With a recent focus in the news on factory standards I’ve
been thinking a lot about where our clothes actually come from and whose fault
it is that people are still working in such horrific standards. Is it simply
just bad standards of build or does it go much deeper? I believe it does. I
think perhaps the responsibility is shared somewhat…but what exactly can we do?
Let’s face facts, Primark supplies fast, cheap fashion that isn’t
exactly the greatest of quality but feeds the demand of shoppers looking for a
quick fix of the latest trends at a small price compared to other designer and
high street shops. We have all been guilty of shopping in Primark and other
such budget stores looking for the
latest trends and items we know we won’t get much wear out of, but does that
make us to blame for the way such items are sourced? Or is it up to Primark as
a business on the whole to find a more responsible way of manufacturing items
in bulk? Quite often the majority of us are quite happy to be ignorant of where
our clothes are manufactured, but look at the labels of most of your favourite
garments and you’ll more than likely see they are produced in countries such as
Bangladesh, China, Vietnam and India. Such countries are considered as less economically
developed which means they are susceptible to providing cheap labour in horrendous
working conditions, fuelling poverty due to inequalities between factory owners
and factory workers. I’m sure we’ve all heard the term ‘sweatshop’ but do many
of us actually care or think about what it means when our clothes have been produced
here? Unfortunately our clothes are likely to have been made by workers in
horrific conditions, many of which who are children. So perhaps we could be a
little more responsible. There are many fair trade brands that are ‘socially responsible’
and whilst they are a little more expensive, perhaps it is worth the cost. I believe even ASOS, Topshop and even Marks
and Spencer’s have begun to stock some fair-trade items which is a big step
forward!
But is it our problem? It can be said that it is the country
that the items are sourced from that are at blame for not providing suitable
working conditions. Poverty at the end of the day is to do with politics, and I
believe today’s politics is too concerned with self-interest. While rich countries
continue to make decisions that only benefit themselves, others in not so
fortunate positions are suffering due to these decisions. We wouldn’t have
cheap, affordable fast fashion without these countries, but should we be taking
advantage of that? We shouldn’t be taking our business elsewhere as surely this
benefits workers in no way whatsoever, but the current conditions surely can’t
continue.
Will you think twice next time you pick up a cute dress at a
bargain price? Or do you think it’s part of a wider problem that is down to governments
and charities working together to provide better standards? The argument goes
far deeper than this but I thought it was an interesting subject to bring up
and something I don’t often see addressed in the fashion blogging world. It
would be great to hear your opinions!
Some links if interested:
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