Fashion Revolution Week - Meet & Greet with Friendship

Bangladesh is home to more than 3000 garment factories, employing over 4 million workers making it the second largest producing country in the world. 11 years ago, a garment factory in the capital of Bangladesh collapsed resulting in more than a thousand casualties. It’s been more than a decade but the 24th April remains a meaningful day as the social and environmental injustices caused by the textile industry persist. On top of that, Bangladesh is highly impacted by climate change making its already poor population even more at risks of being vulnerable.

We’re inviting you to meet the Friendship NGO active in Bangladesh and Friendship Colours of the Chars to listen to their experience of strengthening and empowering marginalised communities in Bangladesh. Friendship has four main missions: saving lives, alleviating poverty, climate adaptation, and empowerment. They hope to provide the necessary help to allow locals to reach their full potential.

As a subsidiary of the NGO, Friendship Colours of the Chars is also a slow fashion brand. Traditional methods of weaving, dyeing and printing are taught at the Friendship centers. These skills provide the women with work opportunities, a living wage, and of a life in dignity and with hope for a better future. Each unique product shares stories of the women of the chars, and of the labour and skills it takes to produce the colourful garments and accessories.

Friendship sets the example of a sustainable and ethical fashion industry where, producing and consuming countries, less developed and developed countries, can benefit from each other.