Wear Your Values explores the convergence of human rights and the global fashion industry through educational events, exhibitions, campaigns, and discussions.
The fashion industry is one of the world’s largest economies and employs millions of people globally. The most labor-intensive stages of production are often done in authoritarian countries, where workers’ rights are continuously violated without recourse.
Since 2017, HRF’s Wear Your Values (WYV) program has encouraged dialogue about human rights in the fashion industry. Through innovative public awareness campaigns and educational exhibitions, WYV aims to promote transparency and human rights in global supply chains, and bring awareness to the stunning hidden social costs of the industry.
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Our Work
Uncomfortable Truth
Did you know there’s a 1 in 5 chance that your clothes are at high-risk of being linked to Uyghur forced labor? HRF has joined the Coalition to End Forced Labour in the Uyghur Region, dedicated to ending forced labor and human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese government against the Uyghur population and other Turkic and Muslim-majority people. HRF’s Uncomfortable Truth initiative includes an award-winning guerilla poster campaign, as well as a Google Chrome plug-in extension to help shoppers keep Uyghur forced labor out of their shopping carts.
The “Banned” Collection
“Banned” is a collection of garments from different regions of the world, which have been banned by authoritarian regimes. The exhibition explores the power of fashion by highlighting the diverse ways in which it is used as a tool for expression and activism, and as a tool for oppression by authoritarian regimes.
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week (NYFW) provides a significant opportunity to engage a large and diverse audience in conversation about the social impact of the fashion industry. HRF has contributed to NYFW by hosting interactive exhibitions, panel discussions, and fashion shows about human rights in the fashion industry.
Our Strategy
Wear Your Values hosts events, exhibitions, campaigns, and discussions to engage a diverse audience, and shed light on the correlation between authoritarianism and forced labor.
CREATIVE CAMPAIGNS
We engage a diverse range of activists, stakeholders, designers, and partners to execute creative campaigns in order to highlight the correlation between authoritarian regimes and forced labor practices.
TARGETED ADVOCACY
We connect with fashion brands and prominent global celebrities through private letters and off-the-record meetings to promote human rights and transparency in the fashion industry.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
We capture the attention of the general public and encourage dialogue at events such as Fashion Week globally, as well as at our annual human rights conference, the Oslo Freedom Forum.