UNIVERSITIES AGES 18+
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 2 Fashion Revolution Day At universities On 24th April 2013, 1133 people were killed and over 2500 were injured when the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Social and environmental catastrophes in our fashion supply chains continue. Fashion Revolution Day says enough is enough. This annual appointment on the anniversary of the disaster will help to raise awareness of the true cost of fashion, show the world that change is possible, and celebrate all those involved in creating a more sustainable future for fashion. The first Fashion Revolution Day was a resounding success but once is not enough - we want to keep the pressure on to catalyse change. We need children and young people across the world to make the connection between the clothes they wear and the people who made them. Then we want to demand that brands and retailers tell us more about the people in their supply chains. We ve come up with a few ways that students of all ages can have fun participating in Fashion Revolution Day while at the same time learning more about the clothes they wear.
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 3 BE CURIOUS FIND OUT DO SOMETHING WHO MADE MY CLOTHES? When the Rana Plaza garment factory complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed in April 2013, it shocked consumers around the world. Day after day, people tuned into press stories about its victims, survivors, causes and significance. It has been said to have marked a turning point in the fashion industry and also led to people all over the world asking questions about their clothes. Who made them? Where? With what pay and conditions? With what environmental consequences? What kinds of lives can garment workers live? Do things have to be like this? Does all of the fashion industry source its clothes from places like the Rana Plaza? What can we do as consumers and as citizens if we don t like what we find? Fashion Revolution calls on all of us to be curious about our clothes, the people who made them and the brands and retailers who can make things better. TAKE A SELFIE As part of the Fashion Revolution Day campaign, anyone can find out who made their clothes by just asking. The simplest thing to do is take a selfie whilst wearing an item of clothing inside out with the label showing, send it to the brand via social media, asking who made my clothes? #FashRev and share your reply. Tens of thousands of people across the globe did this last year. THE EDUCATION SECTOR CAN PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE Young people are an important market for the clothing industry, as active consumers today and consumers and employees of the future. Fashion Revolution offers educators a great opportunity to explore with their students the many issues entangled in the industry: for example, globalisation, workers rights, supply chain transparency, provenance of materials, global citizenship and ethical business. GET INVOLVED Fashion Revolution Day on 24 April 2015 is all about people across the world getting involved and taking action. Taking a selfie and sending it to brands is important. But there is so much more that young people can do to put pressure on brands to make our clothes more ethical and sustainable, and to value people and planet. This pack provides lots of ideas that could help you engage students in these issues by stimulating their curiosity, encouraging them to find things out themselves, doing things that could make a difference and sharing this with others.
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 4 See what happened in 2014 62 COUNTRIES TAKING PART Register here for all the latest #FashRev news and responses #1 TRENDING TOPIC GLOBALLY ON TWITTER
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 5 How universities can take part The clothing industry touches everybody s lives and is a truly global industry with social and environmental impact. In this way, it is relevant to many subject areas, such as: Fashion Design Geography Sociology Anthropology Religious studies Business studies Media studies Psychology Economics CSR and Sustainability Business & Management Retail Management & Buying Advertising & Marketing Media & Communication Textiles Chemistry Public relations Politics and International Studies REGISTER FOR 2015 Register at the website and we will keep you in touch with everything that s happening. We ll also make sure you hear about the impact of Fashion Revolution Day and how the brands react. www.fashionrevolution.org FASHION REVOLUTION DAY Hold an event for Fashion Revolution Day on 24 April when everyone wears an item of clothing inside out showing the label! Students take a selfie showing the brand label. Find the brand or retailer on social media and send the selfie with the photo using #FashRev and the question who made my clothes? See: Design a Fashion Revolution Day poster FASHION REVOLUTION DAY QUIZ Organise a quiz session - we supply the questions and answers. See how much your students know about fashion, supply chains and the people who work hard to make our clothes. See: Quiz TRUMP CARD GAME Make and play a game of fashion ethics trumps, with each card representing students own clothes. See how ethical your favourite brands are. Who wins and loses, and why? See: Fashion Revolution Day Trump Card game TABLEAU VIVANT Organise a Tableau Vivant outside a local retailer, recreating the outfits worn in the shop window displays but using vintage, charity shop, ethical, upcycled alternatives, worn by models/volunteers standing on the pavement outside the shop. Share your event on social media. See: Worksheet: Tableau Vivant SOMETHING NEW Take our brief and set a challenge for your students to create their own activity or event to help us raise the profile of Fashion Revolution Day. Encourage more people to ask brands who made my clothes? and generate more responses from retailers and brands about their supply chains. See: University Briefing Document
