1. This is copyrighted material developed for AOD international design campus
Fashion: Can it be a force for good?
Published April 9, 2014
On 24 April 2013, 1,133 people were killed and many more were injured when the Rana Plaza factory
complex collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh due to its adverse conditions. The strain that it caused the
whole fashion world is still felt today. The Fashion Revolution Day (FRD), marking the one year
anniversary of this tragedy, goes beyond a traditional commemoration limited to a minute of silence,
and tries to address the root of the problem which is, the lack of transparency and interest in the origins
of our clothing. FRD is taking a stance to stop fashion from committing more crimes and to promote
guilt-free clothing by creating true awareness on the importance of people questioning where their
clothes come from. This international fashion movement is currently sweeping across the world and
invited to lead Sri Lanka in this, is Sri Lanka’s dynamic design campus AOD.
Fashion Revolution Day (FRD) provides an organised, worldwide platform for those who believe that it’s
high time for action and that we need to ask questions, raise standards for fashion manufacturing, and
set a world-wide example of what ‘better’ looks like. This is looking for a giant change – one that can
eventually, save lives.
Sri Lanka can contribute two things to this global movement. The world needs a strong and exemplary
fashion manufacturing voice; something that many people overlook is that Sri Lanka’s fashion
manufacturing industry which is truly a noteworthy one. Through the award-winning ‘garments-without-
guilt’ campaign that highlighted our commitment to sustainable fashion manufacturing here in Sri Lanka,
the local apparel industry has played a pioneering role in the international ethical manufacturing
agenda; this was from a time when it was still a secondary topic even in Europe and North America,
making Sri Lanka well-placed to represent fashion manufacturing within a global context. Secondly, Sri
Lanka is uniquely positioned to set an example for how manufacturing should be; with the first and the
highest number of green fashion manufacturing plants, the women behind our needles are truly
empowered by their careers. Sri Lanka can proudly say that we don’t employ child labour and SL apparel
industry has successfully taken the factory to the village to create more jobs and opportunities.
Already, the educated fashion consumer who shops globally, knows better. Because of the availability of
a new, young and growing consumer base, there is a better chance of building them as a primarily
ethically buying market. Being a nation that has many ethically manufacturing plants and educators such
as AOD interested in pursuing the ethical aspect of design education and beyond, we have the resources
and the examples to deliver this education to the masses. These are all important contributions Sri
Lanka can make for the global campaign FRD.
Fashion revolution day campaign is about giving the voice to the consumer. The change in global fashion
will only come about through a worldwide consumer demand that goes beyond a low price and takes
the leadership to ask the question ‘who made our clothes?’ On 24 April, which is the one year
anniversary of the Rana plaza collapse, AOD invites anyone and everyone to become part of this

2. This is copyrighted material developed for AOD international design campus
campaign and raise the question ‘who made our clothes?’ and join the world-wide social media
campaign #whomadeyourclothes
Ready to be part of the next big change?
Join FRD Sri Lanka event under ‘Events’ of the official AOD Facebook- www.facebook.com/Aodsrilanka,
and for more information, refer to the country page representing Sri Lanka on official FRD website
fashionrevolution.org/country/sri-lanka/