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Thursday, March 22, 2012

do you know who died making your clothing?

clones
This is a subject that I'm surprised hasn't come up more often in the fashion blogging world. While we're all obsessed with getting our hands on high fashion knockoffs 3.2 seconds after fashion week, very few seem interested in talking about the working conditions that made these cheap, plentiful items from retailers like H&M, Forever 21, and Zara possible. The fact that you can buy a button-down shirt or a pair of pants for dirt cheap is inarguably awesome for us, the end consumer. But I think we should all be questioning whether the shortcuts that must be taken in terms of factory safety and environmental precautions are really worth it. Because the fact is, your shirt may have only cost $14.99, but the human cost of manufacturing that item was much, much higher.

Jezebel ran a story today on factory fires in Bangladesh, the country where most of our "fast fashion" is made. Bangladesh has a bustling garment manufacturing industry, and it's no wonder--they boast some of the lowest wages for garment workers in the world: approximately $43 per month.  In the last five years, nearly 500 garment workers have died in fires caused by faulty wiring, overcrowding, and lack of established safety guidelines. One of the worst single incidents occurred in 2010 at a factory that manufactures clothing for brands like H&M, JC Penney, Gap, and Tommy Hilfiger. If this doesn't remind you of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York in 1911, it should. Especially after you read this chilling detail:

Electrical wiring overloaded by sewing equipment is believed to have sparked the flames in the high-rise building. Dozens of workers, breaking for lunch at a make-shift canteen on the roof, were unable to descend smoke-filled stairwells and were trapped far out of reach of ladder trucks. The building, like most factories in Bangladesh, lacked fire escapes, sprinklers, and other modern safety equipment. As the flames intensified — fueled by piles of clothes and fabric — workers trying to flee said they found at least one of the factory's gates padlocked. Several were forced to fashion ropes from rolls of fabric to attempt to scale down the side of the building. (via ABC News)

Twenty nine people lost their lives that day so we could have those fucking boyfriend jeans for $34.99. If you're not disgusted, you're definitely not paying attention.

Now, here's when I fully admit that despite my lofty, self-important rhetoric, I'm not immune to the lure of FLORAL PANTS FOR $14.99 when I walk into my local H&M. I'd love to say that I'm pledging from here on out to swear off of these stores forever. That I'm going to get my fast fashion fix by hitting up my favorite thrift stores instead. That I'm going to invest in quality pieces instead of always going for instant gratification. I could say all of this, but then I'd probably be lying. I'm a fashion junkie and I don't make a million dollars. H&M and Zara present people like me with a means for indulging ourselves and having 9 pairs of pants to choose from instead of just 3. I don't know if I'm able to separate with that kind of variety...at least not cold turkey.

So, as a kind of half-assed alternative, I will pledge to curtail my shopping at these establishments as much as humanly possible. Let's see what I can do with what I've got, and if I need more, I should be saving up for an investment piece anyway. Or combing the local Goodwill for other people's castoffs. Because thanks to fast fashion chains where there's something new that you 'must have' every week, people are getting rid of some good shit.

Now that I've just gone on this diatribe (gee, if you're even still reading I'm obsessed with you), what are your thoughts about fast-fashion? And better yet, where else can we shop for clothing that didn't cost lives to make?! Seriously, I'm asking. I'd love some tips.

11 comments:

  1. You know I was planning on doing a post about this sort of thing next week, but on how the quality isn't as good...yours is much better because you talk about the human cost of it all. It really is horrible how all these clothes are made, and some high end designers are no different so it's hard to decide where to shop.
    I try not to shop at fast fashion stores but none of us are immune to urges and good deals, haha :p
    http://www.closet-fashionista.com/

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    1. Good point..just because clothing is expensive does NOT mean it was made by workers under humane conditions, or that the materials used were sourced ethically. I guess vintage and handmade (i.e. by small vendors in small batches) is really the only surefire way to avoid supporting this kind of exploitation.

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  2. oh gosh, what a dilemma. we could swear off the big 3, but it makes me wonder if major retailers have the same problem in their less pricey depts (like macy's, etc). i just came off of a f21/h&m shopping spree this past tuesday...

    i, like you, will *try* to make it less of a habit to indulge in these stores and do more thrifting, but there are times when i know i won't be able to resist running in to grab my white tees or black tights.

