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More bad news for ethical fashion

bella

(website)

Veteran

This is hot off the press. Terrible news, and quite common unfortunately. I worry that most textile factories employ illegal and child labor, and they are not even being regularly audited if they are not producing for the global community unlike in this case.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37716463

Shopping

24 replies

Latest reply was from Carla

Anonymous

So sad, really makes one think twice about the impact of fast fashion

Anonymous

That is really sad. I posted the article on Facebook for my family and friends to see. I think everyone needs to be aware of this. Thanks for sharing.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Bella, thank you so much for posting this. Sobering indeed and very distressing.

Besides avoiding the companies who are implicated in these scandals (although that is difficult at times and for some may be impossible) and shopping more mindfully, I wonder if there is anything we as consumers can do about this? It would be interesting to brainstorm about that and consider whether we could have an impact.

kkards

Veteran

the most important thing that we can do is by mindful, and to react when we are unhappy.....

also to remember that its hard to judge a book by its cover...just some food for thought

what does made in Italy (and America) mean

http://fashionista.com/2013/02.....-for-the-m

https://www.businessoffashion......-in-matter

http://www.refinery29.com/2015.....e-problems

https://www.marketplace.org/20.....nk-it-does

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Of course the companies follow up with fantastic PR statements to try and restore a buyers confidence; I just wish I could see the companies that remain true to their word.

I'm also concerned about the behaviour of the Arcadia group followed their behaviour before the sale of BHS. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s.....ent=safari

It must be incredibly difficult to shop ethically on a budget.

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Suz, I think one thing consumers could do is not buy from those stores. Instead, they could either make the garment themselves or hire a local dressmaker. Will it be more expensive? Possibly (depending on the price point of the original inspiration garment) but that's kind of the point - you'd know exactly who made the things you wear.

Gaylene

Veteran

I think this paragraph from one of the articles that kkards linked to offers a sobering perspective:

"“You have to really think about it when you’re buying something,” Martinez says. “If you’re buying a shirt that’s $7, for example, and you know that the minimum wage is $9, you’re saying this one $7 garment probably took at least 30 minutes to make, plus travel to get here, and there’s a lot of people that worked on that garment.” The numbers really don’t add up. "

I stopped sewing my own clothes when I realized what I was spending on just fabric and notions was almost double the price of a ready-to-wear shirt in a department store. Boycotting a company for unethical practices, though, struck me as rather hypocritical when I willingly pulled out my credit card to buy a $35 jacket, rationalizing the ridiculously low price was because of the store's 60% off sale. I knew that sourcing just the raw materials for a jacket for $35 would be difficult, to say nothing of labour and transportation costs, and, yet, sub-contractors, a manufacturer, a brand, and a retailer were still likely to be making a profit from my $35 purchase. As the quote says, "the numbers just don't add up".

Sal

Veteran

Thanks for sharing Bella, I am yet to read the other articles.

It is sobering, and I guess we all are part of the problem, and the solution. It is not easy to untangle which fashion organisations are ethical and which are not, but we have some of the clues.

We all have to get dressed, we all want to look good, and we have lifestyles to work around, and budgets. But I know I can do better.

Gaylene

Veteran

This article from Maclean's gives some idea about how labour costs figure into the equation:
http://www.macleans.ca/economy.....ally-cost/

And, in answer to Suz's question, I really don't know how we change an addiction to inexpensive clothing. Sewing and knitting as hobbies isn't the same as sewing and knitting to provide clothing for me and my family. Thrifting, perhaps, is a better alternative but it takes considerable time and effort to use it as the sole means of obtaining all the clothing for an average family--right down to shoes and underwear. And I haven't even mentioned fashion.

Anonymous

I've been boycotting Zara for several years now, due to their crimes against the environment. Now I'll just carry on with it, adding crimes against humanity to the list. I'm doing just fine without you, Zara!

Sal

Veteran

Gaylene - my goals with fashion are
- longevity - buying quality pieces that will get lots of wear, and that I don't tire of, so quality in construction, fabric and style.
- not overbuying (do I need duplicates, how many times a year do I really need a sunfrock).
- being a happy repeater, being proud to wear the same fabulous outfit many times.
- supporting local designers where possible, this can be harder with all the temptations and NZ designers are often very expensive.

