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Monday the 24th of April marks the 10 year anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh – a disaster that killed at least 1132 people and another 2,500 left injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history. The tragedy brought worldwide attention to the poor labour conditions faced by workers in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh, and sparked Fashion Revolution Week, an international movement where millions of people come together and campaign for systemic change in the fashion industry.
Fashion Revolution Week, which first began to raise awareness and highlight the importance of asking #WhoMadeMyClothes has since evolved into one of the biggest fashion activism movements, with a presence in over 90 countries across the globe. Our #whomademyclothes short film was released for Fashion Revolution Week in 2019, sharing the stories of just a small sample of the people involved in manufacturing our Own Brand labels, you can view our short film here.
Over the years, we have continued the campaign for a clean, safe, fair, transparent and accountable fashion industry, and we are committed to being transparent about THE ICONIC’s social and environmental responsibility which you can read more about here. Visibility and accountability go hand in hand, which is why we publish our Own Brand supply chain data publicly each month through the Open Supply Hub here. The Open Supply Hub’s mission is to improve human rights and environmental conditions in and around factories by opening up supply chain data as a free & public good.
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THE ICONIC has also now become a signatory to the International Accord with IndustriALL Global Union and UNI Global Union, joining the movement to create safer workplaces for textile and garment factory workers by safeguarding against occupational health and safety risks.
The International Accord is a legally binding agreement between 190~ garment brands and global trade unions with a mission to ensure safe workplaces in the textile and garment industry. Signatories to the Agreement recognise that safe workplaces cannot be assured in the long term without the active participation of the people who work in them. THE ICONIC is proud to be a part of the International Accord, affirming our commitment to improving working conditions for garment workers in our supply chain.
In 2022, we commenced the roll out of a third-party factory hotline, which currently allows around 1,400 workers access to a feedback channel to address a range of concerns including wage-related issues, factory conditions and factory management behavioural issues. We’ve already seen evidence of this working in practice and we're working towards providing all workers access to a secondary third-party grievance mechanism, in their native language.
We’re going beyond compliance to enable dignity and empowerment for all the people who make our products - and thankfully, we are not alone in this. There are many other brands that are improving their supply chains each year and leading the way in the campaign for a fair and transparent fashion industry.
B-corp certified brand Patagonia has been paving the way for years - through their partnership with Fair Trade USA, Patagonia has been making Fair Trade clothing since 2014. For every product that carries a Fair Trade Certified™ sewn label, they pay a premium – this extra money goes directly to the workers at the factory, and they decide how to spend it. To date, Patagonia’s Fair Trade program has impacted more than 75,000 workers in 10 countries around the globe.
Another brand who are working with Fair Trade is Swedish denim label Nudie Jeans, who have achieved living wages being paid to all employees through the fairtrade system - for the raw material, throughout the supply chain, to the final garment. Their supply chain has also been mostly certified by Fair Wear Foundation, Fairtrade International.
Closer to home, through Ethical Clothing Australia, an accreditation body that ensures that workers are being paid correctly, receiving the right entitlements and are working in a safe environment; we can find the Australian brand members who are putting people first, including First Nations label Clothing The Gaps, Nobody Denim and Cue.
For more information about Fashion Revolution Week, including ways for individuals to get involved and free downloadable resources, visit https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/get-involved/
