Fashion Revolution Week has been ongoing since 2013, when more than 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,500 were wounded when a building dedicated to 20 international fast fashion companies collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh in April 2013.
During this year's Fashion Revolution campaign, the slogan is "Money Fashion Power" since sustainable fashion is impossible without fair wages.
As a community, in Euskadi, wanted to mark the accident and raise awareness about the impact of this industry has on the planet and its people. To achieve this, we had two emblematic spaces in two key cities:
In Bilbao at BBK KUNA (a space dedicated exclusively to Sustainability Goals) and in Donostia-San Sebastian at TABAKALERA – Kutxa Kultur Moda (a space dedicated to fashion and supported by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council's GREEN FASHION Cluster).
Various activities have been organized to provide content, information, and solutions to the citizens of Euskadi, allowing them to reflect on consumption habits and ideas for more responsible consumption.
EXPERT PANEL DISCUSSIONS
- EMPLOYMENT IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY DOES NOT HAVE A LIVING WAGE: With the participation of Clean Clothes Campaign (an organization working to improve conditions of workers in the global garment industry) and Comercio Justo (a platform that brings together Fair Trade organizations).
- MATERIALS OF THE FUTURE: With the participation of Adele Orcajada (Basque Bio Design center) – Eduardo Loreto (Multidisciplinary Designer) – Maria Clè Leal (Fashion Designer) and Montse Bayén and Núria Nubiola (Infinitdenim). During the session, four teams discussed new materials, recycled materials, and natural materials with the goal of advancing the use of sustainable materials within the fashion industry.
EXHIBITION Fashion will either be green or it won't
Fashion remains one of the most polluting industries, and social inequalities within the production chain are far from diminishing. We live as if we have two planets, with 10 billion people predicted by 2050.
There are limited resources and we are limited by the existing territory. Fashion cannot ignore it. "We are the first generation to recognize that we are destroying the planet and the last to act."
There were two sections in the exhibition: the first covers all the terms used by the sustainable fashion industry. Who are the actors involved in the production chain? Carbon Neutral versus Carbon Zero: what's the difference? Greenwashing: what does it mean? How does Circular Fashion work? What about sustainable fashion? How does Corporate Social Responsibility work?
In the second section, we present companies, organizations, brands, or designers that challenge four of the main ODG's related to the fashion industry and promote poverty eradication, environmental protection, and prosperity for all: SKFK, GOOD CLOTHES FAIR PAY, KOOPER, TITTY THUSBERG, BDC, and BCOME.
EXPERIMENTS IN SOCIETY
- PROJECTION: COMPOSITION LABEL: We make different decisions when we know reality. We asked 6 young people from Euskadi to choose an item of clothing and describe the criteria they followed when choosing it. You can see in the video what these criteria were and how they responded when they found out under what working conditions the garments they chose had been made.
- VENDING MACHINE: In Bilbao, a €1 t-shirt vending machine was installed on the Gran Vía on April 30. Our message changed the minds of 77% of people who came to purchase the shirt. A video was made that shows what happened on that day.
SOCIAL MEDIA MOBILIZE AND SHARE ACTIVITIES
- PHOTO CALL. Photocall to share the photos on the networks, with posters #norkehindunirearropan or #zerdagonirearropan or other surprises.
- EXCHANGE BOX. A clothing exchange box. The clothing that citizens no longer use can be donated for others to use and others can take what they like. The only rule is: leave 1, take 1, leave 2, take 2....
INVOLVE STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS
- EXHIBITION AND SPEECH: Fashion students from IED Kunsthal-Bilbao present their works, which aim to be sustainable, creative, and innovative.
- SECOND-HAND MARKET and GREEN STYLE: WE WORK FOR A SUSTAINABLE AND SUPPORTIVE FUTURE
Future challenges include sustainability and building a more supportive society. These are the starting points of the business idea of the 4th-year students at the Angeles Custodios school in Santutxu (Bilbao). GREEN STYLE emerges after a search for dynamics to identify business and entrepreneurship ideas that meet needs and VALUES of sustainability and solidarity.
WORKSHOPS: Activities designed to teach citizens how to do their own production or how to make use of natural resources.
- WORKSHOP WITH POST-INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS
Through the use of post-industrial remnants generated by the fashion industry, Amarenak took us to a workshop where participants could create new garments, accessories, and beads.
- UPCYCLING WORKSHOP
Fashion Revolution Week's workshop taught by Almudena Aguirre offered the adventure of creating hats from residual fabrics: blankets, upholstery, quilts, haute couture, and second-hand clothing.
- BIOMATERIALS WORKSHOP
In this workshop on Biomaterials, Adele Orcajada, academic director of the Basque Bio Design Center, explored Biodesign strategies inspired by nature and biological organisms, as an engine of innovation, promoting the transition towards a more holistic and sustainable future.
- TRANSFORMATION WORKSHOP
Shirts can be transformed into shorts for summer. Through Maite Grande de Ifeelnut's instruction, participants learned the basics of cutting patterns on fabric and using a sewing machine to assemble simple garments.
INVOLVE BRANDS AND ARTISANS FROM THE COMMUNITY
- OPEN STUDIOS: During FRW22, 16 Euskadi craftsmen and designers opened their workshops to the public to exhibit their work, provide transparency, and answer visitors' questions.