Rights Relationships and Revolution

Save the date! We’re inviting you to Fashion Revolution Week 2021: Rights, Relationships and Revolution. 

Human rights and the rights of nature are interconnected and interdependent; we are part of the wider living world and our right to a healthy environment depends on the health of our planet. The human exploitation and ecosystem degradation we see all around us today are the product of centuries of colonialism and globalised exploitation. They stem from a western-focused worldview in which human and environmental prosperity are seen as isolated and disconnected from each other. They stem from a fashion industry that reinforces inequality and devalues the voices of minority groups, people of colour, women and non-western perspectives. And they stem from a fashion industry which operates opaquely and continues to sidestep responsibility. We cannot continue to extract dwindling resources from an already stressed natural world, pollute our land and our oceans, fall far short of climate change targets and dump our waste on the shoulders of countries we have culturally depleted.  Nor can we continue to allow big business to profit whilst supply chain workers struggle to live in dignity.

At Fashion Revolution, we believe we need a radical shift in our relationships – our relationships with each other, with our clothes, within fashion supply chains and with the natural world. We need this revolution for our own prosperity and wellbeing, and for the health of our earth and our oceans. And it’s already starting to happen. Covid-19 has prompted growing numbers of people to reassess what’s meaningful in their lives. We have begun to reimagine the values at the essence of a new fashion system and explore new relationships with our clothing. Now we need brands to change their relationships with each other, replacing competition with collaboration to solve the major challenges facing the industry. We need a shift in the relationships between brands and suppliers, so that the rights of people and the rights of nature hold more of the power wherever decisions are being made. And we need environmentalists, human rights groups, industry, governments, unions and citizens to work together to ensure that human rights and the rights of nature are addressed in unison. Collaboration and mutual support are essential, because we are more powerful voices for change when we all work together.

Now is the time for a fashion revolution. This Fashion Revolution Week, we are bringing people together from across our community, amplifying unheard and marginalised voices, and working together to explore interconnected solutions.

How?

We will be sharing the stories of those affected by change, with those who are asking for change, to pressure those who need to change. We have partnered with 5 global organisations to highlight the urgent, radical need to shift from extractive and exploitative actions, to become regenerative, equitable and accountable.

Our conversations, webinars, stories and worker profiles will come together to  introduce a new dominant cultural narrative based on a just transition, where transparency, respecting human rights and dignity and conserving the environment becomes a driving force for the public and for the fashion industry.

We plan to be part of a future-focused global fashion industry that conserves and restores the environment and values people and planet, over growth and profit.

Learn more about how to take part in Fashion Revolution Week 2021 on our homepage, and join us in a week of revolutionary action to change the fashion industry.