buy from ethical brands, there is always the option to buy second hand. This helps to eliminate some of the waste produced from the fast fashion industry.
4. If you are a producer or a retailer, let the public know who the people are who made the clothes. Be open and transparent about where and how your items are produced. Show consumers that you are a company that they can trust is treating people and the environment properly.
Raising awareness is a huge step in bringing about change in the fashion industry. If people know what is going on, then they will be able to find ways to help prevent the negative side effects from happening. At Purnaa we are transparent. You know how we are treating the environment and you know who made your clothes, you can even stop by and meet them personally!
Check out more ways Purnaa is creating a more equitable world:
Comments