Six years ago, on April 24 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapsed. 1,138 people died, mostly young women, and another 2,500 were injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history.
There were five garment factories in Rana Plaza all manufacturing clothing for big global brands. The disaster created a global movement, Fashion Revolution, a movement that brings people together from all over the world to campaign for a fashion industry without exploitation, abuse, unsafe and unfair wages.
FASHION REVOLUTION IS A GLOBAL MOVEMENT CALLING FOR A FAIRER, SAFER, CLEANER, MORE TRANSPARENT FASHION INDUSTRY.
We believe in the power of collaboration to create change. As a small social impact business combating a huge problem, we actively engage in a collaborative spirit with our community of partners, from working with big manufacturers in completely new ways to empowering small social enterprises to stimulating local craftsmanship.
In honour of Fashion Revolution Week, we are hosting an event alongside Redress and Fashion Revolution at The Hive Studios on April 26 from 18:30. Join us for an evening to learn from the panel, meet the makers behind The R Collective’s collections with a screening of award-winning 'Frontline Fashion'. Find out more on Facebook and get your tickets here.
Our Workers’ Stories
We care about the people who make our clothes and are passionate about ensuring they are well looked after. There are between 60-75 million workers making our clothes and shoes1 - 80% of whom are women2 - with families to feed and dreams of their own. We like to honour these unsung heroes, who are dotted around countless factories around the world. (China has 100,000 garment manufacturers alone!) We partner with blue-chip manufacturers, who we consider as our friends, who have exemplary working conditions.
As a dedication to our team of formidable seamstresses who make The R Collective collections a reality, we share our workers' stories from our Thailand based manufacturing partner, TAL Apparel. An award-winning garment manufacturer committed to minimising their environmental impact while positively contributing to the communities in which they operate.
Mrs. Pornphanarat Thamma, 50
"I am a mother of 3 and live with my family near the factory. I love sewing. I'm responsible for the assembly of the garments and help teach my co-workers specialist skills. It's challenging when we learn new styles, but I use my experience and discuss with my supervisor how to achieve it. I want to continue making nice clothes for customers. When I have spare time, I help to train the new workers how to sew." ⠀
Mrs. Kanjana Srichai, 45
“My greatest achievement is growing from Sewing Worker to becoming Sewing Manager. I enjoy developing other peoples' skills, growing our department and motivating our workers. I have one child aged 15 years old. In my spare time, I like cooking for my family, which makes me happy."
Mrs. Sinee Waowaw, 50
“In my spare time I’m always thinking about my future, my family and how to make them happy. I work here as a Garment Technician and learned all my technical knowledge from a Chinese Sifu. I like sewing and I am proud to have developed and grown with this position. I rent an apartment near the factory and have two children aged 11 and 18 years old. With my income, I support my children’s education.”
Mrs. Anong Pimpa, 46
“I have three children aged 18-22 years old. I rent a home near the factory and live with my kids. I am responsible for the assembly of the garments and specialise in teaching new co-workers. The most challenging part of the job is learning new styles. I use my experience and work with my supervisor to learn how to sew it. I’m very happy when I achieve the new style! I hope I can grow in my career, own my own home and car. My dream is one day to travel abroad.”
Mrs. Nongluk Thong-In, 50
“I’m responsible for the small parts sewing, especially front panel sewing. I’ve learned and trained at TAL Apparel and moved to different departments to learn new skills. I bought a house near the factory where I stay with my family. My greatest achievement is sending our garments out to customers and getting positive feedback. I hope that we can continue to grow our business and one day I will retire to allow more people to enjoy more business.”
Ms. Rattana Wongsricha, 32
“I live near the factory and enjoy chit chatting with friends in my spare time. I specialise in assembling garments and checking quality on every style that comes through to my department. With my job, I have more income and I am able to support my parents. That’s my greatest achievement to date. I hope to grow into my career and become sewing technician or even sewing group leader.”
The powerhouse of garment makers wouldn’t be complete without the members of management that coach and train the team:
Lawretta Law, 69
“I have three daughters aged between 31 and 42 and three grandkids between 8 and 13 years old! I live in Thailand on my own and enjoy baking bread and cakes. I started working in the family business factory at 12 years old, starting in leather and shearling jackets. I travelled overseas from Sri Lanka to Madagascar, Guam, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and China to learn more techniques. I feel empowered to use my skills to make a living. As the Technical Consultant, I mentor three people and oversee the technical team and quality control. I help coach our team and share skills and knowledge, this is what I want to do, I learned from my mentors and now I want to give back. This job has been a dream! In five years, I hope to retire and do charity work to teach people to bake or sew garments.”
Mr. Nattapon Leakngam, 42
“I have been a Merchandiser for 10 years. As the Made To Measure Director, I manage all the daily operations from quality checking to order management and accounts. I like to watch fashion shows and research product on our customer’s websites. I have learned new technical and finance skills in this position, my greatest achievement was getting the recognition from TAL to handle this department. I am always thinking about how we can improve and develop the skills of our team. I feel lucky to work with what I like, fashion! That’s why I’m here.”
Pupe Kallayanee Jantafoom, 42
“I am the Customer Service Manager for the Made to Measure department. I have 1 boy aged 6 years old. We live 10 minutes away from the factory with my husband. I like to watch movies with my son at the weekend. At work, I manage orders, shipments, sampling and fittings. I started as a sample coordinator 18 years ago, I hope to continue to grow in this job and enjoy the stability of this job.”
Learn more about Our Partners.
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Join our Circular Fashion Revolution event:
Date: April 26, 2019.
Venue: 8th Floor, The Hive Studios, Kennedy Town.
Time: 18:30 - 21:00.
Get your tickets & RSVP.
1 Clean Clothes Campaign.
2 Clean Clothes Campaign.