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 6 Lecturer notes The following are some ways in which you and your students can be involved in Fashion Revolution Day in the lead-up and on 24 April 2015. Please feel free to come up with your own ideas around the same themes. And do let us know when you register at the website. Aims of session To understand the message of Fashion Revolution Day and why students are wearing their clothes inside out To investigate the social and environmental policies of their favourite brands To find out where in the world their clothes are manufactured To investigate the raw materials used in the manufacturing process and consider their environmental impacts To consider the people involved in every part of the garment supply chain and examine the working conditions and pay of these workers To discuss the responsibilities the producers, brands, retailers and consumers have in creating a more ethical and sustainable clothing industry Be Curious Why should we think about who made our clothes? Ask students to take photos wearing an item of clothing inside out and make Fashion Revolution Day posters to put up around university Ask the students why they are wearing clothes inside out Worksheet: Design a Fashion Revolution Day poster Find out Why should we think about who made our clothes? What can we find out from the label in that item of clothing? Ask the students to look at the label to find out in which country it is made and from what materials Ask the students to find out the brand who made the garment Ask the students to look online to find out if the brand publishes information about their social and environmental policies Worksheet: Research my clothes and write to the brand Find out How do brands make our clothes? In groups: Ask the students why it s important to know how and by whom our clothes are made Ask the students to discuss what the difficulties might be in knowing who made your clothes Ask the students what difficulties they have had finding out who made their clothes? Ask the students whose responsibility it is for passing this knowledge on to consumers Ask the students to think of questions they would like the brands to answer. Ask the students to write these questions to brands in a letter. Worksheet: Research my clothes and write to the brand Find out What are the ethics of brands your students buy from? Distribute the templates and instructions for how to play the Fashion Revolution Day Trump card game Ask the students to create their own cards following the instructions Ask the students to play the game in groups and discover who are the winners and losers in the clothing industry Fashion Revolution Day Trump Card game
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 7 Lecturer notes [cont.] Do Something Fashion Revolution Day Invite students to design their poster and display the best around university to advertise Fashion Revolution Day on 24 April Encourage students to tell their friends and family about Fashion Revolution Day and ask them to take part Get students to take a selfie of themselves wearing something inside out with the label showing and send it to the brand or retailer on Facebook or Twitter saying who made my clothes? #FashRev Worksheet: Design a Fashion Revolution Day poster Take a selfie and send it to the brand Do Something Letter writing Send the letters written to the brands in class and/or post on social media asking Who made my clothes? #FashRev Share the replies from brands with #FashRev Worksheet: Research my clothes and write to the brand Do Something Fashion Revolution Day Quiz Organise a Fashion Revolution Day Quiz in your department or set the quiz as a test Encourage your students to organise a Student Union quiz night Fashion Revolution Day Quiz Do Something Tableau Vivant Get out of the classroom and into the High Street or shopping centre Ask your students to find a clothing store with a window display of mannequins modelling the latest fashions Take a photograph of the display Ask your students to find more or less identical clothes in second hand stores or upcycle their own existing garments Buy/adapt the clothes and ask students to put them on and recreate the window display, in front of the window display Photograph the scene Share that photo online with your location, the name of the store and a short description of what your students learned from their Tableua Vivant, including the hashtag #FashRev Worksheet: Tableau Vivant Do Something Educators help us spread the word Tell your friends and family about Fashion Revolution Day and ask them to take part Organise your own Quiz night with friends or family - great fun and informative at the same time! Fashion Revolution Day Quiz
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 8 University Briefing Document We invite universities across the world to get involved in Fashion Revolution Day 2015. We know that your students will create lots of new ways to raise the concerns of Fashion Revolution Day and demand more ethical and sustainable practices from the retailers, brands and producers. BE CURIOUS, FIND OUT, DO SOMETHING Be curious. Find out who made your clothes from who picked the cotton, who spun the threads, who made the fabric to who sewed your garment together. Your clothes already tell a story about who you are. Now they can tell a better one. This is the central thread of the Fashion Revolution Day campaign and would be at the core of your students involvement. THE OBJECTIVE We want to make people aware that there are many others all over the world who are involved in making their clothes. The fashion industry has become de-personalised, but the sight of high-street branded clothes in the rubble of the Rana Plaza factory put the spotlight on the sacrifices made by thousands of garment industry workers all over the world who suffer every day to satisfy our need for new clothes. We are asking students to help us question brands and retailers about the transparency of their supply chains, their ethical business practices and working conditions and lives of the people they pay to make our clothes (directly or indirectly). Manufacturers and retailers have a great opportunity to show how well they understand and manage these issues, and what improvements they are making. They are more likely to do this if their customers demand it. THE CHALLENGE We invite university students to come up with an event or activity of their own which will encourage their peers and other young people to make the connection between their clothes and the people who make them. We want them to help young people communicate that message to their favourite brands and retailers. In 2014 people used social media to send thousands of selfies to fashion brands. Your students can come up with their own ideas - all we ask is that they use the hashtag #FashRev.
