Remembering Rana Plaza: Ten Years On

Join us to commemorate an event that opened the world’s eyes to the dark side of the fast fashion industry: the devastating Rana Plaza factory collapse on 24 April 2013. Ten years on, learn about what happened that day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the progress that has been made since to improve the lives of garment workers worldwide, and how you can be a force for change in the #FashionRevolution movement. Admission is free, and snacks and drinks will be available.

This event is co-hosted by Chicago Fair Trade and Empowerment Collective. We are delighted to welcome two special guests to this event: global human rights advocate Nasreen Sheikh and Fair Trade entrepreneur Jackie Corlett.

Nasreen Sheikh is a survivor of modern-day slavery, a social entrepreneur, an advocate for global human rights, and a speaker on the international stage. At a very young age, Nasreen escaped forced marriage, child labor and extreme poverty and founded Local Women's Handicrafts, a women's cooperative in Kathmandu, Nepal. She also launched the Empowerment Collective, a U.S. nonprofit organization, to support her work in Nepal and India. Her life's mission is to use her powerful voice to uplift marginalized women and children and to build a society where every person is free to be a leader and agent of change.

Living and collaborating with professional artisans in Bangladesh since 1989, Jackie Corlett has witnessed some dramatic changes in the nation's industry and society. One of these is the unregulated fast track growth of the garment industry that led to the Rana Plaza tragedy in April 2013. The conflicting and co-existing realities of sustainable fair trade, handmade production, and mass production of fast fashion in abusive settings, has challenged and driven Jackie to set up Motif in Bangladesh in 1998 and Motif Handmade in the US in 2019. As a textile and accessories designer she continues to work with conscious designers and brands raising awareness and access to the wealth of artisanal skills in Bangladesh. Her goal is to have ethical artisanal production play a key role in today's sustainability conversations and sourcing choices. Only then can we wear and use truly healthy products that excite customers, esteem their makers and ensure together we stop trashing our planet.

"Dhaka Savar Building Collapse" by rijans is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

"Helping Khaleda, one of the survivors of Rana Plaza" by DFID - UK Department for International Development is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Host or Publisher Chicago Fair Trade