This past week was Fashion Revolution week.
Fashion Revolution week was created after the Rana Plaza factory collapse on April 24, 2013. Rana Plaza manufactured clothing for big brands like JC Penny, Primark, Mango, Walmart, and others.
The collapse of the building killed 1,134 workers and injured 2,500 others. It was the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, and brought new light to the people who make our clothes.
Fashion Revolution was created shortly after to demand change and transparency in the way we manufacture our clothing.
Fashion Revolution is a non-profit organization that works year round, but on the week of April 24th, they run a huge campaign to get people talking.
It all starts with a simply question, "Who made my clothes?"
This is a time for consumers to call out big brands and demand transparency.
Have you ever thought about it? Who made your clothes? Where did the textiles come from? Who grew the cotton? How was it dyed? What is their life like? Are they paid a living wage?
If you'd like you can read the full report on the Fashion Transparency Index.
The fashion industry is responsible for 3% of the global production of CO2 emission and you can read more by the Carbon Trust.
Beyond the human rights issues, the current fashion system is wreaking havoc on the environment.
The buy and toss culture has gotten out of control. We purchase 400% more clothing than we did 20 years ago and we're paying less for it.
- We're using too many resources.
- We're flooding the market with unwanted, cheaply made second hand goods.
- We're throwing out 14 million tons of clothing every year in the US and 84% is landfilled or incinerated
- We're sacrificing the health and well-being of thousands of people
To help we can start by consuming less. I wrote a blog post all about this topic - buy less, buy better.
And, since we're on the topic, I wanted to introduce you to the people who make your phone cases.
Pela is proudly made in Canada with operations out of Saskatchewan and Ontario!
We don't own the equipment to make the phone cases. Instead, we work with an injection molding company in Saskatoon. Jeremy, the co-founder of Pela, is there to help too.
Here's Jeremy with a box of iPhone 7 cases that are ready to be packed, and below that is a photo of the group who runs the injection molding machine.
These are the people that create your phone case! How cool is that??
