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Friday, May 3, 2013

Quoted: On the Bangladesh Factory Collapse and Ethical Fashion

"The sad part is that the price of individual garments would not have to go up much — 1 percent to 3 percent, various estimates say — to provide a living wage and safer conditions for all those cutting and stitching what we wear. The cycle could slow or even stop. But that 1 percent to 3 percent would have to wend all the way down that river of production — past the eddies and breakwaters of corporate boards and middlemen, subcontracting agents and compradors, to reach those who really need it.

It’s well past time for all of us to reflect on this cycle and how cheap it would be to break out of it if only there were enough public pressure on the apparel industry. The cost for us is minimal; the cost for others is great. Bargain-hunters at Wal-Mart and haute couture customers on Fifth Avenue alike should shame those companies that pass the savings on to us as they pass the suffering on to others we never see. This is not a remote or distant problem.

Take a look at the tag on your shirt. The problem is as close as your skin."

—M.T. Anderson, from "Clothed in Misery", a recent Opinion piece in the New York Times

Aftermath of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 (NYPL collection)
"These fashion companies and the entire American economy have formed a corrosive and now deadly reliance on cheap consumer goods. Corporations have persuaded consumers that cheap prices are fair. And this paradigm has hollowed out the middle class and led to the exploitation of both people and planet.

I am an impassioned advocate for small-scale, locally produced fashion. But where are the large fashion companies willing to take a risk and reinvent their brands around ethical fashion production? It’s time to trust that the consumer, all things being equal, will buy an ethically made product. We’re ready. It’s up to the brands to figure out how to do this and communicate it in a compelling way."

—Elizabeth Cline (author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, reviewed by me here) on "The Case for Ethical Fashion" in The Nation

Children working in a North Carolina textile mill, part of a series on child labor by Lewis Hines taken between 1908-1912 (more here with original captions)

Recently, my mother called to tell me she had made a genealogy research breakthrough. She had finally managed to trace my great-great-great grandfather Thomas Marsh back to his childhood in England in a little town near Manchester...

...where the 1841 census shows him as a five-year old living in a textile factory workhouse with his 13-year-old sister. I imagine him something like the little children in the above photo—clambering up onto dangerous machinery, breathing in cotton fibers that scarred his growing lungs. (As a child growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts a "living monument to the dynamic story of the Industrial Revolution", such terrifying stories featured heavily in school field trips).

And then of course, there's the story of cotton in the American South. Tarantino's revenge fairytale spaghetti Western Django Unchained is full of vivid imagery, including close-ups of fluffy cotton bolls splattered in blood—it's a pretty apt visual metaphor, don't you think?

The story of the garment and fashion industries we often see and hear is a story about design, fun, creativity, innovation, genius designers, flashy runway shows and inspiring magazine spreads. But it is not often a story about ethics, respect for the rights, safety and livelihoods of garment workers, or environmental sustainability.

That story needs to be re-written. NOW. How do you think we can help?

13 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing these excerpts. These issues of living wages and safe working conditions are always in my mind but tragedies like this often remind me that something really needs to be done. As someone who makes clothes (as a hobby), I feel like it's something very close to me. I understand the hours and skill that go into producing an item. It's unacceptable that society has taught us that cheap is good. I really wish I had the time and talent to make everything that I wear but I know that's just not possible.

    A friend said that if she took the same care and time choosing the clothing that she buys as she does the pieces that she makes, she'd probably own a lot less. I think buying less is a big part of the solution and when we do buy to buy smart and think of our clothing as an investment.

    And, as always, keep making!

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    1. Thank you Sarah! Your friend's comment is quite wise... After I read Cline's book (mentioned above—she gets quite a bit into the home sewing movement as a positive trend against fast fashion, too) I mostly quit all the fast fashion chains ... with the exception of The Children's Place and the children's section of Old Navy, as it's hard to keep up with my growing toddler.

      I try to get as many of my RTW clothes and accessories as possible vintage, secondhand or thrifted, and on the very rare occasions that I buy any new clothes, I try when possible to buy things from ethical manufacturers who care about workers and the environment. There are some great online ethical and eco fashion directories, and of course there's always buying from small local businesses or makers on Etsy and elsewhere.

