This April marks the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse.
Rana Plaza was an eight-story building located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It housed five garment factories, many of which made clothing for some of the world’s most recognizable brands. The April 2013 collapse killed 1,134 garment workers, mostly women, and left the survivors with deep emotional and physical scars causing many to be unable to return to work with no compensation or accountability for the injuries sustained.
I would like to say that ten years after the biggest tragedy in the fashion industry there has been an overhaul of the system. I’d like to say that…and while there has been progress, it has been slow and painstaking.
The collapse of Rana Plaza isn’t a one off event. Lives are lost for the cost of a t-shirt across the globe, largely in the Global South. Sadly, it typically takes a tragedy for the world to sit up and take notice of the atrocities that are an everyday experience for many people on this planet.
While this topic is a little heavy, I also look at how far we’ve come in the fight to put people over profit.
There is always hope.
Show Notes:
The International Accord is the only existing legally binding agreement that protects garment workers:
Handles:
@sustainably_lb
Links:
Rana Plaza Information and Background https://www.elephantjournal.com/2021/07/rana-plaza-the-bangladesh-accord-the-real-cost-of-the-clothes-we-buy/
https://cleanclothes.org/campaigns/the-accord
https://fashionista.com/2020/04/rana-plaza-7-year-anniversary
Brands that have Signed the Pakistan Accord
https://remake.world/pakistan-brand-tracker/
Activists on the Ground in Bangladesh
https://www.taslimaakhter.com
Music:
Ian Aeillo
Creative:
Lauren Bates
Logo:
Meadow Hearn
