Quote
“Fashion is made to become unfashionable.” Coco Chanel
News
So far 275 bodies have been pulled of the garment factory in
Bangladesh which collapsed on Wednesday, but hundreds of other people in the
building are still unaccounted for. The tragedy has revealed a chain of connections
from the grieving community in the outskirts of Dhaka all the way to high
streets in Europe and North America.
At one level this terrible event can be viewed through a culpability lens. Are the factory directors to blame for ignoring the warning cracks in the structure, or the building owner who failed to meet construction standards? To what extent is the government liable for its failure to implement health and safety policies, or is it the fault of western clothing brands who are constantly seeking to reduce costs in the supply chain?
At one level this terrible event can be viewed through a culpability lens. Are the factory directors to blame for ignoring the warning cracks in the structure, or the building owner who failed to meet construction standards? To what extent is the government liable for its failure to implement health and safety policies, or is it the fault of western clothing brands who are constantly seeking to reduce costs in the supply chain?
It is likely that the pressure to drive down costs and increase profits by companies at the local, national and international levels ultimately influenced the main decisions and short cuts that led to the building collapse on Wednesday with thousands of people inside.
The average American buys 68 garments and 8 pairs of shoes a year. The West’s demand for cheap, ‘throw away’ fashion means factories in places like Bangladesh have to minimise their financial costs to stay in business – but at what relational cost? The supply chain is not just an economic concept – it is a relational one too.
If this tragedy were to spur more consumers in the West to pressure big brands to take more responsibility for the working conditions at the other end of the supply chain, even if it means paying a little more for their clothes, then the loss of hundreds of grieving families outside Dhaka may not be entirely in vain.
Read on…
A seven minute video produced by the Fair Wear foundation,
based in Amsterdam, explains the complexities of clothing supply chains, the
ways people can be exploited and what can be done to improve the conditions for
factory workers. Watch it here.
Walk the talk
Do you know where the shirt you are wearing was made? Why not go to the website of the retailer you
buy from or brand you wear to find out how ethical their supply chain is – and then
send them an email with your thoughts?
The last word
From the Bible, Deuteronomy 22 verse 8: “When you build a
new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt
of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.”
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