The Human Cost of Fashion

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As consumers, are you conscious of the working conditions that the workers are in that make the clothes that you wear? This factor is not the first one that comes to mind when purchasing new clothes. However, many incidents have come to light with regard to the working conditions that are present in clothing factories situated around the world. The video below showcases how factory workers make clothes:

Inhumane Conditions

The working environment is important to anyone who has a job. However, garment workers do not have that choice. Instead, they are subjected to cramped working conditions and poor ventilation within the space they are in. These conditions were typically unknown to the world until the Rana Plaza collapse that happened in 2013, which killed over 1000 garment workers.

Not only are working conditions terrible, but living conditions in the areas of factories have worsened as well. The dyes and chemicals that are entering the waterways have posed to be a danger to the health of the civilians living there as well. Having to live with water pollution and working in such dire conditions is an appalling situation, and brands have to take responsibility for it.

Despite this exposure to the inhuman conditions that garment workers are in, the situation has not improved since - with factories putting their employees in harm's way and even hiring children to do labor. With the growing awareness of these conditions from the public, it is imperative that brands recognize that these factors are taken into account when discussing sustainability.

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Overworked and Underpaid

Living in countries that have poor living standards means that individuals have to find any means necessary to be able to afford a basic living standard for their family. Many women resorted to working in garment factories where they work 14 to 16 hours per day every single day of the week. Not only this but children have also been recruited to work in these sweatshops to earn a bit of extra money, which leads to a lower educational level in those countries as well.

With garment workers needing to earn money, there have been many instances where physical and verbal abuse took place in garment factories with few retaliations because of how much the workers relied on their factory jobs. It has even been found that major manufacturing countries such as China, Bangladesh, and India provide minimum wages that are barely sufficient for a family's needs.

Fashion brands have to step up to bring more awareness to the situations of garment workers and aim to help improve their wages as well. Sustainability is not only determined by environmental factors but by socio-economic factors as well. Garment workers are just as important as climate change.

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Pandemic Woes

COVID-19 has brought along a number of unpredictable changes to our lives in all aspects. The lockdown has stunted economic growth for many fashion brands, which has also negatively impacted garment workers. The lockdown that was implemented in many parts of the world caused many factories to shut down and workers to lose their jobs, and for workers to be unable to pay for their basic needs.

With low living standards in many third-world countries, garment workers were faced with unemployment and lost their ability to support their own needs and family's needs as well. Additionally, the conditions that garment workers are dire. With the pandemic, many health concerns were arising, as the cramped environment that workers were in led to an uprise of COVID cases as well.

Not only has the pandemic created fewer working opportunities for workers, but has threatened the well-being of these workers as well. All fashion brands have to take these workers into consideration when thinking about the sustainability of their company. Without them, their clothes and designs would not come to fruition.

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There is still much to be done to improve the situation for garment workers. With the added awareness from the general public, we can only hope that brands take these concerns seriously and put stress on their vendors to provide a safe environment to work in and living wages for garment workers to sustain their own basic needs. What are your thoughts? How do you think brands can help with improving the human cost of fashion?

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