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 9 Worksheet: Research my clothes and write to the brand Use these ideas to write your own letter, email, or postcard to the brand or company who made your favourite garment and ask them some questions. Look at your favourite piece of clothing. Which company s name (or brand) is on it? Find the labels in that item of clothing. What do they tell you about where it was made, and what materials it was made from? Can you find out if this brand or company has social and environmental policies about how it makes its clothes? You may be able to find this information on their website. Discuss in groups why it might be important to know more about how your clothes were made and by whom. Think about the people involved and about the impacts on the environment. Discuss in groups who you think is responsible for thinking about these impacts? Is it the brand, the person who buys the clothing, or someone else? In your groups discuss what you would like to ask the brand or company about how it made your clothes. Some example questions might be: Who sewed my garment? How do you ensure that the workers are treated fairly in the factories you use? Do you know where the fabric is made and who makes it? How do you ensure the environment has not been harmed in the making of this garment?
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 10 Worksheet: Tableau Vivant Get out of the classroom and into the High Street or shopping centre. Ask your students to find a clothing store with a window display of mannequins modelling the latest fashion. Take a photograph of the display. Ask your students to find more or less identical clothes in second hand stores or upcycle their own existing garments. Buy/adapt the clothes and ask students to put them on and recreate the window display, in front of the window display. Photograph the scene. Share that photo online with your location, the name of the store and a short description of what your students learned from their Tableua Vivant, including the hashtag #FashRev
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 11 Take a selfie and send it to the brand 1. Turn your favourite item of clothing inside out and find the label showing the brand name 2. Take a selfie 3. Tweet the brand and ask who made my clothes? #FashRev
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 12 Worksheet: Design a Fashion Revolution Day poster Make a poster for Fashion Revolution Day (April 24th) like these. Take a selfie wearing your favourite item of clothing inside out with the brand label showing. Add one or more of the graphics below to the photograph to make a poster. Cut these out or download the graphic files from here. Print out the posters and put them up around your university to advertise Fashion Revolution Day. Share your poster via social media using the hashtag #FashRev DO SOMETHING
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 15 Quiz 01. Who has said that eco-style is no longer about brown teeth and ugly shoes? Kate Moss Katharine Hamnett Paul Smith 04. In 2013, which country saw the highest growth in clothing exports? India Bangladesh Turkey 02. The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) was established in which year? 1988 Gap 2008 03. What was the value of global clothing exports in 2013? US$146 billion US$214 billion US$460 billion 05. Approximately how many households in how many countries are involved in the production of cotton? 70 million households in 100 countries 100 million households in 70 countries 35 million households in 35 countries 06. How much less water is used to grow organic cotton compared to conventional cotton? 12% less 53% less 91% less Follow this link to download the full 40 question quiz and registration form for the answers
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 16 Resources Universities Useful websites for further information about ethics and sustainability in fashion: Art Museum Teaching Tableau vivant: History & practice artmuseumteaching.com/2012/12/06/tableaux-vivant-history-and-practice/ followthethings.com How to make & play FRD s Fashion Ethics Trump Card game followtheblog.org/2014/02/04/fashion-revolution-days-education-packpublished/#more-1172 Textiles, Environment, Design Resource sheets www.tedresearch.net/online-resources/resource-sheets/ Textile toolbox Patch Skirt Project www.textiletoolbox.com/media/uploads/resources-pdf/ted-patch-skirt-project-03.pdf TRAID Universities and Further Education resources www.traid.org.uk/education/universities-and-further-education/ Grand Challenge Fashion ethics in the wake of the Rana Plaza factory collapse whatnotfashion.wordpress.com Background research and reading for teachers: Carry Somers, #insideout 6 months on fashionrevolution.org/insideout-six-months-on/ Carry Somers, #insideout any answers? fashionrevolution.org/insideout-any-answers/ Ian Cook, Be Curious. Find Out. Do Something europa.eu/eyd2015/en/fashion-revolution/posts/be-curious-find-out-do-something
FASHION REVOLUTION DAY UNIVERSITIES 17 Thank you! Thank you for helping students be curious, find out, do something! Please do keep in touch, we d love to hear and see what you do for Fashion Revolution Day: www.fashionrevolution.org Find us on Twitter @Fash_Rev Follow us on Facebook facebook.com/fashionrevolution.org Thank you for joining a truly global movement which brings together both the fashion community at large and the entire fashion supply chain, including you! REGISTER FOR 2015 Register at the website and we will keep you in touch with everything that s happening. We ll also make sure you hear about the impact of Fashion Revolution Day and how the brands react. www.fashionrevolution.org