Consumers now have the opportunity to put their money where their values are and call Australian retailers to action in response to the tragic collapse of Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza, says an Australian designer.
Fashion designer Amanda Ryan, who started her ethical label Bachhara in Bangladesh four years ago, says the collapse of Rana Plaza and the recent exposure by Four Corners of the Australian retailers taking advantage of Bangladesh’s sweatshops has finally raised awareness of the plight of factory workers.
“It has provided exposure [of the issue],” Ryan tells Women’s Agenda on the Rana Plaza tragedy which killed more than 1000 factory workers and contributed to the 43 factory fires that have occurred in Bangladesh in the past 18 months.
Emphasising the difficulty she’s experienced in the past trying to explain to Australian consumers just how poorly factory workers are treated in Bangladesh, Ryan is glad the factory workers “didn’t die in vain”.
“At least people are now having the conversation, so it’s a step forward,” she says.
At the age of 21, Ryan launched her fashion business Bachhara while volunteering as a project director at a free-of-cost school for slum children in Bangladesh, which was running low on charitable donations. While the school would receive 600 applications every year, it could only afford to accept 40 students, taking in the poorest of the poor.
Wanting to do something to help the families of her students and support the school, Ryan decided to start a sewing centre that would employ and train women, while supporting a school for their children.
“Because I was quite creative, I decided I would test out my design skills … Then I decided it was probably better to try and sell it to the market in Australia, so I moved back home,” says Ryan, who now runs Bachhara remotely from Australia, travelling to Bangladesh every three months.
Through sales of Bachhara, Ryan hopes to employ and train up to six women a year at the sewing centre, while also supporting their children to attend the Jago School. She recently participated in a ‘Dreamstarter’ crowdfunding campaign (a collaboration between the School for Social Entrepreneurs, ING DIRECT and StartSomeGood) to raise funds for her 2013 Summer Collection.
Having worked hard over the last four years to support the children and families of the Bangladesh slums through Bachhara, Ryan says she doesn’t have much to say to the Australian retailers exposed in the Four Corners report, but highlights the huge opportunity consumers now have to change the market.
“The more questions consumers ask, the more Australian retailers will have to abide by them. People can put their money where their values are,” she says.
“We’ve got a long way to go but hopefully people now know what fair trade means and that spending a bit more money in shops will help in the long run. People have a visual of Rana plaza, and that’s a great thing.”
According to an Oxfam Australia survey released last month, almost 70% of Australians would pay more for their clothes if they knew overseas workers were paid a decent wage and that garment factories had safe working conditions.
The survey, which was carried out following the collapse of the Rana Plaza in April, also revealed that 84% of consumers want Australian companies to sign onto an accord to improve safety at Bangladesh factories.
“Since 2005, more than 1800 people have died in fires and building collapses in Bangladesh. Companies must do more before more lives are lost,” said the chief executive of Oxfam Australia, Dr Helen Szoke.
According to Oxfam, fifty companies worldwide have now signed the accord.
“Following public debate on the conditions of clothing workers, only four Australian companies – Kmart, Target, Forever New and Cotton On – have prioritised clothing workers’ health and safety by joining this important accord,” said Szoke.
“The pressure is now on for Big W, Best and Less and other Australian companies sourcing from Bangladesh to follow suit.”