Another Taster For Friday's Fashion Event

As this Friday's fashion event is only a few days away, we're treating you to yet another glimpse, this time of the wonderful necklaces that will be presented and auctioned on the night! And remember: all proceeds will go to Schone Kleren to support them in their campaign for compensation to the Rana Plaza victims.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Fashion Event on Friday May 9th

The date of our fashion event is fast approaching!


If you haven't heard already, we - Fair Design Committee - have been creating clothes, headbands and jewellery from old donated clothes and fabrics for the past few months. On May 9th, we will be presenting all these items down a catwalk and then auctioning them off to the highest bidder. All proceeds will go to Schone Kleren Campagne, a Netherlands-based charity focused on abolishing the inhumane practices associated with sweatshop labour.

We hope to see you there!

When: Friday May 9th. Doors open at 7:30 and close at 8pm

Where: the BPA of University College Utrecht, Campusplein, 3584 ED, Utrecht
How much: €4.00 for students (please present student ID), €6.00 for non-students

UCU and UU Students can purchase tickets from dining hall during lunch and dinner hours.

Alternatively, to purchase a ticket online please transfer the price of the ticket you would like to the following account
UCSA NL52 RABO 0384 2321 24
Please remember to clearly state ‘Flora’s Rage’ and your first and last name as the transfer subject so that we can add your name to the guest list.

Schone Kleren Campagne - Where Exactly Is Our Money Going To?

By now you will probably have heard through friends, technology or perhaps just overheard in the wind; "Flora’s Rage" is about charity. Of course the show will be wonderful: there will be drinks, a catwalk show, live music and hand-made clothes - but this is not it. If you cannot take home an item of clothing or accessory (that annoying person who already has lots of wonderful clothes out-bid you!) make sure you take away the message that is at the core of the campaign.

Lets improve the conditions of workers in the East, of whom we ignorantly ignore in the West.

So how do we intend to do this?

We have formed an alliance with Schone Kleren Campagne, which will receive 100% of the money we raise from the fun you have.

Why this charity? Will my money actually and actively make a difference?

Yes. We are working with the branch specifically based in the Netherlands, which was founded in 1989. It has created an internal network which links 250 trade unions with organisations, the producers and the consumers. This means Schone Kleren Campagne has direct contact, and therefore firm foundations for strategies and requirements can be met.

And who do they intend to help?

The campaign focuses on mobilizing workers in sweatshops, especially women. This is because women form 85% of workers as they have weaker terms of employment then men.

How do they intend to improve conditions?

Schone Kleren Campagne has a four-point strategy:

1.      Inform the Dutch public through events such as "Flora’s Rage".

2.      Approach clothing companies and encourage them to take responsibility for their workers overseas.

3.      Support the roots-level workers by encouraging them to fight for their own justice.

4.      Put pressure on governments to enforce legislation.

For more information, please attend “Flora’s Rage” on Friday May 9^th at University College Utrecht. A guest speaker from the charity will give a talk and afterwards answer any of your questions. Alternatively, follow this link to their website: http://www.schonekleren.nl

Everyone at Fair Design Co looks forward to seeing you there.

Now The Moment You've All Been Waiting For...

We are very excited to show you a glimpse of some of the designs that will be presented at our fashion charity event on May 9th! All items have been crafted out of recycled materials and will be auctioned at the event, in aid of Schone Kleren Campagne and sweatshop labour. 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Free Event Tomorrow in Amsterdam: Who Runs the World? Girls!

For the past few months our members at the Fair Design Committee have been creating clothes, jewellery and headbands from recycled materials to be presented and auctioned at a fabulous fashion event on May 9th. All the money raised will go to the Schone Kleren Campagne, a Netherlands-based charity aimed at improving conditions for garment workers across the world.

