Global Challenge
On April 24, 2013, an eight-story commercial building collapsed in Bangladesh killing 1,129 people. Unfortunately this type of story related to factory conditions and fires are not rare and isolated to a specific country.
A true solution does not just focus on “putting out the fires.” Rather, the goal is to creatively channel our collective buying power to invest wisely in developing countries where we will create and maintain just and eco-friendly factories where the workers themselves will have a say. This is the only way to create a truly sustainable future for the fashion industry.
There are countless organizations committed to ameliorating working conditions in garment factories around the world, and numerous others devoted to bringing attention to responsible sourcing in the fashion industry. But Bona Fide Fair Fashion™ is the first initiative to bring industry to the table by inviting global sourcing professionals and other top-level executives to make a difference by engaging only those factories that adhere to humane and eco-friendly business practices. Most importantly, our Bona Fide Fair Fashion™ Symposiums enable the process to begin by providing the platform that has never been available before.
With each symposium, the membership becomes more inclusive and the goals become ever more expansive – one step at a time. Via these symposiums, we will incite change by creating a series of legal, transparent and binding agreements. Thus, with each symposium we move the bar forward.
In addition to improving factories, our symposiums stimulate ideas that will attract additional investment in the neediest of the 20 developing countries identified as The Fashion 20™. A long-term goal of Bona Fide Fair Fashion™ is the creation of a coalition or consortium of retailers, brands and importers who will meet on a regular basis. Through our collaborative efforts a unique opportunity is thus created whereby we can dramatically re-imagine the entire “supply chain.”
Allowing current conditions to continue is Unacceptable Global Citizenship. It is imperative to the bottom line that everyone joins to strategize the future of our industry in a practical yet sustainable way.