Many of you may not know that today is Fashion Revolution Day!
Two years ago today saw the Rana Plaza catastrophe in Bangladesh where an eight-storey building housing several clothing companies collapsed, killing 1,138 garment workers and injuring a further 2,000. Rana Plaza, which produced clothing for companies including Primark and Benetton, had several illegally built floors which were crammed full with workers, machines and fabric bales. Combined with the buildings weak structure and poor construction, this caused the Rana Plaza complex to collapse in a mere 90 seconds.
Shockingly, these working conditions are commonplace- workers have virtually no rights and Health & Safety regulations are largely ignored. It is also reported that 85-90% of Bangladesh’s garment industry is made up of women, working six days a week for 12 hours a day operating machines, pressing garments and cutting loose ends.
Bridge & Stitch was set up 3 years ago to support the UK’s economy, but most importantly to ensure a transparent supply chain. We know our factories and their workers on a first name basis and we regularly visit our suppliers to ensure good working conditions etc. We will not be supporting low wages and children in sweat shops. You can check out some of the lovely ladies who make our garments below.
The Rana Plaza tragedy truly highlights the human cost of cheap clothing manufacture- please take a moment today to think about where your clothes have come from and maybe think twice about the purchases you make.
Want to read more about the Rana Plaza tragedy? Click here.
