The fashion world has shown its humane face by rushing to announce relief measures for earthquake victims in southern Turkey and northern Syria where the death of more than 11,200 people has been confirmed.
Inditex the owner of the fashion brand Zara has donated $3.2 million to the Turkish Red Crescent organization besides donating 500000 items of warm clothing for the affected population. Inditex said the initial relief has been provided to cover the immediate basic needs of the affected population. In a statement, it further assured that it would be available to the major relief organization for the assistance they need.
The Turkish Red Crescent through the deployment of manpower and equipment is providing relief in the 10 affected provinces in south-eastern Turkey where 8,754 people have been confirmed dead. Another 2,470 lives had been lost over the border in Syria, at the time of publication.
The Swedish fashion giant H&M pitched in through its philanthropic arm the H&M Foundation with donations of $250000 each to Save the Children and the Turkish Red Crescent to provide relief to the earthquake victims.
Fashion brand Mango from Spain has donated €150,000 (US$161,000) to the Turkish Red Crescent. Besides, it is looking after and supporting its 1,300 employees in Turkey. Mango operates about 70 stores in Turkey and works with 663 supply factories in the country.
A statement released by Mango states that at the moment all its employees are safe and in good health. Only one worker has been hospitalized. However, the statement said that the company is closely monitoring the situation and is providing all possible support to all its employees.
The affected region of Turkey was host to several textile and garment factories that supplied international brands. The Fair Labor Association (FLA) said has urged companies that source from the cities of Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye or Sanliurfa to get in touch with their suppliers to understand how they had been impacted.
We also strongly recommend that our affiliates and project partners support humanitarian aid through credible international or national aid organizations engaging in search and rescue operations and supporting Turkey’s urgent needs, said an FLA statement.
