Fashion Revolution, a global movement calling for greater transparency in the fashion industry, is urging consumers to demand clothing brands do more to protect workers in their supply chains amid the coronavirus crisis.
Reports have emerged of fashion brands and retailers cancelling orders and stopping payments for orders already placed as the Covid-19 pandemic impact intensifies. In Bangladesh, around 1,000 factories with as many as 1.96 million workers lost US$2.67bn in cancelled or suspended orders from retailers and brands who are facing falling sales and store closures as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an estimate from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Fashion Revolution wants shoppers to take “three crucial actions” to support manufacturers:
- Send a letter to fashion brands and demand that they honour the orders they have already placed with their suppliers and ensure that the workers making their products are protected, supported and paid properly during this crisis.
- Give Money directly to non-profit organisations that are providing support to garment makers that have lost their jobs. It recommends the AWAJ Foundation, The Garment Worker Centre, GoodWeave International, and The World Fair Trade Organisation.
- Donate to Fashion Revolution so that it can continue asking brands the tough questions and mobilising citizens to campaign for a fashion industry that respects workers and protects our planet and continue to amplify the stories of garment workers around the world.
“If we do nothing, the fashion industry will simply return to business as usual when this is all over. Instead, let’s come together as a revolution and build a new system that values the wellbeing of people and planet over profit. This means that right now we should stand together to protect and support the people who make our clothes,” the non-profit says.
So far, H&M is the only major fashion brand to announce it is agreeing to pay suppliers for cancelled orders where products have already been manufactured.
“This is really the bare minimum brands and retailers should be doing. We hope to see other major brands pay up and all brands do more to protect and support every worker in their value chain,” Fashion Revolution says.
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