User:Maddimcgowan/sandbox

What happened?
In Dhaka, Bangladesh on 24 April 2013, there was a collapse of the Rana Plaza building, which housed five garment factories,. this subsequently killed at least 1,132 people and injured more than 2,500.

Deep cracks had begun to show in the eight-storey building outside Dhaka the day before. The building was home to clothing factories, banks, apartments, and several shops. When these cracks appeared the shops and the bank on the lower floors closed immediately.

The building's owners ignored warnings to completely avoid using the building after cracks had appeared the day before. The garment workers were forced to return to work the following day, and the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour. Before the collapse workers who had been producing clothes sourced by major international brands had begged not to be sent inside because of the danger. However, the managers would not change their minds. Just before 9am the floors began to give way.

What is who made my clothes?
Who made my clothes is a hashtag from the Fashion Revolution to raise awareness for the darker side of the fashion industry and the fashion supply chain.

“Find my clothes is campaigning for an industry where environmental protection, as well as human rights, are the standard and not the exception.” – Carry Somers who founded the campaign.

The founders believed that after the disaster that it had to stand for something, and lead to a revolutionary change within the fashion industry, both in the environmental factors and human.

On Twitter last year, 3.25 billion people took part in #whomademyclothes? To question and look into who produce the clothes that we al l wear, especially in the fast fashion industry. Brands being tagged on social media with the hashtag on social media has already resulted in a great deal of change in the fashion industry.

The campaign has led to brands such as Marks and Spencer publishing their supplier list and a map off the factories that produce their clothing, so customers can be informed as to where and how their products are being produced. Other brands such as Asos, H&M, Primark and Levi’s. This is a significant step, as Primark faced a huge backlash when the Rana Plaza collapse occurred when they admitted to using the factory.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/commentisfree/2019/apr/22/who-made-my-clothes-stand-up-for-workers-rights-with-fashion-revolution-week


 * 1) whomademyclothes is campaigned at Fashion Revolution week, which aims to demand greater transparency in the supply chain of fashion, with the more people asking where their clothes came from meaning that more brands will listen and join the movement. They want transparency, sustainability and ethics in fashion after the Rana Plaza tragedy.

https://www.fashionrevolution.org/

Where it happened
The Rana Plaza buildings catastrophic collapse occurred in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dhaka is Bangladesh’s most popular city and has had a flourishing sea trade since the 15th century attracting English, French, Armenian, Portuguese and Dutch traders.

Dhaka became the capital city of Bangladesh in 1971. Once becoming the capital city of Bangladesh its population, area, and social/economic diversity grew making it one of the most densely industrialised regions in the country. The traditional products made in this region include embroidery, silk, jewellery, along with textiles and leather goods. This created a strong garment export industry in the late 20th century.

The population of Dhaka in 2019 was estimated to be 20.63 million making it the most crowded city in the world. Due to the large amount of industry in Dhaka, the river Buriganga that flows through the city is heavily polluted with factory waste. Out of the 164.7 million people living in Bangladesh, 1 in 4 of them live in poverty with an estimated 3.5 million living in the slums of Dhaka. Most people in Dhaka work in the garment industry where workers are poorly paid and work in horrendous conditions. At one point this industry employed 10 million locals. However, due to global textile quotas hundreds of small clothing factories have closed or cut workers.

Who was involved?
The full list of companies who were sourcing clothes from the Rana Plaza building is not fully clear however some of the better known brands involved included


 * Primark, Ireland
 * Matalan, UK
 * Wal-mart, USA
 * Bonmarche, UK
 * Mango, Spain
 * Benetton, Italy
 * Tesco

In 2016, 38 people were charged with the murders of those killed in the Rana Plaza collapse. Out of the 41 people that faced charges, 38 of those were charged with murder while 3 were charged with helping Sohel Rana, the factory owner, flee after the incident. If these people are convicted in the future of the case, they could face the death penalty. The trials for this case has been delayed due to appeals in the higher court.

