Femnet e.V.

News about Our Work -

28 April 2023 A changing industry? The commemoration of Rana Plaza casts light and shadow on the global fashion industry

Fashion Revolution Week or #RememberingRanaPlaza, as those affected in Bangladesh call it remembering the collapse of the factory building on April 24, 2013, also shows ten years after the accident that, despite many advances, there can (yet) be no talk of a revolution in the textile industry. There are different reasons for this.

“It requires more than a Western-led fashion revolution. We can kneel down to remember the victims. But we have to ask ourselves whether institutional and ritualised remembering does not lead us to passively watch factory fires and collapses instead of really ensuring e-justice," says FEMNET member Lavinia Muth. The sustainability expert and proven connoisseur of the textile industry in Southeast Asia will find critical words on the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster. For years, even as a consultant and auditor in Bangladesh's factories to implement ethical and sustainable practices to improve working conditions, she views the fairness movement with mixed feelings. Because, according to Muth, who, as CSR manager of a fair fashion label, also knows the company side: The fashion industry, like hardly any other industry, strives for fairness and sustainability. But despite much praised efforts and innovation attempts, it has not really been possible in recent years to systematically reduce the negative effects on the environment and people.

Acting Instead of Confessions

A collective failure that Western brands and sustainability consultants can only cope with with with marketing campaigns that romanticize the demands of fairness and sustainability? A failure also of the fair fashion movement, which at that time began to denounce the power structures in the context of complex, global clothing supply chains, but is now exhausted above all in slogans and commemorative actions?

‘The danger of the Rana Plaza memory and metaphor is that it prevents us from actually changing and reshaping the industry, and keeps us in the loop of making a few small repairs, a charity action here and there, but at the end of the day: business as usual,’ notes Lavinia Muth, calling instead for decisive action - the more honest and just form of commemoration.

© BCWS, Bangladesh

 

Adequate compensation for survivors, relatives of victims and textile workers who have been unable to work since the Rana Plaza incident would be a long overdue step. Workers are still protesting, together with trade unions, to draw attention to the devastating consequences of the disaster and to demand justice.

Voices from the Global South are getting louder

After all: It is a step forward that in the last ten years more and more women feel empowered and courageous to stand up for their rights and to fight. Self-empowerment is also the approach of FEMNET in its project work on the ground, because it is one of the most effective forms for more sovereignty and for breaking up unequal power relations within global supply chains.

In the context of a future that is no longer determined from top to bottom or by the well-being of a few at the expense of countless people in the global South, the perspective of the suppliers themselves must also be considered.

At the recent Bangladesh Business Summit 2023, representatives of the garment and textile industry discussed how the sector can shape sustainability, competitiveness and investment opportunities. An allegation was made to the Western clients: International buyers and brands consistently paid clothing suppliers in Bangladesh lower prices than the global average. The sector has been catching up and improving in terms of quality, product diversity and regulatory compliance in recent years.

Actors on the ground call for a relationship on an equal footing

According to the local newspaper The Daily Star, The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, which cites the president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, has established Bangladesh as a preferred source of clothing procurement among global buyers, thanks to exemplary progress in the areas of workplace safety and environmental sustainability.

But, according to association president Faruque Hassan: “While it is good to see that our services are appreciated, the prices offered by buyers do not reflect this.” Fair prices not only benefit suppliers, but would allow factories to invest more in the sustainability and well-being of workers.

A well-meaning promise to which both contractors and contractors still have a lot to contribute, so that the workers who sew our clothes can live and work in dignity.

Ten years after Rana Plaza, an ambivalent conclusion can be drawn: The misfortune stands as a sad symbol of the dislocations of industry and has exposed them in a brutal way. At the same time, the event has helped accelerate workplace safety measures and uncover Fast Fashion's business practices.

Consistent action remains a challenge for all actors if we want to return their human dignity to the victims of Rana Plaza.

Source:

"Bangladesh apparel industry urges fashion brands to offer fairer prices", Just Style, 13 March 2023