‘Fashion Revolution’ Event Remembers Victims Of Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza Disaster

By Steve Bynum
Bangladeshi garment workers, who worked at the Rana Plaza garment factory that collapsed tin 2013, work at a factory meant to rehabilitate survivors of the accident, the worst in the history of the garment industry, in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi garment workers, who worked at the Rana Plaza garment factory that collapsed tin 2013, work at a factory meant to rehabilitate survivors of the accident, the worst in the history of the garment industry, in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. AP Photo
Bangladeshi garment workers, who worked at the Rana Plaza garment factory that collapsed tin 2013, work at a factory meant to rehabilitate survivors of the accident, the worst in the history of the garment industry, in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi garment workers, who worked at the Rana Plaza garment factory that collapsed tin 2013, work at a factory meant to rehabilitate survivors of the accident, the worst in the history of the garment industry, in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. AP Photo

‘Fashion Revolution’ Event Remembers Victims Of Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza Disaster

By Steve Bynum
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Five years ago, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1135 garment workers. The disaster sparked a global outcry for safe working conditions, calling into question the values of the fashion industry. We’ll speak with Nasreen Sheikh, a Nepalese woman, who was a child laborer in a Nepal sweatshop. At the age of 16, she created a fair trade company in Kathmandu. Amnesty International featured Sheikh after she ran away from home to escape an arranged marriage. Also joining us is Father Andrew O’Connor. A New York-based Roman Catholic priest, he founded Goods of Conscience, a social enterprise that partners with women textile weavers in Guatemala. They’ll talk about the human costs to fashion. Katherine Bissell Córdova, executive director of Chicago Fair Trade, will tell us about Fashion Revolution Week, an annual global initiative to remember the Rana Plaza victims.

DePaul University will participate by hosting a fair and panel discussion on ethical fashion on Friday, April 20 at 4:00 p.m.