The movement that it created?
The disaster which took place in 2013 has proved to be a huge wake-up call for hundreds of Western brands producing clothing in the country, especially for big international brands such as Zara, Mango, Benetton, and Walmart, these are retailers who also produced clothing in the Rana Plaza factories.

The “Who Made My Clothes” movement was created due to the collapse of the Rana Plaza buildings. The movement was initiated by Orsola de Castro and Carry Somers when they created a global campaign which was launched in 2013 in England with over 100 countries taking part. Orsolo de Castro and Carry Somers have backgrounds in sustainable fashion and because of this they called for a more equal and safer fashion industry. They aim for the fashion industry to be united in the way clothing is sourced, produced and consumed.

After the incident a new initiative was created known as the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety in order to prevent tragedies such as the Rana Plaza collapse from repeating itself. The aim of the Accord was to ensure the garments sector in Bangladesh becomes a sustainable and an equally safe industry for its workers. So far, the Accord has ensured that the lives of 2.5 million laborers are safer.

Background information
The environmental protection is a part of the movement as the textiles industry has such a huge impact on the ecology of the world. It accounted for 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 in 2015, with dyeing and textile treatment processes contributing to 20% of the worlds water pollution, and the use of non renewables estimated to increase from 98 million tonnes in 2015 to 300 million by 2050.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/commentisfree/2019/apr/22/who-made-my-clothes-stand-up-for-workers-rights-with-fashion-revolution-week

The tragedy in Rana Plaza highlighted how awful the conditions are in so amny of the places that our clothes are created. IndustriALL Global Union report that of the 75 million, predominately women who work in the textiles and fashion industry, 90% have no possibility of negotiating their wages or conditions. These are just some examples of why the movement has become what it is.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/fashion-revolution-week-2018-rana-plaza-collapse-who-made-my-clothes-a8317756.html

The effects on the fashion industry?
The collapse that was facilitated by political corruption and inflamed by corporate greed revealed that many high street brands had outsourced production to the factory. This heightened the exploitation of underpaid workers in harmful conditions.

This created a global conversation around the social impact of the fashion industry and as a result the Fashion Revolution organisation was created. The powerful movement that is #WhoMadeMyClothes? encourages company transparency with bigger brands outlining their supply chains and allows smaller companies to seek more sustainable solutions.

In 2018, 3.25 billion people took part in #whomademyclothes? on twitter. This made people question and explore who produce the clothes that we all wear, especially in the fast fashion industry. Brands being tagged on social media with the hashtag on social media has already resulted in a great deal of change in the fashion industry.

The campaign has led to brands such as Marks and Spencer publishing their supplier list and a map of the factories that produce their clothing, so customers can be informed as to where and how their products are being produced. Other brands including ASOS, H&M, Primark and Levi’s have made a positive shift. This is a significant step, as Primark faced a huge backlash when the Rana Plaza collapse occurred when they admitted to using the factory. ASOS now disclose the sources of raw material fibres and H&M having a conscious clothing range made from recycled materials.

What is happening now after the accident
After the disaster around 250 companies signed two initiatives; the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. This was to improve the safety in over 2,300 factories supplying to brands in the west, however in at least 2,000 factories that don’t supply to major western brands there is much less progress to be seen. Elements such as fire doors and sprinkler systems and stringer foundations have been put into place post the accident, so that more than 97,000 safety hazards have been covered by the Accord alone.

Along with this, brands are now being held accountable for the conditions of the factories that the products that they stock are being produced in, important in the #whomademyclothesaction.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/apr/24/bangladeshi-police-target-garment-workers-union-rana-plaza-five-years-on

Summary
So to summarise, the disaster that occured in Rana Plaza was tragic, leading to at least 1,132 people being killed and injuring more than 2,500. However it is because of this that 5 years later the fashion industry is heading in the way that it is, and movements such as #whomademyclothes and The Fashion Revolution have been created, and more and more people are investing in where their clothes have actually been produced and the conditions in which the workers are in. It has also created the production of initiatives such as the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, and major safety improvements in factories all over the world.