It's Fashion Revolution Week!
Here is a GREAT resource for learning more about the sustainable & ethical fashion movement.
I was first introduced to Fashion Revolution by my friend and collaborator Joelle Firzli. She is one of the four women who founded Tribute, a sustainable shopping collective based in D.C. that curates collections of new and vintage pieces from around the globe.
April 19-25 is Fashion Revolution Week, which marks the anniversary of the 2013 Rena Plaza disaster. The collapse of the Rena Plaza building, which housed a number of garment factories, killed over 1,100 Bangladeshi garment workers and injured another 2,500. This disaster became that catalyst for the founding of Fashion Revolution, an educational platform and advocacy movement in support of a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry.
Their vision is to work towards “a global fashion industry that conserves and restores the environment and values people over growth and profit.”
What I like so much about FR is that they focus on action and solutions. They don’t use guilt as a tactic to change consumer behavior, but rather help folks step into their power to effect change through education and activism in this behemoth industry that we’re all a part of.
I love this one line from their website: “We celebrate fashion as a positive influence while also scrutinizing industry practices and raising awareness of the fashion industry’s most pressing problems.” That’s the ethos after which I am patterning Zhuzh: Let’s fall face-first into the beautiful things in life that energize us, but let’s do it consciously and in alignment with our values. Make space for delight, know yourself and your taste, consume consciously, evolve, repeat. That’s what we’re doing here, you and I, and that’s what Fashion Revolution is doing on a global scale.
If you want to participate in Fashion Revolution Week 2021, here are a few actions you can take:
Join me in donating to Fashion Revolution in support of their mission.
Download a “Get Involved” pack. There are free digital guides for citizens, brands, retailers, farmers, producers, factories, educators, and students that outline actions and ideas for making meaningful, positive change in each facet of the fashion industry. If you do this, PLEASE donate, too; these resources may be free, but they aren’t free to make!
Follow Fashion Revolution on social media and sign up for their newsletter. I LOVE automating my education and awareness, and these are two fantastic ways to do so if you want to lean more about the sustainable and ethical fashion movement.
Find your country team. Join a group of volunteers managing education, communication, and policy efforts in your area.
If all you do this week is ponder “who made my clothes?” while getting dressed, you’re making progress toward a more conscious, fair, ethical fashion industry.
Until next week,
Elizabeth
This newsletter is just one facet of Zhuzh, my platform dedicated to conscious consumption and making space for delight. I offer secondhand-and-vintage-based wardrobe and interior styling services, art curation, and super chill life coaching. Keep up with me on Instagram and learn more at www.zhuzhlife.com.