Fashion Revolution is a UK-based non-profit organization working to create a global movement for a more sustainable fashion industry that values “people, the environment, creativity and profits in equal measure” (fashionrevolution.org). The organization was founded as a reaction to the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh in which a textile factory collapsed on April 24th, 2013, killing 1134 workers. The organization now has chapters in 80 countries, with the Czech Republic and Slovakia chapter run by a group of local volunteers headed by Kamila Boudova, who is also the founder of Prague’s Sustainable Fashion Day.
Locally, the volunteers aim to raise awareness about the need for a more sustainable fashion industry through public screenings of documentaries such as The True Cost and Out of Fashion, as well as their annual Fashion Revolution Day on April 24th. Their “who made my clothes” campaign asks fashion consumers to take photos of themselves wearing their clothes inside out to show the label, in order to stimulate awareness and debate around the questionable conditions under which clothes from most “fast fashion” brands are made.
“The brands really are paying attention. Some of them answer the questions [from Fashion Revolution] and show photos of the people who made the clothes, either in Bohemia or in China, proving that they are not ashamed. Big chain stores rather equivocate and try to put attention on their own campaigns or send responses with a general link to their websites full of empty words. But they feel it. I believe that Fashion Revolution will really bring change by informing and connecting the masses.” – Kamila Boudová, Ambassador of Fashion Revolution in the Czech Republic and Slovakia