On April 13th, 2023, it was the 10-year anniversary of the Bangladeshi Rana Plaza garment factory collapse that left 1,134 lives lost and thousands more injured¹. This disaster is known to be the deadliest industrial accident in modern human history.
The collapse is a demonstration of the journey – the lives and communities – all garments travel before finding a home. Whether it be the hands that stitch together each thread only to receive less than a living wage or the desertification of the environment ravaged by the harmful pesticides and toxic chemicals used in cotton farming, knowing the origin story of the clothes on your back is critical. The health and safety of the world’s 40 million garment workers, as well as the environment, depend on it².
Historically, fashion has demonstrated its power to prevail and protect all involved in the garment production process. In 1919, through the revolutionary leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, India was shown economic freedom and independence in one of the most powerful demonstrations of non-violent resistance the world has ever known – the Swadeshi movement. The movement used Indian Khadi cloth as a way to boycott imported British products and materials, inspiring India to take back what was theirs while facing the pressures of colonial industrialization³.
Gandhi inspired the Indian people to begin spinning their own Khadi cloth and exchange materials and skills within neighboring communities instead of remaining reliant on expensive, imported British goods4. Taking back what was theirs not only meant establishing a non-violent economic order but also meant the reclamation of national pride through a cloth that bonded them together as Indian people. As more jobs were created locally to fuel the nation’s own economy rather than that of the British Empire, the Indian people proved the power fashion holds to forge freedom in its truest form – one that instills the value of expression through communal ties5.
There exist striking parallels between the disruptions caused by modern fast fashion conglomerates to garment workers and the environment and the challenges faced by India in the past. The contemporary fashion industry thrives on exploitation, exclusivity, and extraction, with the Rana Plaza disaster serving as a stark testament to its devastating consequences.