This week, specifically on April 24, is the fifth anniversary of Fashion Revolution, a movement created in response to the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh, where 1,133 garment workers died and more than 2,500 were injured in their workplace due to the building’s poor conditions and structural failure. It's considered the deadliest garment factory accident in history, as well as the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history.
Fashion Revolution promotes and encourages ethical processes, sustainability, and transparency in the fashion industry by urging consumers all over the world to ask the brands who make the clothes and other fashion items they wear. We are proud to be part of this movement as these are values we believe in and intentionally apply to all aspects of Rags2Riches (R2R), and now Things That Matter, from the very beginning.
To celebrate Fashion Revolution Week 2018 (April 23 to 29), we're introducing to you three inspiring individuals and positive change makers that have been at the core of your favorite R2R products. They are the leaders and coordinators of some of the R2R communities who create the very soul of all your favorite R2R products, the signature R2R weave.
Tina Alsona
Ate Tina is the production manager and coordinator of our artisan community in Paradise Heights located in Tondo, Manila. She has been sharing her amazing energy with us for seven years now!
She loves that she can work and earn a living from her house and still be able to take care of her family, and she dreams that her children will be able to finish their studies and be able to buy her own house in a few years. She also wishes to welcome more people in their community in Paradise Heights.
Ricky Tango
Kuya Ricky is the coordinator and a leader of the Hulma community based in Caloocan. He has been bringing joy to R2R for almost 8 years now, and we couldn't be happier to have him with us.
His favorite part about working with R2R is being able to share his knowledge acquired within the company and with others through our projects in Artisan Academy, R2R’s training and quality of life program. He hopes that his community in Hulma will be able to welcome more people in the future and that the business within his community will sustainably grow.
Zeny Alvarez
Ate Zeny is the coordinator of our first-ever community partner, Payatas. That makes her one of our first artisans in R2R, having been with us for almost 10 years now.
What she loves about working in R2R is getting to mentor our advocates during our Weekly Weaving Workshops. Her dream is for her kids to finish their studies and for R2R to last forever.
A photo of the R2R team and community artisans with their families during the R2R summer outing last April 21, 2018
We are grateful every day to be able to work towards a more sustainable, ethical, and mindful fashion industry with such inspiring and resilient people so let’s continue asking the brands and producers: #whomademyclothes and #whomademybags? Join the Fashion Revolution and learn more here.
