The Hallowed Halls of Industry.
A lot of people rely on buying clothes overseas. While there are plenty of pros and cons to this, it’s undeniable that this is a gigantic industry with hundreds upon thousands of employees who are working tirelessly, day in and day out, to provide us with the clothes we wear, and to provide the money used to feed, clothe, and house their families.
Sadly, on April 24th 2013, tragedy struck. The Rana Plaza factory in Dhaka Bangladesh collapsed, killing over one thousand workers leaving only a handful of survivors. This was, and remains, the deadliest event in all of fashion history. Thousands of families were irreparably broken by this horrific accident. As such, this incident left a massive impact on the world at large, shifting the practices and mentalities of fashion suppliers everywhere.
For tonight’s feature presentation, we will be discussing what led up to the tragedy of the Rana Plaza collapse and how it affected the industry as a whole.
Mass devastation. Image courtesy of CNN.
What Led To The Collapse
Those who are not aware of the collapse may be wondering what led to such a major tragedy. There were a number of things that led to the destruction of the facility. One of the main factors was actually a combination of government and company oversight. Back when the land was sold to the company, the mayor of Dhaka allowed Sohel Rana, the owner of the building, to disregard a ton of different building codes. For instance, most buildings nowadays keep generators in the basement, but the factory kept their generators in the upper floors, causing the whole structure to shake when turned on. Since this was a factory that had a very high output with extremely tight deadlines, those generators were on all the time.
As such, when massive cracks formed in the lower floors and Rana disregarded the warnings, thousands of people came to work on that fateful spring day. With the cracks growing due to the shaking machinery, the eight story building crumbled to dust, floor on top of floor, crushing innocent workers. To be exact, 1,134 people lost their lives that day while 2,500 were non fatally injured, making international news and shattering hearts everywhere.
The real faces of the fashion industry.
What Has Changed Since?
The public outcry was immense, which should be made clear. Like any event where mass amounts of people are killed, everyone wanted answers from the higher-ups. This led to a number of changes and enforcements that changed our society forever. So, what exactly were the changes made?
- Stricter Building Codes
The most obvious change that needed to be made was the enforcement of building codes. The collapse was due to corporate negligence, so preventing that kind of negligence is paramount to the survival and success of the entire workforce. Emergency exits became a stricter necessity, as the lack of an easy escape resulted in a higher death count than otherwise would have occurred. Not only that, but due to a frequency of fires in Dhaka at the time, codes regarding fire alarms were also more thoroughly enforced.
- Worker Safety
Mere months after the collapse, the Bangladesh Labour Act of 2006 was amended to give workers more rights. If the workers were not forced to engage in labor in such a dangerous complex, the impending disaster may not have had a death count in the quadruple digits. Yes, more progress needs to be made, but that does not mean that improvements like workers being allowed to file complaints should be disregarded. If anything, the improvements that have already been made should be used to further motivate the betterment of the working class.
- Corporate Transparency
The biggest change that resulted from the collapse of Rana Plaza was the major turning point for the transparency of fashion conglomerates. The families of the Rana Plaza victims were most upset by the fact that the company knew about the cracks forming in the foundation, and rather than pausing production to repair the damages, sent the workers into the facility to be killed, all to just meet their quotas and make another quick buck.
Ethical Fashion Certifications
Already quite a lot of changes have been made. However, our ride into the improvements made to the fashion industry is not quite over yet. That last point about corporate transparency is a lot harder to enforce than you may think. Our modern world of multibillion dollar megaconglomerates allows companies to often make claims about products that say whatever they want. Companies have marketing teams using as many slogans and buzzwords as possible to distract you from what they refuse to tell you. As such, we need neutral third parties to give their insight as to how these companies highlight their practices.
Going deeper into the transparency angle, you may be wondering how you can apply this to your shopping experience. Ethical Fashion Certifications mean a number of things, ranging from the environmental protection of the materials and machinery being used to the safety of workers and animals involved. As such, it can be overwhelming to see all of the different things that you will need to keep track of, but there’s no need to fear! We at Political Fashion are here, and we have a brief list of some certifications to keep your eyes out for to get started.
Fairtrade International. Image courtesy of Ethos.
- The Fairtrade International certificate is earned by corporations that provide farmers and factory workers with required rights including welfare, workplace safety, and other criteria that they lay out. In the face of different nations that have a near endless variety of labor laws, the Fairtrade Commission was designed to oversee these numerous companies with a code of rules. The organization has 1,930 producer organizations in 70 countries, over 37k products sold in 140 countries, and over 2 million farmers involved in Fairtrade worldwide.
Cruelty Free Vegan. Image courtesy of Ethos.
- The Cruelty Free and Vegan label means that the clothing was made without the harm of animals. In other words, the company in question neither directly nor indirectly engaged in behavior that would harm animals, such as using genuine animal skin or animal testing. It’s also worth mentioning that the shearing of wool from sheep is not considered animal abuse (despite what some may tell you) because it’s painless and actually benefits sheep quite a lot, when you consider that unshaven sheep can have their mobility and vision impeded.
Global Organic Textiles. Image courtesy of Ethos.
- The Global Organic Textile Standard (or GOTS) is awarded to brands that use organic and sustainable materials. This simple label is a key piece of looking for sustainable fashion for your wardrobe. Companies with the GOTS certification are all regulated based on their raw materials, spinning, weaving/knitting, wet-processing, manufacturing, and trading. As long as each and every single step fits the GOTS regulations, they will be getting that seal of approval.
Cradle to Cradle. Image courtesy of Ethos.
- The Cradle to Cradle Label (rhyming possibly intended), is yet another material based certification. It specifically goes over how safe the materials are to harvest, how environmentally sustainable they are, and how effective they are in reducing potential waste. Cradle to Cradle places a high regard on a number of things including:
- Material Health: How safe the materials being used to make these clothes are.
- Product Circularity: The renewability of a product. Can it be recycled into a “circular economy”?
- Clean Air And Climate Protection: Do the equipment and practices in the factory pollute the environment? They do? No certification for you! Next! Renewable energy? Reduced greenhouse gas emissions? Okay, now you can be certified.
- Water and Soil Stewardship: If you feel like protecting the air is not enough to ensure the protection of the environment, they have the water and soil covered too.
- Social Awareness: Last but ABSOLUTELY not least, the rights of workers. Are their working conditions safe? Do they have benefits? Are they being paid more than pennies?
If you find yourself curious about even more certifications, feel free to go to Ethos to find out about more.
The Aftermath
The collapse of the Rana Plaza remains the most heart wrenchingly tragic event in the history of fashion. Companies that head the production of clothing have been watched over to make sure that a disaster like that never happens again. That being said, this is not where the story ends.
We also need to learn from the past so that we can pave a better future, and prevent the mistakes of yesterday for the best tomorrow. With Ethical Fashion Certifications in place, we can be smarter about the clothes we buy and protect the workers, animals, and environment that makes our planet so special. The clothes we wear play a key role in the visual representation of our various societies all over the world. It is up to us to decide what that really means. At the end of the day, we are the ones who have the power to change the future.
Will you be the change?
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