Old Navy Black Dress

Sweatshops a big issue in today’s society, even though their existence can sometimes stay hidden from the public’s eye. A famous author named Berry states, “ most of us get all the things we need by buying them and most of us know only vaguely, if at all, where those things came from; and most of us know not at all what damage is involved in their production. We are almost entirely dependent on an economy of which we are almost entirely ignorant.” The majority of people in the US have no idea where the clothes they are purchasing are actually coming from. Most people would not support the exploitation of their own race of people. If they were able to see and come to realization about what is actually happening they would have a much different change of heart.

The story, Paris Gown, by Estella Portillo Trambley, really inspired me to find out more about women’s issues, especially Mexican and Mexican American women because not only am I am a female, I am also half Mexican. Teresa and Clo, (Teresa’s grandmother), are the main characters in this story and it starts out with Teresa asking Clo about how she came to be in Paris. Clo tells the story of her own liberation from her very old-fashioned father and the extreme that she went through in order to liberate herself. I have always wondered how much the gender roles have changed or evolved not only in Mexico, but in Mexican culture here in America as well. I’m hoping to find that things are extremely better now for Mexican women then they used to be.

It is impossible to beat a cheap price. In today’s world, finding a sought after item at a dirt cheap price is one the main motivation American’s get in the car and battle the craziness in the mall. And as the basic American human beings that we are, it is never possible for us to be complacent with the amount of stuff we currently have. Eventually, we will come across a friend that has the next must have item that will cause us to run to our local mall and purchase a similar item at the lowest price possible. With all that said, it is no wonder why the industry of fast fashion has taken off over the past decade. Felipe Caro and Victor Martínez-de-Albéniz, researchers for UCLA’s school of supply chain coordination, define fast fashion as “a business model that combines four elements: (i) fashionable clothes mostly for consumers under 40; (ii) affordable prices in the mid-to-low range; (iii) quick response; and (iv) frequent assortment changes”. Retailers like H&M, Forever 21, Target, and Wal-Mart have been able to take this business model and make a fortune. But while all these quick trends and cheap prices are great for the consumer, its cost on the foreign worker and the environment does not go uncovered. In the book Overdressed by Elizabeth Cline, she presents many arguments supporting the claim that fast fashion is unethical based on

On April 24, 2013, NewYorkTimes journalist Jim Yardley reported on the collapse of Rana Plaza, an eight-story factory complex in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, which claimed the lives of 1,100 people. A 400-page report of the incident places the blame squarely on the shoulders of the building's owner, Sohel Rana, along with the owners of the building's five garment factories, who now face possible charges of murder, along with accusations of “ignoring safety warnings and locking exit doors,” while the Bangladeshi government continues to receive harsh criticism for its lax enforcement of labor safety standards in the country's billion-dollar clothing manufacturing industry (“Sweatshop Labor”). The garment industry in Bangladesh is one of the world's leading exporters of clothing, second only to China, with more than 5,000 garment factories employing an excess of 3 million workers, producing merchandise for top brand retailers in the United States and Europe (Yardley; “Sweatshop Labor”). Workers in these factories endure long hours and unsafe working conditions for wages so low parents must send their children to work instead of school so that they have enough to eat. The tragedy of Rana Plaza brings to the forefront the true cost of things; is it worth 1,100 lives to save a few dollars on a shirt or a pair of jeans?

Walter Mosley’s novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, explores the racial prejudices in Los Angeles during the 1940’s. The novel takes place in 1948, when the United States was still legally segregated into black and white communities and when people divided themselves into lower and upper classes. Easy Rawlins, the main character in the book, is an ordinary lower class African American worker, who faces limited opportunities and little money to live on. Throughout the novel, Easy Rawlins experiences firsthand the blatant racism prevailing in 1948. Walter Mosley’s novel reveals how life was in Los Angeles after WWII, before the civil rights movement. By viewing an American city from the perspective of a black lead character, Devil in A Blue Dress helps one become more conscious of how racial barriers have appeared in the eyes of African-Americans.

