Fair Fashion Day at the European Parliament: civil society demands
better legislation in the fashion industry
Fashion Revolution and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office are hosting a Fair Fashion Day atthe European Parliament on April 25th. The event will take place during Fashion Revolution
Week and just a few days ahead of the ENVI vote on the EU Textile Strategy, as well asaround the time when the JURI committee is expected to vote on the long awaited Corporate
Sustainability Due Diligence Directive that - if done right - could have a great impact inmaking the textile sector more fair and sustainable. The event will be used to call on
European lawmakers to hold fashion brands accountable by law on their human rights andenvironmental impacts, and take legal action against brands’ irresponsible purchasing
practices. The day will consist of a panel discussion between MEPs and impacted
stakeholders, including SMEs and a public stunt outside the European Parliament in supportof the Good Clothes, Fair Pay campaign.
The day will begin with an honest and unfiltered discussion on the main challenges faced byimpacted stakeholders from the fashion supply chain, as told from the perspectives of Sahin
Pravin, former child garment worker from Nepal, and General Manager at Local Women’s
Handicraft, Nepal; Simone Simonato, founder & designer of Sica, an upcycling design SMEs
from Berlin; and Mario Iveković, trade unionist from Novi Sindikat, Croatia. MEPs Delara
Burkhardt and Saskia Bricmont will join the conversation which is taking place in the morningat the Spaak building“Fashionably late: it’s time for the EU to take action on poverty pay in fashion”
The event will be directly followed by a public stunt outside the European Parliament todemonstrate the urgent need for the EU to take action on poverty pay in fashion. To
symbolise this, citizens behind the Good Clothes, Fair Pay campaign will be stationing aperson sewing with a machine (to symbolise the fashion industry), alongside an hourglass torepresent the limited time the EU has to act. MEPs Delara Burkhardt and Saskia Bricmont
will be speaking at the stunt. Citizens from across Europe will simultaneously be replicating
the stunt in busy public spaces in their cities, demonstrating EU-wide solidarity with thepeople who make our clothes. Good Clothes, Fair Pay is a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI)
which demands legislation on living wages for garment workers worldwide. There’s less than
three months left to mobilise the critical one million EU signatures needed to call on theEuropean Commission to introduce laws on this important issue. You can access images

and videos of the stunt in Brussels and across Europe here and EU citizens can add theirname at goodclothesfairpay.eu.
“As the world’s largest importer of textiles, the EU has the power to hold the fashion industryaccountable for its human rights and environmental impacts. Therefore, we call on the EU tointroduce stringent due diligence legislation covering the entire fashion industry and ensurethat the people who make our clothes are paid a living wage. There is no sustainable fashion
without fair pay.” - Delphine Willot, Policy and Campaigns Manager, Fashion Revolution“Well documented by field research, Unfair Trading Practices such as very long payment
delays and prices below production costs are a sad reality in the fashion industry. As a resultof the brands' quest for the lowest price, clothing manufacturers are often unable to make aprofit or invest in sustainable production and living wages for workers. We call on the EU totake strong legislative action to ban this abusive and predatory behaviour and to create alevel playing field.” - Marta Garda, Project Coordinator, FTAO
Ends.
Notes to Editors
The panel will take place between 9:45am and 12pm CET
Spaak Building room 7C50
European Parliament
Brussels
Belgium
Register for the panel event at
https://saskiabricmont.typeform.com/to/HnhV0rPJ?typeform-source=www.google.com.
The Good Clothes, Fair Pay stunt is taking place outside of the European Parliament and in
the following cities:
Amsterdam, the Netherlands - 22nd April
Milan, 22nd April
Köln, Germany - 25th April
Paris, France - 25th April
Catalunya and Valencia, Spain - 25th April
Images from the panel and discussion and stunt will be added to this folder for press usage.
Please credit where appropriate.
More information about the Good Clothes, Fair Pay campaign is available here. We need 1
million signatures by July 2023, EU citizens can sign at at goodclothesfairpay.eu.
For further information and interview requests, please contact press@fashionrevolution.org
or brussels@fairtrade-advocacy.org.