5 reasons why we should care about where and how fashion is made!

Let’s face it, worldwide fashion is not famous for their fair working conditions. I can even go further and call it modern day slavery. Most of our clothes, shoes and accessories are made in countries in which worker’s rights are limited or nonexistent.

In April 2013, one of the biggest disasters in the history of the clothing industry happened in Dhaka (Bangladesh.) A 7-story building collapsed and buried 3,000 people underneath. A day before this tragic disaster, the building was evacuated because of huge cracks that had appeared on the walls but it was inspected and declared as “safe.” The company forced the workers into labor the next day, mostly against their will, 1134 of them died and the rest were badly injured.

The unacceptable health and safety conditions are reason number one why you should care about where and how fashion is made. Often workers are inhaling toxic substances, fiber dust, and have no ventilation. Buildings are oftentimes unsafe with no emergency exits or fire escapes. Additionally, the high amount of people working too close together makes it easy for viruses and diseases to spread quickly. If that wasn’t already enough, there are undercover documentaries that show verbal and physical abuse towards employees on a regular basis.

Reason number two are the miserable wages. Some brands praise themselves for paying the minimum wage to their workers but what does really this mean? In most manufacturing countries like China, Bangladesh and India the minimum wage is between a half to a fifth of what a family requires to cover their basic needs like food, rent, healthcare etc. Is that something you should brag about? And for the brands that are silent about their wages, how much are they really paying their workers?

Reason number 3 are the endless working hours. In most manufacturing countries the working hours are between 14 and 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means they work 96 hours per week! To not even make enough money to cover their basic needs.

Reason number 4 and for myself the most important one: Frequent use of child labor. Worldwide 168 million children are forced to work! Take South India, for example, 250,000 girls work under the Sumangali scheme, a practice which involves sending young girls from poor families to work in a textile factory for three to five years in exchange for a basic wage and a lump sum payment at the end to pay for their dowry. Girls are overworked and live in appalling conditions that can be classified as modern day slavery.

Reason number 5 is that fast fashion is leading to a mountain of clothing being thrown away each year which has a huge impact on the environment. Because of the ridiculously low costs for production, too much clothes is being produced every year. If they don’t sell, they simply end up as trash and if they do sell, often times the quality is so bad, that it just goes to waste ending up in the trash again.

Unfortunately, not enough brands are making a difference and are producing under unethical conditions and oftentimes for us as a consumer, paying a higher price for clothing and accessories doesn’t equal fair fashion. We are forced to buy whatever is available, knowing that our purchase voucher is our ballot.

But if you find a brand which makes your style under ethical conditions, support them whenever you can!

Written by Isabelle, Founder of MAILA Surfbags 

References https://www.sustainyourstyle.org