First of all, the amount of clothing in the United States that had been purchased from other countries has been increasing in great numbers. Most clothing in America was made in America until the 1970’s when clothing from outside countries started becoming more common. This happened because labor costs were much cheaper in other countries than in America, causing the products from those countries to also be much cheaper than those made in the United States and retailers were gaining better profits. The minimum wage in the United States is $7.26 per hour, while in China the average clothing factory worker earns $1.26 an hour and $0.52 in Cambodia. By 1990, of all the clothing sold in America, fifty percent were made in America- which has

The Garment District in Manhattan has a very rich history. In the 1800s, tailors made mass amounts of men's clothing in the district, and that was the first influence that clothing had on the district. Later, however, the district became the origin of modern American fashion, and became the first American attempt to make fashion and personalization readily available for American men. As the 19th century came to a close, the district’s fashion industry was expanding expeditiously. As immigrants moved into the neighborhood looking for work, they began sewing and making clothing in small, crowded tenement, later known as a sweatshop. In addition, more department stores began to move into the neighborhood. Eventually, with the addition of more

Activists say that global clothing brands like Tommy Hilfiger and the Gap and those sold by Walmart need to take responsibility for the working conditions in Bangladeshi factories that produce their clothes."

The short store “Clothes” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is about a young Indian woman, Sumita, and her cultural transition to America that is symbolized by her clothes and the color of her clothes. The traditional Indian attire for a woman is a sari and each one has its own purpose. Her clothes also indicate her progression from daughter, to wife, to woman.

Cheap clothing is something that almost everyone has in their wardrobe right now. Stores like Forever 21, H&M, and Uniqlo are all examples of companies that use extremely cheap labor in return of cheap, low quality clothing. Considering, capitalism being a large attribute to the low wages given to workers in sweatshops, people simply do not care to think “Since this item is such a low price, how much did it even cost to make this?” For a pair of $17.99 jeans sold at Kmart, the labor in the United States would cost $2.08, but in Nicaragua it would cost $0.14. Big companies tend to not care how their workers are treated or how much they make at the end of the day. The lowest price they can end up getting for an item, the more money the company makes. “A manufacturer will tell me he has 2,000 twelve piece bonuses he needs swen. I tell him I need at least $10 per blouse to do a decent job on a garment that complicated. So then he tells me to get lost-he offers me $2. If I don't take that, he tells me he can have it sent to Taiwan or South America somewhere, and have it done for 50 cents. So we haggle-sometimes I might bring him up to $4 per blouse.” (Ross 134) In the end, cheap labor equals low wages making it hard to pay for the expenses of

My Major Textile Project is a ballgown styled evening piece that is simple, elegant and uncluttered. It is designed to be worn in an extremely formal setting such as a red carpet event and therefore falls into the category of apparel. My ensemble consists of a corset which is fastened at the back via eyelets laced with ribbon with a decorative pintucking crosshatched design on the front panel. This is paired with a full-length skirt with petticoats to add bulk, creating a design very reminiscent of the Victorian Era but also a garment that can be worn in a modern day, formal context. Evidently, my focal inspiration is 19th century Victorian Era garments and the silhouettes common in that time. The Victorian Era style of dress was one with a

Made in Bangladesh! Have you heard of bangladesh? Probably not right. Bangladesh is a country in southeast asia that makes the clothes that are purchased in our american society. It is the second leading garment exporters in the world , of course following china. Currently, there are currently 500 garment factories with over 3.2 million workers.Recently there have been many mishaps with the many collapsed buildings and fires leading to the deaths of the unfortunate and leading to the injury of the lucky.

The clothing industry has become synonymous with sweatshops and overseas labour. The True Cost pushes for commercial change. Bringing an awareness to what “sweatshop” really

As far as I know, I’ve never worn anything embarrassing against my will. However, I have seen pictures of some not so great outfits that I wore as a baby. Why my mom had me wear them, I have no idea. If I had had an opinion, I would have never worn them.

A large majority of Americans do not realize where the clothes they purchase are produced. Unethically made goods are predominantly less expensive than goods made outside of sweatshops. With the increase in investigations, it is apparent major brands such as Nike, Disney, Reebok, the Gap and others are involved in the use of sweatshops. Sweatshops are commonly known for having poor working conditions, unfair wages, unreasonable hours, child labor, and a lack of benefits for workers. In foreign countries, sweatshops have around 168 million children ages 5 to 14 forced into child labor (“11 Facts”). Labor conditions are violated, and are often ignored by the US Department of Labor. Sweatshops are still ongoing due to the ignorance or lack of care for the people involved in a sweatshop corporation. With the awareness of where the majority of inexpensive clothing is manufactured, the public and major American companies should reconsider supporting sweatshops.