Get Involved Pack: Citizens

GET INVOLVED PACK: CITIZENS Your guide to getting involved in Fashion Revolution Week 2020

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We are Fashion Revolution.

We are designers, academics, writers, business leaders, policymakers, brands, retailers, marketers, producers, makers, workers, trade unions and fashion lovers. We are the industry and we are the public.

We are world citizens.

We are you.

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mobilisation: social mobilisation seeks to facilitate change by encouraging and enabling a significant number of people to engage in interrelated and complementary efforts.

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advocacy: advocacy in all its forms seeks to ensure that people, particularly those who are most vulnerable in society, are able to: 2

1. Have their voice heard on issues that are important to them.

2. Defend and safeguard their rights.

3. Have their views and wishes genuinely considered when decisions are being made about their lives.

systemic: relating to an entire system, as opposed to a particular part.

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We campaign for a clean, safe, fair, transparent and accountable fashion industry.

We do this through research, education, collaboration, mobilisation1 and advocacy2.

The issues in the fashion industry never fall on any single person, brand, or company. That’s why we focus on using our voices to transform the entire system.

With systemic3 and structural change, the fashion industry can lift millions of people out of poverty and provide them with decent and dignified livelihoods.

It can conserve and restore our living planet. It can bring people together and be a great source of joy, creativity and expression for individuals and communities.

We believe in a global fashion industry that conserves and restores the environment and values people over growth and profit.

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photo: @green_parks

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Contents

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Photo: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images

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Fashion Revolution week happens every year in the week surrounding the 24th of April. This date is the anniversary of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse. Rana Plaza, a building in Bangladesh, housed a number of garment factories, employing around 5,000 people. The people in this building were manufacturing clothing for many of the biggest global fashion brands. @fash_rev

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Over 1,100 people died in the collapse and another 2,500 were injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history.

The victims were mostly young women.

To read more about the Rana Plaza disaster and the formation of the Fashion Revolution movement, visit our website: www.fashionrevolution.org org

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Current estimates suggest that 150 billion new garments are produced annually.

Source: Sustainable Apparel Materials, 2015.

Consumption Global fashion consumption continues to gain speed at unsustainable levels and relies on a culture of disposability.

Around the world, we produce too much clothing, from harmful materials, much of which ends up incinerated or in landfill.

We must rethink the nature of fashion consumption, adopting new ways of engaging with fashion, and calling on brands to rethink linear business models, honouring those who make our clothes and treasuring the clothes we own.

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Actions: host or attend a clothes swap, run a haulternative, write a love story.

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Producing plastic-based textiles uses approx.

342 million barrels of oil each year.

Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017

Composition The textiles we wear are made from precious natural resources and generate massive environmental impacts in their production. Plasticbased materials that now comprise the majority of our clothes are shedding microfibres into waterways and endangering human health and nature’s ecosystems. And, many of the fibres we wear use harmful chemical processes in dyeing and finishing, which compromises the health of worker and wearer.

Actions: email a brand, ask ‘what’s in my clothes?’, write a postcard to policy maker.

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77% of UK retailers believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery in their supply chain.

Source: Hult Research & Ethical Trading Initiative, 2016

Conditions From child labour on cotton fields to trafficking and forced labour in the garment industry, the fashion supply chain routinely exploits some of the most vulnerable people. We are calling for deeper transparency to help end modern slavery and uphold the human rights of everyone in the fashion supply chain.

Actions: email a brand, ask ‘who made my clothes?’, write a postcard to policy maker.

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Over 90% of workers in the global garment industry have no possibility to negotiate their wages or conditions.

Source: IndsutriALL

Collective action From gender inequality to environmental degradation, the fashion industry continues to exploit people and resources. What we can’t achieve alone, we can champion together. When people join together their voices are amplified. This is as true for workers in the supply chain as it is for activists and campaigners. We want to mobilise everyone to join together and make change.

Actions: organise in your school, workplace, or community.

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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.

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. org

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But the story is far from over. We are only just getting started. We can’t stop until every worker who makes our clothes is seen, heard and paid properly and the environments they live and work in are safe. We can't stop until the culture of consumption is changed and we learn to love and appreciate our clothes and the people that made them.

Together, we will create a revolution.

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YOUR VO CHANGE EV _____

ASK THE #WHOMADEM #WHATSINM

OICE CAN VERYTHING _____

E BRAND MYCLOTHES? MYCLOTHES?

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Action: Post a selfie holding one of our posters on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever platform you use often.

Tag the brand you’re wearing and ask them #WhoMadeMyClothes? / #WhatsInMyClothes?

One of the simplest ways you can get involved is by using social media to challenge brands during Fashion Revolution Week.

We know from our research that they are paying close attention to the demands of their customers - and that these simple pleas for transparency can affect major changes in even the biggest fashion brands.

Some brands won’t answer at all. Some might tell you where your clothes were made but not who made them. Some will direct you to their corporate social responsibility policy. Only a few pioneers will show that they know something about the people who make their clothes. Let us know how they respond by tagging us at @fash_rev.

If a brand doesn’t respond, keep asking. Our power is in persistence.

See also: Following up org

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bigcheese@fashionbrand.com

Who made my clothes?

