The first Saturday quick-post is dedicated to April's exciting fashion month. Fashion Revolution Week (the 4th week in April) has become a global movement to raise awareness about the ethical side of the fashion industry. Here's some background on Fashion Revolution Week and how you can get involved.

Several years ago, the non-profit organization, Fashion Revolution was founded in response to the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. This collapse was one of the largest and deadliest in global history for the garment industry that created an uproar and major global reform in the fashion supply chain.

Facts about the collapse

- Over 1,000 workers were killed in the collapse with over 2,500 injured
- The building was built and maintained ignoring building codes and safety requirements
- A day before the collapse, the factory was evacuated because of cracks in the foundation + walls. No repairs were made and workers were ordered to return back to work.
- After the collapse, 18 other garment factories were closed for safety reasons in the city
- The factory made clothes for sale in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Canada and the United States
(*sourced from here, here & here)

This information is tough to be reminded of, but important to remember because it created a widespread movement + awareness of the unethical practices going on behind the scenes through popular fashion company's supply chain. And with Bangladesh still hosting around 5,000 of the garment industry's factories, organizations like Fashion Revolution work to help prevent the Rena Plaza collapse from happening again.

The purpose of Fashion Revolution Week is to raise awareness of the true cost of fashion, the importance of the ethical side of the industry, promotion of the workers behind our clothes and advocating for responsible practices in companies across the world.

““We believe in fashion – an industry which values people, the environment, creativity and profits in equal measure, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that this happens.””

— Fashion Revolution

How to get involved

- Download a few of Fashion Revolution's resources to educate yourself and use these to share the revolution story with others
- Follow along with organizations and companies making an impact
- Repost "Who Made My Clothes" photos and tag your favorite companies in search for insight to where your clothes are made and the real individuals who are behind making them
- Read up about transparency and stay tuned for The Good Wear's future posts
- Shop responsible brands
- In Richmond? Follow along with @lovethisrva, @creativemornings_rva and @rvafashionweek for updates on events