The Elephant Of The Room Wears Designer

In The myth of the ethical shopper, Hobbes (2015) states that although boycotts may have been successful in 1990, they are failing in 2105. He asserts that the way in which our clothes are now made has changed and so advocacy campaigns just don't work. One of the problems is that retailers don't have direct contact with their factories. Production is outsourced to the lowest bidders. Chains of sub contractors are set up and production is being split between thousands of factories. Labels from JC Penny, Wal-Mart and Joe Fresh were all found in the rubble of Rana plaza (O'Connor 2014), but none of them directly contracted those factories. With multitudes of middlemen accountability is difficult.

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.

When I first heard the title Where am I Wearing, I wasn’t too excited about reading it. I thought it would be another boring school book that I was required to study. However, after reading a few chapters, I became intrigued and started to enjoy reading it. Kelsey Timmerman isn’t just another activist who is trying to convince you to stop buying clothes from big companies who use sweat shops and chid laborers. He is giving you a perspective into the lives of those who work in these factories and how they function in their everyday lives. It was interesting to hear the different encounters that he had with these people. Timmerman presents us with the ongoing concern of are sweatshops and globalization good for the people who live in these countries or do they do more harm then good?

“Women sewing NBA jerseys make 24 cents per garment – an item that will eventually sell for $140 or more”(Brandon Gaille). Our most popular American sports uniforms are mainly produced by Nike, who possess a market cap of $ 90 billion. The question, therefore, becomes, why do immigrant workers from developing countries migrate to the United States to work for brand-name companies, when they don’t receive equitable wages and perform in inhumane working conditions? In,”Who Makes the Clothes We Wear”, Jesse Jackson discusses these conditions and unjust treatment of immigrants. Jackson highlights the extreme manual labor hours, inequitable pay, and rash mistreatment of immigrant workers inside name brand sweatshops. He also provides nationwide examples of unjust labor environments in order to think about the disturbing ethics behind name brand clothing production. When examining why workers endure such horrific environments, it is clear that most originate from developing countries. Due to immigrants attempt to obtain a better quality of life, receive any type of wage that they can acquire in the United States, and their constant struggle with the language barrier which affects job opportunities and daily interactions; immigrant workers endure the mistreatment of name brand companies because they seek the American Dream.

On the 24th of April 2013, a tragedy occurred in Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in the deaths of more than 1000 people and the destruction of a nine-story garment factory “Rana Plaza” (Manik& Yardley, n.d.,). However, the unsatisfactory condition of the building was known to employees. The day before the tragedy, several cracks were noticed, yet the owner of the factory ignored the warning by police to suspend the factory. In addition, workers were physically intimidated which shows, illustrating the power of society and the desperation of financial condition as individuals (Hossain, 2013). 80% of the workers at the Rana Plaza were female; this was because their labor was the cheapest in the world, with the minimum income BDT being 3000 taka per month (the equivalent of 37 Australian dollars) (Burke, 2013). This industry represented the international fashion labels in Europe, America, cosmopolitanism and progressive brands such as Benetton etc. Most of the factory’s textile products were internationally exported, earning foreign currency and allowing it to become the largest industry in Bangladesh. The “Rana Plaza” was one of the main industry, which maintained the economy and society as individuals in Bangladesh. The power of capital at the Bangladesh level is the arrangement of dominance transnational businesses at the global level, which is a smaller rate of powerful

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?

Bob Jeffcott’s article, “Sweat, Fire and Ethics” examines the problems surrounding the clothing industry and examines the world of sweatshops and the exploitation of women and girls around the world. Jeffcott writes regarding the harsh working conditions workers inhabit and what consumers can achieve to try and make a difference. His central focus is to educate consumers on the rampant problem of unsafe working conditions that goes on behind the scenes of major brands in today’s society. While Jeffcott successfully gets his point across by using historical examples to educate readers, emotionally drawing readers in, and presenting sensible solutions that consumers can do in order to support.

‘Made in Bangladesh’ is an episode from the CBC TV series, ‘The Fifth Estate’ that attempts to investigate the tragic Rana Plaza accident. The crew led by Mark Kelley and ex-designer for Walmart, Sujit Sennik discovers a ledger pulled from the rubble that they use to piece together clues of how the supply chain for Canadian retailers work. From the information available, they figured out that the fast fashion industry was well-aware that they

The student anti-sweatshop movement has helped a lot of university apparel to be made in ethically operated factories around the world such as Alta Gracia, Argentina. According to experts however, this is still ineffective without a larger organizing drive to focus change efforts. Furthermore, from Jake Blumgart’s perspective, the issue on sweatshops still making our clothes is still a problem around the world. The student anti-sweatshop movement and campaigns that have been done throughout the years to try and help improve the world is a good thing.

Following my research and analysis of each of the sources I collect, I gained that the price of luxury cannot be overemphasized. As I mentioned previously, the goal of my research was to determine if Polo Ralph Lauren has made effective efforts to ameliorate the abuse of their sweatshop workers in destitute factories. Although this inquiry remains of significant concern to me, it is naive notion to a certain extent because I have found that the company intentionally ignores the issue. Throughout my research I have learned that the welfare of their sweatshop workers is of no concern to the autarchs of the illustrious Polo Ralph Lauren. The execrable acts of exploitation throughout their associated sweatshops coupled with the loyalty of ignorant

In the poem “The Lady’s Dressing Room,” written by Jonathan Swift, one may say he portrays himself to be a chauvinist by ridiculing women and their cryptic habits. However, others may say he wants to help women from the ideals placed upon them by society and prove to be an early feminist. This poem written in the 18th century represented women to be fake and sleazy at first. Then during the 20th century, the feminist movement used it as an attack against women, depicting the poem’s meaning as not valuing their rights and freedoms. The truth far hidden from these points of views became uncovered recently. This essay will explain both sides of the views and using critical thinking will uncover the real message the author intended to portray.

For my own artist paper, I chose to study the French fashion house, Christian Dior SE. During the past seven decades, Christian Dior has transformed its brand from just another high end fashion house into a name synonymous with wealth, sophistication, power, dignity, and prestige. Christian Dior stands in a league of its own in our culture. It’s a mega brand with major influence over fashion and business. Instead of spending hours hunting down financial records and hiring practices for a smaller house, Christian Dior appealed to me because of their long history, easily accessible records, and publicly traded status meaning they would have long reports outlining all the companies numbers for a given year. Christian Dior is also the majority owner of the luxury holdings company LVMH, with a 40.9% controlling share and 100% ownership of Christian Dior Couture (CITATION).

Rivoli’s book proves that a simple t-shirt purchased on a whim connects an entire global market in the process before coming to a shelf. Throughout the t-shirts journey however, it’s met with many different viewpoints on the benefits of this globalization. For example, an area of controversy the author presents the book is the theory of “racing to the bottom.” Since the mass production of cotton, there have been factories that produce large quantities of textiles. Usually these factories carry poor working conditions and environments along with them. From Britain to the United States, and now 2nd world countries throughout the world, “sweat shops” have often been synonymous with child labor, poor wages, and brutal work hours. Rivoli brings the arguments of the the

There are a large amount of social and environmental problems within the global apparel industry.