For a chance to see what Schone Kleren Campagne has been up to, why not check out their photography exhibition of nine female Bangladeshi and Cambodian factory workers ‘Who Runs the World? Girls!’ at De Balie in Amsterdam. These nine women feel passionately about improving the situation in garment factories and promoting awareness of the dark side behind cheap throwaway fashion. As Tania, a 23-year-old worker in Bangladesh put it: 

"I would like to say to the people of Europe, I am here, I exist, and I would like to tell you about my daily life in the factory and everything around it. The more people know how things are allowed to go on here, the more people can support us. Together we are taken seriously!"

The exhibition will be on show until this Friday but the opening night tomorrow, Tuesday 21^st April, will feature six fascinating talks (in Dutch) by those involved in the project and a Q&A afterwards.

And the best part? Admission is free!

All you need to do is send an email to info@schonekleren.nl with your name and the number of places you’d like to reserve.

For more information click on the link below:

Event information

Pretty Little Hand-Made Headbands

As part of the fashion show, we will be selling a limited number of hair accessories. These have been designed and carefully made by the talented hands of Katie Mudd and Lucia Ron Ozores. They have used recycled clothes, picked the most interesting pattern and material, and reincarnated them into beautifully unique head-bands.

For a chance to get your hands on these one-of-a-kind pieces, please attend Flora's Rage on Friday May 9th. All proceeds will go to Schone Kleren Campagne, a Netherland-based organisation helping to improve the working conditions of employees in the clothing industry.

A timeline of production! From old tired clothes, to lovely and summery headbands.

Lucia modelling one of her designs

Photos by Katie Mudd

A Year After Rana Plaza

Initial reports spoke of “maybe two hundred dead”. It would be weeks until an accurate total was reached, once all the bodies had been dragged out from under the rubble and names ticked off.

1138 dead. 2515 wounded.

Last year, on 24^th April 2013, the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed. The building contained a bank, apartments, shops and several clothing factories serving 28 brands, including Benetton, Mango, Primark and Walmart. It was a tall building of six floors, yet no permit had been obtained to build the upper four floors. The structure was not strong enough to bear the weight and vibration of heavy machinery, and government safety inspectors had not visited for years.

It was on the day before the fatal accident that employees discovered worryingly deep cracks in the walls. They called for evacuation and an inspection of the building. The shops and the bank on the lower floors immediately closed for business, but garment workers were forced to return to work, threatened with having an entire month’s pay docked if they refused.

An entire month’s wage may seem like pocket money to us. It’s the cost of a cardigan from H&M, or a bag from Topshop. After all, it’s only €28. But these workers need that money to survive, in spite of €28 equating to just 12% of what is estimated to be a living wage. For them it’s the difference between having dinner tonight - or going to bed hungry. Many Rana Plaza survivors reported that they did not want to go back to the factories, that they knew they were risking their lives in an unsafe building, but they were desperate. They had no choice.

Photograph by Pieter van den Boogert

However, Rana Plaza is no anomaly. Bangladesh has the second most garment factories in the world, which is largely owing to the low national minimum wage as well as the government’s blind-eye policy concerning worker’s rights. In recent years there has been a rapid rise in structures that are not suitable for factories. Often the most basic safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers and emergency exits, are simply not provided and there are almost daily short circuits that can cause factory fires. It was only a matter of time until one of these factories collapsed, killing and maiming thousands.

To add insult to injury, it’s nearly a whole year later and the Rana Plaza victims have still not received any compensation from the rich multinational companies who sanctioned the unsafe building in the first place. Only in the past few days has Primark signed an agreement to pay out £6 million (€7.2 million) to the victims. Now this is great news, of course, but all the 28 other brands whose clothes were being made in Rana Plaza at the time are still lagging behind. Together they have donated only €5 million, which is less than a quarter of the target.

Hopefully Primark’s recent actions will increase the pressure on those brands who have not yet contributed to the fund. You can increase it further still by signing this petition to get the families of the Rana Plaza victims the compensation they deserve. This tragic event cannot be undone, but it can be dealt with honourably and prevented from ever happening again.

Click here to sign the petition!