Where I can do better
- avoiding some retailers altogether
- choice of sustainable fabrics

So I am looking carefully now at knit fabrics that pill and get holes so easily, I don't want any more of these to enter my wardrobe as this has been a frustration this year with two items (one year old and one month old, both unacceptable in my mind).

Gaylene

Veteran

@Kiwigal/Sally, you've listed many of my goals as well, and. I agree we can all do better.

What I wrestle with, though, is my desire to brand retailers as good guys and bad guys. The more research I do, the muddier the waters. Is lycocell really better for the environment than cotton as some research would suggest? Does insisting on a rigid schedule of factory inspections address the issue of multiple sub-contractors? Is a 12-year-old girl working for a pittance in a factory a "slave" or a person who gains status in a family because of her ability to earn a wage? Is it fair to scorn Old Navy's $5 T-shirts when I'm not counting pennies to feed and cloth a family.

This topic bothers me because I KNOW, as a first-world consumer, I'm part of the problem. I guess I just can't figure out how to be a part of the solution in a responsible way. Indignation, boycotts, and buying only "quality" seem like a privilege, and not much of an answer.

Anonymous

Well, "privilege" or no, I'm going to boycott anyway. I like to vote with my wallet. At least it's something.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Gaylene, you voice my own concerns. I just can't find the remedy. I know I can do better though. Unlike Xtbay, I do shop at Zara. For all kinds of reasons, some related to the thrill of the new but more related to the fact that the clothes usually fit me, unlike many others on the market, and they deliver and take returns. They'd been getting much more favourable reviews by the watchdog agencies of late, but that doesn't mean a whole lot, it seems.

I do some of the things that Sally suggests. I try to buy mindfully and keep items in my closet for a decent interval of time, or ensure they are going to a person who really wants and will use them. I try to keep a reasonably sized closet. I try to support local designers where I can -- but even then the fabrics may not be ethically produced and even the labour may not be what is claimed.

It's all so tricky.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

Thanks for posting this, Bella.

Gaylene, you've laid out the complexity of the issues so well.

viva

Veteran

This topic comes up from time to time and I've never managed to really get a clear view of how best to deal with it. The complexities are so numerous and layered. But this conversation is really good to keep having.

Catherine XX

Member

I just wanted to say thank you dear Bella for posting this, such a damned shame for those such as my close friends who do not no the real going ons.... I sympathize wholly with the unfortunate Syrians who mostly have no other choice... sad news all around.

Anonymous

Thanks for this thread, Bella, and other posters for the links. It's disheartening the lengths to which some companies go to bend 'made in' criteria. I just bought a pair of jeans that Nordstrom billed on their site as made in the U.K. When they arrived, the label revealed they were made in Turkey, finished in the U.K. I confess at the time I thought Turkey might have better labour laws than, say, Bangladesh or China. I now realise how mistaken I was.

I can only hope that countries like Italy, where 'made in' quality is essential to the country's brand, will find a way to take action.

Isabel

Veteran

God, this makes me sad. The picture was the first that I saw and it was like a sucker punch in the stomach. It makes me feel so hopeless. We want cheap clothes and this is the only way for stores to get them so that we can then dispose of them and get more.......

Traci

Veteran

Gaylene got to the heart of my thoughts here.

Does a boycott change the situation that made these children and families desperate enough to accept these situations? Is this really an overall problem of poverty and immigration employment difficulties that make these people suceptible to this predatory behavior? I was glad to see this article spoke to some of the companies offering real, legitimate jobs to these families.

My thought, often when I hear these stories, is about what happens to these children or adults who were already so desperate that they were working in these conditions for this pay? We think that we've liberated them by shining a light and shutting down these factories, but where does that leave them?

lpr200

Veteran

Thank you for sharing

kkards

Veteran

gaylene....well said, you've got to the root of my thoughts on the difficult and complex issue....

Windchime

Veteran

A disturbing article all around. Besides the heartbreaking way children and refugees are being exploited, what also gave me pause was the picture of the boy spraying hazardous chemicals to distress jeans.

So, THAT'S how jeans are distressed? That can't be healthy for whoever wears the jeans, any more than for the poor workers using the spray.

Carla

Veteran

When I first started buying items from Lands' End, they listed many as 'made in America' and also identified items that were imported as well as where they were imported from. I was happy to pay the price asked, and did favour 'made in America'. Unfortunately I don't see that anymore, and consequently I'm not buying so much from them either.