I’ve been talking to a few ladies recently about the manufacturing practices of some Australian brands as discussed during the Four Corners story shown on ABC a month or two ago. I watched it on iView, I’m not sure if it’s still there. It’s well worth a watch if you want to change the way you think about fashion. If you want to slow down your consumption and know a little more about where your clothes come from and under what conditions they are made.
You see I’m the daughter of a farmer and have always prided myself on not buying generic brands who require farmers to turn over crops or deliver a product at such a low margin they are basically farming for the love of it. I’ve heard the arguments about tight budgets and continue to stress that it matters more to care about people, about families and about securing the supply chain for years to come. It matters more to do what’s right.
Apparently I had blinkers on. This is not something that only happens in the food and milk industries. It happens everywhere. It especially happens with clothing. But WORSE. Image now that dairy farmer not only has to accept a teeny tiny amount for his product but he has to halve that price, work under duress in unsafe situations with a hard ass boss hanging over his head to make sure he delivers on time.
That’s the clothing industry. Sometimes.
My key questions are how do I find reliable information to purchase responsibly. How do we know that the information we as consumers is provided is accurate and can be easily verified. I’m still struggling to find all the information I want to know. I look for facts and figures, places, times and dates. There’s just not that much out there that’s not passed from source to source. Sometimes without verification. But I need to know more.
This post wasn’t intended to make you feel bad about the clothing in your wardrobe. But maybe it should have been. When I took a long hard look at the items I had purchased there were a number of brands who have been reported to have unsafe, unfair and just plain shit work environments for their workers. I felt sick. I wanted to purge them from my wardrobe and feel better.
I’m doing my best to make better choices within the budget and availability constraints I have. I think hard before I purchase an item considering if my wardrobe needs and whether I’m okay with buying from stores that have been reported to have questionable practices. I continue to research and look for information and request it of brands. I look towards local brands who I know are playing fair to supplement my wardrobe. I take my purchases a little more slowly and with a little less volume.
I guess my point is, I’d love for you to do the same.
After all as they say
Caveat emptor.
Let the buyer beware. And maybe, just maybe let the buyer be AWARE, right?
Hi! I’m Suger; Chief Blogger at Suger Coat It. Blogging since 1901; love a casual ootd, taking photos + writing about things that irk or inspire me. I love wine and cheese, long days in the sun at the beach and spending time with my family. I make stuff for the internet. Which means I take photos, create content, write copy and devise social media plans for personal brands, small businesses and bloggers. You know, living the sweet life.
I do a ton of my shopping with Dorothy Perkins now and was over the moon when I saw their disclosure regarding their social policies and their fashion footprint. It was really reassuring as a consumer to see one of my favorite retailers advertise not just their product but the parameters of their manufacturing.
A full disclosure is something that is increasingly easy to come across on international brand pages because it’s what consumers are demanding. I’ve noticed a few more brands have updated their pages with guidelines too.
If a company tells us they are playing fair, I think we have to believe them until proven otherwise, but like they say ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’…
One of your sponsors (target) is the worst for ethical manufacturing practices and Autograph (if it is still a part of the Millers group….I am not 100% sure of this) isn’t too crash hot either. I think it is a really interesting discussion point but I would seriously consider your affiliations if this is something you are concerned about. I myself have recently been looking into the practices and SO MANY Aus businesses (inc high price ones) have very unfortunate practices 🙁
Hi Kate, absolutely there are some Australian brands that take advantages of worker’s in this country is similar methods too while claiming breaks for manufacturing locally. All hearsay, of course but this is my concern. How do we police this as a consumer if the reports {stockholder and otherwise – I’ve read both} are predominately self-regulated and there’s no requirement for full disclosure.
I actually did a lot of research into my affiliations and chose to continue to work with Target after they were one of the first to come on board and sign the accord for fire and safety.
ABC link > http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-07/kmart-target-sign-up-to-safety-accord-for-bangaldeshi-workers/4739436
I still hold out that Autograph will join them as some of the sister brands already have within the Speciality Fashion group. If they do not then I won’t be able to continue to support them.
I’ve said to friends that I had no idea of the practices that were involved in the making of clothings internationally. I’m not even concerned that they are being made but more how and is it fair. When a company could pay someone $5 a day and have them live well and chooses to pay $1.50 that’s not right. But then, where did I think my $12 cardigan came from? So now I try harder to do better moving forward.
Thanks for your comment.
I made a decision a little while ago to be more conscious of what I buy. I always look at this site http://www.ethical.org.au/the-guide/ when I’m not sure about a brand. Having such a small income it’s hard to buy things that aren’t cheap and unethical but I do my best with the amount I have, and sometimes have to compromise just so I’m able to eat for the week.
I rarely buy clothes nowadays simply because I can’t afford it until my financial situation gets better, but looking at the clothes in my closet right now.. I guess i’d have to do some more research on brands to know how I feel!
Thanks for the link Sarah. Anywhere that I can collect more information on the things I buy is great. I was the same with my wardrobe, you don’t know until you know.
I think this article is really important and I’ve often thought about these issues too. However, I usually push my feelings aside and take an “ignorance is bliss” stance. I feel pretty guilty about that though. I’d definitely like to look into things more and know what brands are ethical.
I’ll be doing the same. And to be honest Sophie I almost didn’t write, then almost didn’t publish this post. Having taken a similar stance myself I felt guilty and didn’t want to discuss it lest my previous associations and choices be questions. Though in all honesty I knew the labour was cheap, but not that cheap and done in a way that is so unsafe and dangerous. But in the end I decided to listen to that quote that says something about when you know better, you do better. Now I know what I know and I make the best choices based on that, when that changes I’ll adapt too.
I really admire you for that! As a fashion blogger, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of constantly consuming without questioning brands and their ethics. I’m starting to think twice about where my money is going and ask if what I truly value is going into my blog and coming across.
Thank you! I find it difficult to watch the level of consumption sometimes. It just seems so wasteful. Though I’m sure by most people’s standards I’m probably too much of a consumer for them. We do our best. Good luck to you!
Thanks Sug!
I have to admit, I’ve been waiting a while for a blogger to write about this issue – I’m so happy to see you saying something about it.
I want to buy ethical – but sadly, cheap clothes are just so DAMNED CHEAP that they’re sometimes irresistible, and I try to push to the side my niggling feelings of guilt about the sweatshop worker who put them together. I shouldn’t, but as long as places where I can actually afford to buy clothes aren’t transparent about the conditions of those workers who make them, it will always be there.
Like you, I will be asking more questions and doing more reading. Working in the air freight industry, I also know which rag trade companies are importing from China, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia, so I’ll be using that knowledge too to question where/how their clothes are made!
And when I CAN afford to buy lovely fair trade clothing (and organic food!), I will!
I understand that, price and allowable budget sometimes ends up the final factor, the deciding factor. We do our best with the resources we have available. That’s where the information more readily available would be great, you could chose from the brands making affordable clothing ethically for your purchases and not feel guilty about it. Low cost manufacturing can happen fairly I think. If you’re willing to concede that low cost can often mean lower quality. My personal goal is to buy less, buy quality items that fit my unique style and weed out those sneaky brands that are taking advantage of people and using my money to do it.