After the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013, killing 1,138 people and injuring many more, Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro got into action. As sustainable fashion leaders, they knew the industry they loved needed to do a much better job protecting workers and the environment. The pair launched Fashion Revolution to demand changes in how our clothes are sourced, produced and purchased.
The movement quickly expanded beyond the U.K. to become a global campaign, growing about 100% each year since. More than 2.5 million people took part in last year’s campaign. Its hashtags—including the standout #whomademyclothes–had 533 million impressions online.
This year, Fashion Revolution runs from April 23rd to 29th with events in more than 100 countries and online. The cofounders will be releasing their latest Fashion Transparency Index—a groundbreaking report on transparency across the biggest global fashion brands and retailer supply chains.
Before starting Fashion Revolution, Somers founded Pachacuti, the first company to be Fair Trade Certified, and created bespoke collections and private label designs for brands such as Paul Smith, Club Monaco, and Chopard. De Castro was founder of From Somewhere, a clothing line made entirely from pre-consumer waste. She was cofounder of Estethica, London Fashion Week’s showcase for sustainable designers.
I spoke with the cofounders about their motivation, how they broke through the social media noise, and the roles both consumers and companies play in changing the fashion industry.
Susan Price:How did you decide to respond to the tragedy with this campaign?
Carry Somers: I don’t think I’d really call it a decision. It was more like a lightning bolt of inspiration that hit me in the bathtub a few days after the collapse. All I did was get straight out of my hot bath to act on it! Orsola and I knew each other through Estethica, which she curated and at which Pachacuti exhibited. She was known as a pioneer on the environmental side of the fashion industry and I was known for pioneering traceable, fair trade supply chains. I knew she had to be the first person I called.
Orsola de Castro: Carry and I were in total agreement about the vision for a campaign to raise awareness and create change. We started from scratch–recruiting our team, setting out our theory of change, creating our image and introducing Fashion Revolution on social media. Soon we were recruiting volunteers all over the world. We did our first Fashion Revolution Day on the first anniversary of the collapse and it trended worldwide on Twitter. It was huge, pretty much immediately.
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After the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013, killing 1,138 people and injuring many more, Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro got into action. As sustainable fashion leaders, they knew the industry they loved needed to do a much better job protecting workers and the environment. The pair launched Fashion Revolution to demand changes in how our clothes are sourced, produced and purchased.
The movement quickly expanded beyond the U.K. to become a global campaign, growing about 100% each year since. More than 2.5 million people took part in last year’s campaign. Its hashtags—including the standout #whomademyclothes–had 533 million impressions online.
This year, Fashion Revolution runs from April 23rd to 29th with events in more than 100 countries and online. The cofounders will be releasing their latest Fashion Transparency Index—a groundbreaking report on transparency across the biggest global fashion brands and retailer supply chains.
Before starting Fashion Revolution, Somers founded Pachacuti, the first company to be Fair Trade Certified, and created bespoke collections and private label designs for brands such as Paul Smith, Club Monaco, and Chopard. De Castro was founder of From Somewhere, a clothing line made entirely from pre-consumer waste. She was cofounder of Estethica, London Fashion Week’s showcase for sustainable designers.
I spoke with the cofounders about their motivation, how they broke through the social media noise, and the roles both consumers and companies play in changing the fashion industry.
Susan Price:How did you decide to respond to the tragedy with this campaign?
Carry Somers: I don’t think I’d really call it a decision. It was more like a lightning bolt of inspiration that hit me in the bathtub a few days after the collapse. All I did was get straight out of my hot bath to act on it! Orsola and I knew each other through Estethica, which she curated and at which Pachacuti exhibited. She was known as a pioneer on the environmental side of the fashion industry and I was known for pioneering traceable, fair trade supply chains. I knew she had to be the first person I called.
Orsola de Castro: Carry and I were in total agreement about the vision for a campaign to raise awareness and create change. We started from scratch–recruiting our team, setting out our theory of change, creating our image and introducing Fashion Revolution on social media. Soon we were recruiting volunteers all over the world. We did our first Fashion Revolution Day on the first anniversary of the collapse and it trended worldwide on Twitter. It was huge, pretty much immediately.
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