While We Argue Over Appropriation, South Asian Workers Are Still Dying

The fashion industry’s colonial legacy is alive and well—in low wages, unsafe factories, and xenophobia.

Photo: Solidarity Centre

Twelve years ago this week, the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 1,100 workers—most of them young women producing clothing for Western brands like Primark and Walmart. The images of bodies buried under sewing machines and concrete rubble sparked a global reckoning. Consumers swore they’d shop ethically. Brands promised transparency. Labor rights groups rallied for the dignity of the hands that make our clothes.

But fast-forward to now, and it’s hard to find that urgency in the latest trending discourse around South Asian fashion.

Instead, we’re back to the familiar cycle—a white influencer wears a lehenga to Coachella, or a fast fashion brand drops a “new” spring li…