Well shucks. On April 24 the Rana Plaza in Dkaha, Bangladesh collapsed
leaving 1,127 dead. So many rage against the sweatshop system that caused all
the workers to be trapped in the building to begin with and call for consumers
to purchase ethically made clothing instead.
Well that’s
just too bad for those poor deluded souls. People aren’t going to change their
shopping habits because of the disaster. For clothing, here are some companies
who ensure that their clothes are produced ethically: Me to We Style for
clothing, Mini Mioche for children’s clothes, TOMS for shoes, and Alchemy Goods
for accessories. In addition to producing their goods ethically, many of them
also donate to charities and other similar programs.
Great! Now
that you know of these companies, you’re all going to go out and buy
exclusively from brands that you know produce their clothing ethically? Right?
Yeah, that’s what I thought: Besides from the ones that I mentioned, you have
no clue which brands produce their clothing ethically and at this point you
still haven’t even taken the 10 seconds to google the names of some more
companies that ensure that their goods are ethically produced. Heck, I’m just a
guy on the internet, for all you know I’m completely lying about the brands
above to help generate revenue for them.
Oh yeah,
that’s right. I remember now. You’re just going to keep buying from the same
store that you always have, picking out clothes without the faintest idea where
it came from. In a second, I’m going to ask you to look down at the tag on your
shirt. Before you do it however, what country did the shirt come from (and
don’t just guess China because that’s the default answer)? What were the
conditions in the factory like? Does the company have a track record of
treating their employees fairly and humanely? ... Congratulations! You just got
a 0 out of 3! Here’s your F and I’ll let you be on your way!
“But that was all before this
disaster! My decisions will change!” you cry. Right, of course. You’re really
going to see the ethically produced clothing and buy it over the cheaper
sweatshop version that looks basically the same. You’re not going to see a
white shirt for $12 and buy it without any other knowledge of that shirt’s
origin. You’re going to see a pair of jeans for $20 and it’s more expensive,
identically looking, counterpart which was produced sweatshop free, and buy the
more expensive one? Even though the sweatshop free one can get up to 200% the
cost of the sweatshop produced version?
Of course,
I could just be a cynical old fool. You might actually go out there and put in
the effort to make the difference. Your change might be the one to tip the
balance and usher in an era dominated by sweatshop free clothing. You might be
the change you want to see. You might inspire even me.
Now, just
rattle off the names of the ethical brands I gave you not 3 minutes ago (and
don’t just look back at the beginning of this post). Wow, always nice to see
such intensity of resolve.
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