Fashion Revolution Week 2025: The Fight for Fair Fashion Isn’t Over

April 24, 2013. A day that brought the fashion industry to a halt. The Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh claimed the lives of over 1,100 garment workers and injured thousands more. It was the deadliest garment industry disaster in history and it exposed what fast fashion had tried to hide an entire system built on the backs of the unheard and unseen. More than a decade later, the tragedy remains a turning point, but the change it demanded still hasn't reached far enough. The exploitation didn’t stop. It just stayed hidden, out of sight, off the labels, and away from public accountability. That’s why Fashion Revolution matters. Because fair pay and safe conditions shouldn’t still be up for debate.

Founded by Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro, Fashion Revolution was born as a global movement to demand dignity, transparency, and justice in fashion. What started as a response to a disaster has become a worldwide force across more than 80 countries. It’s a campaign, but it’s also a call for truth in an industry built on exploitation.

One of the movement’s most powerful questions #WhoMadeMyClothes reshaped how people think about the garments they wear. Suddenly, brands were being asked to show the people behind the product. And the uncomfortable truth was that most couldn’t. This question didn’t just highlight poor working conditions. It exposed a deeper system of gendered exploitation, child labour, and what many have called modern slavery.

We wrote about this in our blog 'Stolen Childhood: The Hidden Victims of Fast Fashion,' featuring stories and a documentary that reveal the heart breaking reality of children who have lost their freedom and basic rights to an industry obsessed with speed and profit.

Click on the image to view the dark side of fashion.

In response, ethical brands joined the conversation with #IMadeYourClothes, proudly introducing the artisans and makers behind their garments. These campaigns gave faces to the invisible and made the industry’s silence impossible to ignore.

And yet, here we are in 2025, still having to say this out loud - fair wages are a basic human right. According to Fashion Revolution, over 97% of major fashion brands still do not pay their workers a living wage. A wage that is NOT enough to survive. This is unethical and inhumane. Even now, most big brands refuse to be transparent about where their clothes are made, how workers are treated, or what wages are paid. Instead, we get vague sustainability claims, glossy campaigns, and empty words. That’s called greenwashing.

This year, Fashion Revolution Week runs from April 22 to 27, under the theme "Think Globally, Act Locally." It’s a global celebration of awareness and action. Last year alone, the movement reached 42 countries, hosted over 1,400 events, and engaged more than 30,000 people. From upcycling workshops to mending circles and open forums, communities came together to make change feel possible and personal.

Because the truth is, cheap clothes are never cheap. They cost someone their health, their time, sometimes even their life. That ₹300 shirt or €5 dress came at a price, one that doesn’t show up on the tag. There’s always a person behind the product. A pair of hands, a name, a story.

And this week, on our podcast, we bring you one of those voices. We’re joined by Shruti Singh, the Country Head of Fashion Revolution India. She speaks about why, despite years of awareness, exploitation continues and what can be done when communities speak up. This is the conversation that many fashion brands would prefer you didn’t hear.

Follow us on @refash_ for more insights on this movement. Because choosing better starts with knowing better and silence helps only one side, the side that profits from exploitation.

Starting this week, and every day, let’s choose not to be silent. So, we ask #WhoMadeMyClothes?