Buying Ourselves a Conscience

Consumer power has its place:  no consumer, no product.  In light of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh, we must remember to look at the role we play in the dirty garment game.


So I stood one day in K-Mart, holding 3 pairs of undies in my hand. After months of constant travelling and sleeping in diverse places, I opened my suitcase to find a distinct lack of underwear. I frowned at the price sign, 3 pairs of cotton underwear for $2. Yes, $2. They were see through, white and cheap. So cheap I became paralysed by a consumer anxiety in the middle of the store, facing a dilemma many consumers face : should I buy this?

A flood of images of the Rona Plaza building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh, two days earlier began their torrential flow. Eight stories of shoddily built concrete structure fell on thousands of workers who had been forced into the building with violence and threats. 1127 people died in what is now considered one of the worst industrial accidents of recent times, quite potentially while making undies like these, limp and pathetic in my first world hands.

The collapse of the factory signified the collapse of our human values, both personal and corporate. "Who is responsible for this?" the world cried.

Is it Sohel Rana, owner of the dodgy building? Is it the boss of the factory, who forced workers into the building and locked them in? Is it the companies, such as Phantom Apparels, whose products were being made at the time of the collapse? Is it those who built the building on swamp ground, those who granted building permission? All multi-million dollar Western companies who profit and refuse to define their supply chain? The fashion industry? Governments, both local and international, who allow the industry to flourish despite and because of corruption and obvious infringements to human rights? Or is it us, the ones who buy cheap products and adorn our beautiful bodies with them?

The collective search for answers began. Sohel fled and was caught, as were some of the factory owners who allegedly chose to open the factory that day. Clothing companies signed documents making them legally responsible for the safety of the factories in which their clothes are made.  Corporations who refused to be transparent about their supply chains were condemned and those who continue to exploit impoverished workers exposed.

Demands were made to set global supply chain standards and basic set of workers rights, such as minimum wage and unions, and solutions made by Nobel Peace Prize winners. The spotlight was shone on every level of the garment industry to expose the dark beginnings of our clothes and the systematic and remorseless exploitation of the world's poorest people to make them.

However have we looked adequately enough at our own consumer behaviour?

What do you choose to do? New synthetic blanket or second hand version from Vinnies?

Shula Hampson, Melbourne textile artist and fan of the atelier, says "if you refuse to buy it, they won't make it. It's that simple, really. Demand safety standards in fashion."

Similarly, Carlie Ballard of online ethical clothing outlet Indigo Bazaar, says, "Consumers have the power to make change. It depends whether their need for a quick and cheap fashion fix overpowers their conscience.
I can't help but see our era of fashion as the sweatshop era. Not the power suits and fluro of the 80's or the mini skirts and flower power of the 60's or the amazing flapper style of the 30's. Our era is a dirty fashion era. And sadly when our children go vintage shopping I'm not confidant they are going to find much that defines our time, except a rag bag."

Lara McPherson, facilitator of Sustainable Fashion Australia, writer and researcher, is relieved that the spotlight is finally shining on the fashion industry. "I do wonder if consumers here in Australia comprehend the direct link between these conditions and their own behaviours. Sadly, there will always be a new Bangladesh to be exploited, so long as our desire for cheap clothes exists."

"There are so many wonderful [eco] businesses - in Australia and internationally - and fashion and textiles are a great tool for International Development. Many developing countries have been built off the back of clothing, but the industry seems to be doing more harm than good. It feels really quite perverse for the obscenely wealthy developed world to be squeezing factories in the developing world for cheaper labour and products. To me, that epitomises global inequality and is tantamount to modern day slavery."

Modern day slavery it is. People, mostly women, work in abysmal conditions illegal in Australia. They face harassment, abuse, unsafe working conditions, the constant threat of job loss and wage severance daily, if they do not comply with the industry needs. They work up to 20 hours a day, without breaks, with little light and no compensation for sickness. That means, if you or your children are sick, you loose money.

Some work is better than none, sure. Factory work protects people from the very worst consequences of dire poverty, such as prostitution, human trafficking, infanticide and death, and offers some hope of a better life for families.

Working to improve your life is grand. But not when that work infringes your basic human rights.

Many organisations are already working towards this change. A quick web search will give you many great online eco companies providing opportunities for their workers in safe environments.

We need larger solutions, no doubt. Laws, minimum wages, basic code of worker rights, healthy and safe working conditions and spaces free from violence, intimidation, abuse and harassment. Workers need to have the freedom to voice their concerns without fear of redundancy or wage loss. We need all this. You know. The basics.

Sign petitions. Advocate change. Demand answers from corporations and governments. Do it all. But don't forget your own participation in this play. Your role, the consumer. The one who buys the garments and fills wardrobes with a variety of constantly changing colours and styles.  Buy less. Buy eco. Recycle. Reuse. Repair. Everyone can do that, regardless of economic status. We have a moral responsibility to try. I feel it. My friends feel it. Are we really going to stand by and let people in poverty experience exploitation, forgo happiness and face potential death daily, just so we can have stripey shoes?


I sighed and put the undies back down on the shelf. I think I can just go home and hand wash, go freestyle for a day. Sure, my decision not to purchase the $2 undies is unlikely to have an impact on the people who made them. But I'm going to try anyway.

Victims of Rana Plaza building collapse, Savar, Bangladesh.

http://www.cleanclothes.org/

SIGN PETITION https://www.change.org/petitions/woolworths-and-big-w-sign-on-to-the-bangladesh-fire-and-building-safety-agreement

http://www.change.org/petitions/rivers-and-the-just-group-stop-ignoring-workers-basic-rights-and-sign-the-bangladesh-safety-accord?utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition

photo credit: Asitimes via photopin cc