FROM THE EDITOR

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh, which killed 1138 garment workers. The tragedy focused a spotlight on our need (and greed) for fast, disposable, cheap fashion – some brands release as many as 52 “micro-season” ranges each year.

As reported on Stuff last week, Tearfund education and advocacy manager Murray Sheard visited Southern India, where he witnessed women in garment mills working 12-16 hours per day in hot and dangerous conditions, many of them suffering from respiratory complaints from breathing in the cotton that they were weaving into sheets, plus abdominal pains from the heat. Sheard also said many of these women had been promised a three-year lump sum in addition to their (poor) wages to use as a dowry, but after three years, were often cheated out of this payment. These revelations cast a very long shadow on any bargain bin items in my own wardrobe.

The 2013 Rana Plaza horror at least turned the world’s attention to these entirely unsafe working conditions, sweatshops and unfair wages inside the fashion industry, and was the catalyst for the world’s first Ethical Fashion Report. There’s since been a worldwide shift and, in New Zealand, we have brands such as Kowtow, Liminal Apparel and Maggie Marilyn leading the ethical charge. As consumers, we all play a part. Think slow, not fast. Less, not more. Visit a second-hand store. iD Dunedin Fashion Week is being referred to as “New Zealand’s sustainable fashion event”. Find out why on page 8.