Meet the maker: Rainbow Handbag Factory, China

Fashion Revolution is a global movement promoting a more sustainable and transparent fashion industry and better working conditions. The campaign reminds us that there is a human being behind every garment and encourages companies to bring forth these professionals in different parts of the supply chain.

Fashion Revolution Week commemorates the fashion industry’s most devastating factory disaster to date. On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in Bangladesh causing 1,138 people to lose their lives and leaving 2,500 injured. The victims were mostly young women.

The positive change towards a more transparent fashion industry starts with a simple question: who made your clothes?

Rainbow Handbag Factory Limited, China

Rainbow Handbag Factory Limited was established in 1973. Today the company is specialised in manufacturing sophisticated bags, employing a staff of several hundred at factories in China and a service center in Hong Kong. Always striving for top quality, the company has been manufacturing Marimekko clutches, backpacks, leather goods and scarves for more than a decade. The relationship between the two companies is based on positive and constructive co-operation and easygoing communication.

According to Director Andy Chan, being transparent and sustainable in the fashion industry requires openness and understanding of the whole supply chain system as well as proper working conditions. The manufacturer must be aware of the origins of the materials used and ensure that the products are always safe to use. Rainbow’s team is actively tracing raw materials and looking for optimal sustainable purchasing opportunities.

Seamstress Lui Sin Ping has been working at Rainbow for over 20 years.

“The best thing in my work is that I have become close friends with my co-workers during the many years we have spent together. If I could change one thing in my work, I would like to have an elevator in the factory building. For me, sustainability is about being aware of the fabric waste.” – Lui Sin Ping