I remembered as the news has hit about many of the events they mentioned within the documentary, a huge building collapses as low paid workers get trapped under the rubble, a huge fire that rips through factories with no proper health and safety procedures in place. I did not however realise how many of the main brands made their clothes within these very factories, GAP and Primark to name a few. It is all well and good that the brands offer their condolences and false promises of improvements however as the documentary shoes these are not isolated events. They are fairly often and so devastating to communities.

There are over 40 million garment factory workers in the world at the moment, with 10% of them working in Bangladesh. It is spoken as an issue mainly for female workers as 85% of these factory workers are female. They earn less than £3 a day. In England, that is the price of an average lunch. It is pocket change whilst for some they have to raise a family on that money alone. The ideas of unions are only just emerging, workers demands barely getting listened to and reports of violence and abuse have risen out of many factories. The documentary featured a worker retelling how they were locked in a room and attacked with chairs and other furniture items, unlike the UK where policing is high, these workers still had to go back the next day and work for these same employers as they needed the money.

Livia Firth, a big campaigner at the moment, has been urging the fashion industry to make changes that last. She has been using her platform to critique fast fashion and to right the 'social justice destruction' that has been happening.

In addition to the human cost, the effects the fashion industry has on the environment is shocking. Clothing factories are dumping tons of dyes and chemicals into local water works, the same streams and rivers in which people rely on for drinking and bathing. That polluted water is being consumed by those who cannot afford to filter or pay for luxury bottled water. They have no choice and are most likely oblivious to the effects that the chemicals can do to themselves and their families.

With 1 in 6 working in the global fashion industry, we need to do more to protect those without a voice. They are silenced due to their low social standing and desperate to do anything that might protect their families. We need to do more.

I am a huge fan of the Instagram account (now insta verified) Diet Prada.

The anonymous account calls out fashion issues such as fashion copycats and ethical issues in the fashion community, naming and shaming very publicly any brands or persons who have been seen as doing wrong. It has got them into heat with many people in the industry however, arguments often kick off in the comments section as brands lash back, unhappy with the negative critique put out about them.

I do adore the account, I think that everything they are saying seems more than fair. There is inspiration and then there is straight plagiarism and some of the comparisons they post are almost identical. They know their stuff about fashion and about brands and are not afraid to show it.
As the account themselves put it;
Gucci have been one of their most serial offenders, from stealing patterns, designs and logos from many smaller brands. It has also been  huge few years for Gucci so the stolen designs have obviously been doing them well, but thankfully they have to deal with the embarrassment of Diet Prada outing them to their 250K followers. They even invited Diet Prada to do an Instagram Takeover for them, to spot the references of their new collections. This transparency is all that consumers and the account ask for.
I believe the account is reflective of the society we live in now, we are self-policing and stopping injustice where we see it. If @diet_prada was not calling out the copycats, who would? Would brands be less careful with their copied designs and campaigns? I'm grateful that with Diet Prada around we won't have to know.

Keep up the great work! It's like a modern day Gossip Girl,
XOXO