Talking about clothing and ethical issues within the fashion industry. Evidence of clothing can be found and dated back all the way to prehistoric time periods. Some of the first humans to have ever walked the earth used animal skins as clothing with the purpose of protection from weather conditions. Whether it be because of “the influence of climate, fashion, religion, [or the] ecosystem,” as time went on variations in clothing began and continued to appear. One example is the evolution from Greek and Roman unsewn fabrics to the intricate clothing designs in northern Europe during the Iron Age (History of Clothing). Today, however, because everyone wants to look good and feel good, there is higher consumer demand for clothing than ever before, thus, making fashion one of the most important and influential aspects of everyday life.
Rather than being a necessary object used for protection, clothing is now seen as a luxury. It is used as a form of expression on a day-to-day basis. In addition, clothing is used as a way for people to show off their social and economic status within a society. These changing patterns of consumption have led people's desires to change and cultures to evolve, therefore, leading to higher consumer demand for the product. Additionally, when considering fashion, most people fail to give thought to where and how the garments that they purchase were made. Most consumers only look at the price of a garment without considering the circumstances under which it was produced. These changes, the ever-increasing consumer demand for new clothing, and consumer ignorance of garment production have all brought about major problems and have contributed to the ever-increasing problems with the clothing industry.
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Many manufacturers “produce[ing] garments very quickly, in small batches, at low cost to the producer” (Global Shift, 2014, pg. 455). This trend is known as “fast fashion” and in order for manufacturers to produce clothing at low costs to appeal to consumers they often “utilize dubious labor practices” (Global Shift, 2014, pg. 455). These practices include worker and environmental mistreatment, more specifically, low wages, child labor, health risks, and environmental degradation. It is evident that these unethical labor practices continue to persist because “domestic sourcing of clothing has virtually disappeared,” which is due to the fact that in order for producers to manufacture garments at the lowest cost possible they outsource their product production to other countries where production costs are much lower (Global Shift, 2014, pg. 463).
Because most manual labor for production is done in underdeveloped and developing countries, laws and regulations are not as strict and enforced as they would be in a developed country. These underdeveloped and developing countries will do whatever is necessary in order to improve the economic standing and standard of living within the country. Therefore, worker mistreatment is not uncommon, and “sweatshop conditions are almost the industry standard,” thus, making worker mistreatment and lack of safety precautions one of the main issues in this industry (Global Shift, 2014, pg. 459). In addition to this, most of the laborers who work in these sweatshops are women and children who have little to no protection, can be hired and fired easily, and are paid very low wages.
Although “a factory job does provide otherwise unattainable income and some degree of individual freedom,” workers should not be mistreated, overlooked, or underpaid, children should not be carrying the family pressure of a job, and workers’ safety and health should not be compromised by sweatshop factory conditions (Global Shift, 2014, pg. 460). This argument is too often used by buyers and retailers as an excuse to avoid responsibility for these conditions, however, it is necessary that both consumers and producers, especially, are held accountable and responsible for events such as the building collapse at the Rana Plaza complex in the Savar district of Greater Dhaka in 2013, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, and long term health issues that workers face (Hobson, 2013).
Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest clothing manufacturing countries today. The government admitted that over 90 percent of the buildings in Dhaka are not built correctly. The collapse of the Rana Complex is clearly evidence of worker mistreatment and lack of attention toward the health and safety of the factory’s workers because the building was not built to code and had obvious signs of structural unsafety. In addition to this, factory fires are not uncommon in Bangladesh, proving that there is a need for input of safety precautions. Other than factory issues, workers in the clothing industry are also put in compromising positions because of their exposure to harmful materials and chemicals that can be detrimental to their health. Polyester production can be detrimental to laborers’ health because it can cause respiratory disease. This is because the manufacturing of polyester requires “large amounts of crude oil and releas[es] emissions” (Luz, 2007).
Another problem with the clothing industry is its toll on the environment. The increase in consumer demand and retailer production of clothing has led to economic growth dependent “on continued marketing of new products and disposal of old ones that are thrown away simply because stylistic norms promote their obsolescence” (Luz, 2007). According to International Retail Marketing, “across nearly every apparel category, consumers keep clothing items about half as long as they did 15 years ago.” This is evidence of how wasteful people have become and how fashion products have become so cheap that buyers can purchase many products that they will only wear several times and then dispose of. This post-consumer waste enters directly into the global waste stream, thus, contributing to the growing global problem of pollution and waste collection issues. Another way that “fast fashion” negatively impacts the environment is through its factories and production techniques. Wastes and chemicals from factories often runoff into nearby water sources. All in all, whether it be the outcome of the industry or the process of production, the “fast fashion” industry is very harmful to the environment.
To conclude, the harmful and negative outcomes of the clothing industry and its growth greatly outweigh the positive outcomes. Cconsumers and producers must ask themselves: Is this ethical? Is it socially acceptable for children to be working, for women to be overworked and underpaid, and for lives to be put at risk just so that a low wage can be made in a foreign country and a garment can be purchased at a lower price in a developed country? Whether it be poor labor conditions and treatment, or environmental degradation, the corporations in this industry need to take responsibility for their actions immediately. If responsibility is not taken in order to solve these extensive problems, worker mistreatment and environmental degradation will continue to persist and grow proportionally as the consumer demand for more clothing increases.
Bibliography
- Global Shift, Seventh Edition: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy, Guilford Publications, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ufl/detail.action?docID=1760738
- “History of Clothing - History of the Wearing of Clothing.” History of Clothing - History of Fabrics and Textiles, www.historyofclothing.com/.
- Claudio, Luz. “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 115, no. 9, 2007, doi:10.1289/ehp.115-a449.
- John Hobson, To die for? The health and safety of fast fashion, Occupational Medicine, Volume 63, Issue 5, July 2013, Pages 317–319, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqt079
- Shaw, Dierdre, and Dominique A.C. Tomolillo. “Chapter 8 Undressing the Ethical Issues in Fashion: a Consumer Perspective.” International Retail Marketing, by Christopher Moore, Routledge, 2015, pp. 141–147.
- https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ufl/detail.action?docID=1760738
- http://www.historyofclothing.com/
- https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqt079
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