Since the gruesome reality of how our clothing is often made was recently proved in Bangladesh, the calls for change are loud and determined ... and rightly so. Basic securities we have in our jobs are now expected for the makers of all we wear and use.

On Monday I was in Chicago seeing these expectations brought to life in two very different markets:
 

Hand Made & High End

One month after at least 1,127 people were killed, mostly young women, families continue to grieve the loss of loved ones and now feel the effects in other ways too.

Here are two excerpts from a recent nbc article hi-lighting the longer term losses after the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Bangladesh.

♦    Identifying bodies that are found in the rubble is now almost impossible, as daytime temperatures...

It's not the first time cries for change in the fashion industry have resulted in well-intentioned 'agreements'. It is the first time however that 41 global garment retailers, many of them competitors, have responded TOGETHER. AND the first time they are committing to finance this work TOGETHER rather than leave it all to the factory owners. The result:

An African proverb says, "If anyone thinks they're too small to make a difference, then they've never tried to sleep in a room with a mosquito!"

Are you excited? ... I am! So much is happening so quickly now in the aftermath of Rana Plaza - some very big strides have been made as the Ready Made Garments Industry at last gets serious about worker safety and welfare. And it's the direct result of all of us making a noise about it somewhere.

Following what is one of the worst industrial accidents...

Calls for action still fill the air, the Rana Plaza death toll rises over 1,000 and now another Dhaka garment factory tragedy fills the headlines.

Working hours were over so only a few remained, the Managing Director, family members, a senior police officer and others. These influential people were among the 8 killed in

In the last 6 months nearly 600 people have died whilst working in Dhaka's garment factories - the number rises daily as bodies are still being recovered from the most recent carnage. If this death rate were linked with a disease there'd be global cries of an epidemic!

May Day parades in Bangladesh are not unusual. The passion for improved wages and working conditions is vocal and intense, thousands of workers and...