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  2. I don't know. I make most of my clothing, but don't know anything about where the fabric is made, which seems to be an even more difficult thing to find out than clothing.

    People tell me I inspire them to sew, or they wished they knew how to sew, but I'm not sure if anyone actually starts or acts upon those wishes. Is there any way to be more inspirational in our sewing?

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    1. I always wonder about that too, especially in the kind of fabric stores where there are no "Made In" labels. I do think many bolts of fabric have a country source label if you just look for it (though that's a starting place only). In terms of eco-friendly fabrics, StephC has a suggestion list here of how to source Eco-Friendly Knit Fabrics: http://3hourspast.com/2012/10/13/sourcing-eco-knits-online/

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  3. I don't shop at fast fashion chains either. Honestly, I think you get what you pay for. And when you buy cheap, you get cheap from top to bottom - in the way the clothes are produced, how workers are treated, the effects on the environment, and so on.

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    1. Definitely—cheap from top to bottom! But it's also a sad fact that labor and environmental abuses are predominant on the high end of the luxury goods market as well, actually. Many fancy handbag makers have switched production to cheaper overseas methods, but have still doubled or tripled their prices from when they were making their goods in Europe.

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  4. I actually live in a little mill town just north of Manchester and am familiar with the working conditions of the mills that are our heritage. I find it reprehensible that these conditions are still prevalent in the textile industry of today. The only way we can stop this is to vote with our wallets. I too don't shop at fast fashion. We can make a difference.

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    1. Wow, it's funny what a small world the sewing internet is!

      I think boycotting fast fashion and supporting ethical supplies and ethical fashion is a great starting place, but we can't just do it quietly and individually. We need to make our voices heard and speak out about why it's important, and join campaigns and actions to put pressure on companies and governments to make a change.

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  5. I was thinking about this subject this morning. I wish I could find away to sew all of our clothes, but I had the same thought as Sarah. most of the fabrics I buy are from textile factories that I'm sure have equally despicable conditions. I did look into fabrics milled in the US and almost everything was $80/ yard and up. I'm going to take a look at the list from 3hourspast. I try and refashion often too.
    No solutions in my comments, just that I appreciated your post and wish I knew how to make more of a difference.

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    1. That's part of why trying to buy ethical fashion and supplies is only a small start to solving this problem... because it's actually almost impossible. There is no transparency or accountability in these industries, so it's not like you can walk into a store and see a big bold sign that says "Ethical Fashion HERE!" (or fabric, or yarn, whatever). How often do you see a "Union Made" label in clothing anymore (unless it's vintage)?

      BUT items don't have to be made in USA to be ethical—-as that first quote points out, items can be made anywhere under good conditions if companies commit to accountability, living wages, compassion and environmental responsibility.

      For example, in Overdress Elizabeth Cline profiles a fantastic factory in the Dominican Republic where workers make clothing for Knights Apparel, and all workers have fair benefits and a living wage. I'd be happy to buy something made in Bangladesh IF I knew it was fair trade and made by workers in safe conditions at a living wage.

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  6. We need to be willing to consume less overall, and rethink our expectations re: standard of living. Does anyone really need 20 sweaters? 15 skirts? Berries from Chile on the table all year long? That's a tough change to make, though, in a society that values novelty above all.

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    1. AMEN. We have gotten so used to cheap clothing prices that many people who could afford 2 or 3 really well made high quality skirt instead buy 15 H&M skirts. Donating unworn items doesn't solve the problem and doesn't undo the environmental and social damage done. Most charity shops are actually overwheled with barely-worn or never worn fast fashion and can't even unload it all.

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  7. Great post! It's easy to pretend like buying cheap things doesn't come at the cost of great misery and suffering for others, but tragedies like these force us to confront the victims of our compulsion to buy cheap clothing. It's so very, very sad, and I know that there aren't easy solutions to this monster of a problem, but I really hope that consumers start to demand changes. Unfortunately, it's going to be really difficult to hold companies accountable that produce things outside the country-- they can SAY that factory conditions are great in Bangladesh, but it's really hard for us to know. But I really think there's a great opportunity here for ethically-produced clothing manufacturers to thrive and flourish.

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