Fashion Revolution’s #WhoMadeMyClothes challenge goes beyond making trendy garments.
According to U.K.-based grassroots campaign, more than 1,000 fashion brands and retailers, including American Apparel, Fat Face and Massimo Dutti, responded to the challenge to show their commitment to transparency across all steps of the supply chain process.
More than 70,000 people asked brands #WhoMadeMyClothes during Fashion Revolution Week, Apr. 18-24, and 300 out of the 1,000 companies that responded #IMadeYourClothes are global fashion brands.
“We believe that asking ‘who made my clothes’ is a powerful question. It makes you think about your clothes in a different way. It pushes companies to consider the people working in their supply chains,” Fashion Revolution director Orsola de Castro said. “When we hear from farmers, producers, factory workers and makers saying ‘I made your clothes’, it’s equally as powerful. It gives the world a chance to recognize and celebrate their hard work and skills.”
Fashion Revolution was established in 2013 as a movement to advocate for greater transparency, traceability and social responsibility in the global fashion supply chain. Today, 92 countries are part of Fashion Revolution and are working towards better labor rights and sustainability. The first Fashion Transparency Index was launched by the organization in April 2016, which ranked 40 of the world’s most popular fashion brands on their supply chain transparency efforts. Five brands out of the 40 evaluated published factory lists where their garments were put together.
For this year’s #WhoMadeMyClothes campaign, Fashion Revolution reported a major turnout. Fashion lovers in more than 92 countries expressed interest in learning about who created their apparel. Fashion Revolution Week’s online media reach was 22 billion and the organization achieved more than 156 social impressions of #WhoMadeMyClothes. In response, more than 2,600 garment workers, makers and producers posted #IMadeYourClothes on Instagram and Twitter.
“Together we have truly sparked a Fashion Revolution, both online and in the real world. Our collective voice is getting stronger and stronger,” director Carry Somers said. “In 2017 we want to ignite an even bigger global conversation about what we wear and the stories behind our clothes from the people who make them, the companies that sell them, to how we wear, care and dispose of them.”