Fashion Revolution Week: Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion

Fashion Revolution, a movement founded five years ago by fair trade leaders Orsola de Castro and Carry Somers, coordinates the annual Fashion Revolution Week. The movement was inspired by the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, which killed 1,130 people and injured 2,500, and the broader exploitation in the fashion industry, with over 500 official textile worker deaths from 2002 to 2012. The campaign uses the viral hashtag #Whomademyclothes? to demand transparency and ethical production. On May 8, Fashion Revolution Italy held an event at Superstudio in Milan, in partnership with the Fondazione Pistoletto, featuring artist Michelangelo Pistoletto and his Terzo Paradiso concept. The event focused on education, innovation, social fashion, and information. Ethical designers like Stella McCartney, who bought back 50% of her company from Kering to maintain ethical control, and Eileen Fisher, who promotes circular design, are highlighted as positive examples. Gucci has stopped using fur, and Bottega Veneta aims to end animal leather production within two decades. The article argues that technology and ecology must combine for a sustainable future, with innovation hubs in Shenzhen, Seoul, Detroit, and Mumbai leading the way.