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  3. Great blog post. It saddens me to see those tags on the back when I go into h&m or forever 21 that say "MADE IN INDONESIA" or "MADE IN BANGLADESH". I feel guilty and immediatly picture in my mind the horrible conditions they must be working in. I can only imagine, just so I can have a $10 t-shirt with fucking Mick Jagger on it.
    It's also like you mentioned a dilemma, for people like me who cannot afford "high end" prices but yet want to look fashionable. I also feel bad for the small boutique designers (like my best friends lable), who work really hard making awesome clothing and designs, but cannot sell much of their product due to places like Forever 21 and h&m, etc..which often times have the same item at a much much lower cost. Ahhhhh.. what to do :(

    Thanks for posting this

    becks
    http://fabulous-junk.blogspot.com

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  4. This is such a great post, thank you for writing it. It needs to be addressed over and over. Fashion is not sustainable nor ethical. I walked by H&m the other day just to check out the Marni stuff (the evening of the day it launched) but it was all gone. And I'll admit that I walked by the pants that go with the shirt above, and wanted to buy them for a split second. And then remembered I'm not shopping. Why are those fucking pants so cheap was my second thought! I'd actually not gone into H&m for a very long time, I had already broken up with them a while back because they have the worst fit for people who arent straight up and down. Not to mention the quality has gone down (hmm so have some prices). I've been exclusively shopping second hand (thrift stores, Buffalo Exchange) for a few years now. I can't see myself paying full price for something that some woman or child did for 5 pennies.

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  5. Man, I agree. But this problem is so extreme, we can extend it to makeup, johnson and johnson, the meat industry, toys, oh my goodness. I guess the most ethical thing would be to make your own (dunno where the textiles are coming from though) or buy other peoples ish, which ive been doing for the past couple of years for money saving reasons, not life saving. But now when I see someone with too much retail trendy trendy clothes, Im like yuck. That's not my style anymore. I would just blacklist the worst offenders and go from there. My godmother still doesnt eat grapes, after all these years. Viva Cesar Chavez.

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    1. Wow, way to rain on my white savior industrial complex parade. You're right of course, though. The problem is so large, the main question is where do you even begin? And I guess I'm just going to put my flag somewhere in the sand and say "here." And then I'll go drive my car down the street to the bus stop (yes, I've done it before and I'll do it again) and continue buying body lotion that was tested on puppies, and generally being an asshole.

      Speaking of asshole, I'm just going to go ahead and admit that I did not get the Cesar Chavez reference until I looked it up on Wikipedia. Oy vey.

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  6. Great that you decided to post about this. It's really a difficult situation. At the same time we know that for the people who sew the clothes to get a proper pay check we need to pay more for the clothes (or cell phones or coffee or pretty much anything these days) but while we know that we still demand lower prices. It's a crazy world and a one I wish we can change.

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  7. I am the girl in the back of the room slowly and shamefully hiding her hand right now while the question is being asked. Sad to admit, but I'll admit to buying at these stores. I think we should all avoid these stores as much as possible though. Maybe an alternative is shopping online! Some online shops have great prices and maybe because they don't have to pay for the expenses of a standing store, they can afford to make their clothes in a factory where people are treated right. I think those hefty costs of keeping up a store AND having affordable prices are driving these retailers to go towards these ideas of cheap and unsafe working conditions :( Thanks for your insight and I' glad I read the entire thing (I'm also glad you're obsessed with me!!)

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  8. bahaha. I wasn't raining, thats just pessimistic me, duh. I like the black list you made though. I'm with ya on those stores. And dont worry about Cesar Chavez, I imagine you weren't born to two Chicano studies majors like I was. Amazing how I came out so mild.

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  9. It's kind of a double-edged sword. My parents came from a 3rd world country (over 40 years ago and it's still considered a 3rd world country) and some of those people are dying for work and need to make money. If businesses started losing money from people not buying from their stores, then workers will not have work and can't earn the little bit of money they earn. Of course the working conditions would suck especially when compared to U.S. standards. The problem is so complex. This post was very interesting and has me thinking! -Jessica

    THEJESSICALBLOG.COM

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