Dear _______ [Brand name], I am your customer and I love your style. However, I also care about the rights and wellbeing of the people who make my clothes. In the 7 years since the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh, not enough has changed. Too many people in fashion’s supply chain earn incredibly low wages, lack the ability to negotiate or unionise and many work in conditions of modern slavery.

It is very important to me that people working in your supply chain are seen, heard, paid properly and working in safe conditions.

So please tell me #WhoMadeMyClothes and where I can find out more information about your supply chain.

Sincerely, YOUR NAME

bigcheese@fashionbrand.com

What’s in my clothes?

Dear _______ [Brand name], I am your customer and I love your style. However, I also care about the future of our planet, and the impact of the materials and chemicals in your clothes.

Right now, the fashion industry exploits too many resources, contaminating waterways with toxic chemicals, sending microfibres into our oceans and landfilling or incinerating the unsold goods at the end of the chain.

So please tell me #WhatsInMyClothes and how you are working to clean up your supply chain. As well, tell me where I can find more information about your environmental approach.

Sincerely, YOUR NAME

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Action: Write an email to your favourite brand and ask them #WhoMadeMyClothes? and #WhatsInMyClothes?

Use the templates on this page and the link below to find the email addresses for the CEOs, sustainability managers, and customer service reps of some of the biggest fashion brands.

List of brands’ email addresses

See also: Following up org

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Action: Following up.

If a brand responds to your post or email, get specific.

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Gender Equality

“What policies do you have in place to make sure harassment?”

Safe working conditions

“Do you conduct independent audits to every fact people who make your clothes? Do you have any

Fair pay

“Do you know how many workers in your supply c How are you working to ensure that all of the work

Modern Slavery

“Do you publish your 2nd (processing facilities) an organisations perform due diligence around mod

Water Contamination

“Do you publish a ‘Restricted Substances List’? Do

Waste + Landfill

“Do you incinerate your unsold stock? Do you sen to reduce pre-consumer and post-consumer was waste?”

Carbon Emissions

“Do you publish your annual carbon footprint, for y your carbon footprint? What is your target carbon

Animal welfare

“Do you publish an animal welfare policy? Do you sourcing transparency initiatives, including the Le Responsible Wool Standard?”

Ocean Plastic

“Do you have a strategy in place to eliminate plas your supply chain? Do you disclose what you are

Deforestation

“Do you source viscose and man-made cellulose Is your leather supply chain traceable to the raw m

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The more information you ask for, the more brands are pushed to improve their social and environmental policies, and act transparently. We’ve drafted some things you can ask down below.

e women working in your supply chain don’t experience verbal, physical and sexual

tory you source from? Do you require mandatory fire & safety training for the programs or partnerships in place to improve worker health & safety?”

chain earn a living wage rate, as defined bythe Global Living Wage coalition? kers in your supply chain can exercise their right to join a union?”

nd 3rd tier (raw materials) supplier lists to help NGOs and independent dern slavery further down the supply chain?”

o you adhere to the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) commitment?”

nd returned items bought online to landfill? What practices do you have in place ste? What do you do with your offcuts, damaged goods and other supply chain

your own operations and your entire supply chain? Do you have a goal to reduce footprint by 2025? Do you offset your emissions?”

u source mulesing-free wool? Are you signed up to any animal welfare and animal eather Working Group, Responsible Down Standard, Traceable Down Standard or

stics from your packaging? Will you commit to eliminating virgin polyester from doing to reduce microfibre shedding from clothing?”

e materials from sustainably managed forests, through initiatives such as Canopy? material?”

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Action: Write a postcard to a policy maker.

1)

Find out who your local policymakers are. Look for the members of government who represent your neighbourhood, and find out their public mailing address.

2)

Print and cut out the postcard template through the link shown, and fill in the details. You can print multiple copies and mail them to several public representatives. You can also create your own postcard, with your own message.

3)

Take a photo of your postcard and then pop it in the mail. You can follow up by posting it on social media, and tagging them there too.

4)

When they respond, take a photo of it. Post it on social media and tag @fash_rev so everyone can see what they say. If they don’t respond, try again.

Governments can have a real impact on the lives of the people who make our clothes. Legislators decide minimum wages, mandate working conditions and create laws that protect people and the environment.

Your voice has power, so use it!

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Other ways to get involved

Try a ‘Haulternative’ Fashion isn’t just about consuming more stuff. Check out our guide of ‘haulternatives’ to change the way we buy, make and use our clothes.

Attend an event During Fashion Revolution Week (20-26 April), thousands of events take place from fashion revolutionaries around the world. Find one near you.

Get involved in your workplace If you work in fashion, why not start making changes with the people around you. Check out our guide to getting your workplace involved in Fashion Revolution Week here.

Brands & Retailers Brands and retailers can get involved with Fashion Revolution Week by sharing information about their supply chains. Read how to get involved here.

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Host an event Put on a clothes swap, talk, workshop or film screening in your community, school or workplace this Fashion Revolution Week. Check out our guide to hosting an event.

Get involved in your school If you’re an educator, or a university student, learn how you can engage your students and peers during Fashion Revolution Week here.

Spread the word Use your voice to invite others to join you in taking part in Fashion Revolution Week. Find our social media assets, posters and campaign materials here.

Read up Educate yourself on current issues and get inspired by new ways to help create change here.

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This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union.

Its contents are the sole responsibility of Fashion Revolution and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.