Trace My Fashion website will be launched on 24 April at 6:00pm at Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct and will feature the recent case studies jointly Bengal Research and Design Initiative and students of BUFT in order to learn about sustainability, transparency and ethics from these case companies.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Mohammad Atiqul Islam will be present on the occasion as the chief guest. Muzaffar Siddique, BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) president and BGMEA vice-president Mohammad Shahidullah Azim will be present as guests at the event.

The event will highlight QR Code project #tracemyfashion in order to promote transparency in the Fashion Industry. Fashion Revolution Bangladesh in partnership with BUFT and Hong Kong-based non-profit, Lensational will launch an interactive platform to answer #whomademyclothes and Norway based organization, ‘Fashion Footprint’.

#FASHREV is encouraging fashion students of BUFT to participate in this exercise, to research, experience and explore the nature of the situation and its solutions. They have prepared questionnaires based on their research to understand workers welfare and the environment standards and measures taken by each case company.

On Fashion Revolution Day #FASHREV will present their case company products through QR Codes. Through QR Codes BUFT Students and Trace My Fashion will present an interactive experience (through website link) highlighting the ethical practices of these case companies for consumers.

Two years ago, on the same day, the largest industrial mishap in history, known as Rana Plaza Disaster, took place in Savar, claiming the lives of 1133 RMG workers, due to negligence of factory owners. This day became Fashion Revolution Day, to commemorate the workers who lost their lives and the survivors in a single day and to call for a positive change so that such an incident never happens again.

Fashion Revolution Day is an opportunity to celebrate fashion as a positive influence, raise awareness of  the fashion industry's most pressing issues, show that change is possible and celebrate those who are on a journey to create a more ethical and sustainable future for fashion.

A few companies including RMG industry giants like BexTex (Upcycle Project) and Desh Garments, and social initiatives such as Living Blue and Friendship Bangladesh, have stepped forward to open up about their brand and supply chain, the steps they are taking to rectify and improve their worker and environment standards, wages and safety issues of their workers.  

Trace My Fashion has also partnered up with Lensational a Hong Kong based nonprofit to tell stories about the workers through their lenses. Workers from a factory were given digital cameras after a workshop on how to use cameras by Lensational in collaboration with BUFT.     

The initial aim of #FASHREV is to get the factories and brands to open up to us. It has been almost two years since the tragic Rana Plaza incident took place. The incident has been a wakeup call for the sector and in these two years we have seen a complete transformation of the Bangladesh Apparel Industry.

#FASHREV plans to add the certificates of audit firms like Accord and Alliance to the case companies we feature on our website. The positive side is that various stakeholders in RMG industry are actively taking part in improving the overall situation because they want to remain on top of this billion dollar industry and gradually aim to achieve even a higher standard through ethical practices within their capacity. Since the movement has begun, change is inevitable.