Just a Little Too Late

Just a Little Too Late

Following the collapse of a factory in Bangladesh on April 24th, Abercrombie and Fitch was the first company to sign on to the Bangladesh Safety Plan, which promises better working conditions. Whether they will come through with ensuring better working conditions is still up for question. Other companies such as Gap have publicly refused to sign because they do not want to be legally responsible. The Safety Plan appears to be a good stride for humanity, but how late is too late? Over 1000 are dead because of an unsafe workplace, not to mention they were being paid minimal wages. This public signing by Abercrombie may be a public relations stunt, but they can now be held responsible for further incidents in Bangladesh, as they are the sole signature at this time (May 16, 2013). I did some digging and found that Abercrombie has been the target of many labor activists and is listed on the “Hall of Shame” on Labor Rights’ website. Abercrombie and Fitch has also been accused of using child labor in their Filipino sweatshops on multiple occasions. I dislike Abercrombie clothing because of its preppy style and the nature surrounding the store, which is full of shirtless guys and obnoxious music and cologne. It doesn't help that Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has stated that he wants his customers to “feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.’” and his workers to be “ good-looking… Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people.” Obviously Jeffries doesn't have such high standards for his factories – his Filipino factory called Alta Mode Factory is frequently accused of having unfair conditions for employees. When these employees decided to strike on the factory, criminal charges were filed against them.

           

     The clothing industry revolves around reputation and consumerism. Abercrombie consumers want new, preppy clothing, so Abercrombie gets a factory overseas and makes them. The consumer doesn't care where they come from, as long as they’re available, so the company takes full advantage of that. It’s as simple as that. In order to take steps toward working equality the consumer must take charge. The consumer must only want clothing produced ethically, which would force large scale corporations to change their ways. The first step toward changing the consumers’ attitude is educating them on the issue, and organizing activist movements which would surface on social networks and in public. Then and only then will a signature from a notoriously unfair clothing company on a safety plan mean something.

Abercrombie and Fitch sweatshirt 

 Filipino sweatshop (Not Alta Mode because of lack of pictures)