With the rise of fast fashion, it has become normal for consumers across the developed world to buy cheaply-made affordable clothes which can only be worn a limited number of times before they go out of fashion. As Whitehead observes, fast fashion brands like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M have completely reshaped the fashion industry with their distinctive business model of low quality / rapid turnover / high volume. Years ago, fashion designers and brands would spend the entire year preparing for two major fashion seasons, namely fall / winter and spring / summer. Fast forward to the present day and some of the world’s most profitable fashion brands are releasing an average of 52 collections per year – which means that every week is treated like a new fashion season (Whitehead). With new trends coming out on a weekly basis, fashion brands have had to come up with new ways to have their clothes and accessories manufactured as quickly as possible, as well as at a very low cost. Many of them have chosen to source from countries like Bangladesh, whose comparatively low wages combined with their notable disregard for workers’ rights have made it possible for companies like Inditex and H&M to undercut their competitors (Nova).
At first, neither shareholders nor consumers to care about the negative impact that fast fashion giants’ growing presence in the Bangladeshi market was having on local workers. After all, shareholders were enjoying remarkably high returns, consumers were buying trendy clothes for a few dollars and new jobs were being added to the Bangladeshi economy, whose garment industry is currently worth $28.1 billion (Financial Times). It wasn’t until a fire claimed the lives of 123 workers that Western media, activists and consumers began realizing how deadly fast fashion could be (Burke and Hammadi). Later investigations revealed that the multi-storey factory supplied large retailers like C&A and lacked adequate safeguards against industrial accidents and fires – hence workers’ inability to evacuate the building (Burke and Hammadi). In 2013, a five-storey building containing various garment factories collapsed, killing over 1,100 people and injuring another 2,500. These are only some of the numerous incidents that have shook the South East Asian garment industry over the past few years, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries.
Unsurprisingly, activists, reporters and non-governmental organizations from all over the world have taken a special interest in the unsafe working conditions of Bangladesh’s garment industry, prompting retailers, suppliers, consumers and governments to do something to tackle this public issue. “Why is this even a public issue?”, some may ask. A public issue is a problem that concerns multiple members of a community and arises whenever a group’s collective interests and / or values are under threat. If fast fashion giants’ exploitation of Bangladeshi workers had only claimed one or two human lives, the horrific working conditions in the Bangladeshi garment industry would have never become a public issue. However, the rapid expansion of the global fast fashion industry and the local garment industry has resulted in many buildings being converted into factories whose unsafe industrial equipment, inadequate escape routes and faulty electrical circuits may result in other deadly incidents (Fatal Fashion). Not to mention that several reports have revealed that Bangladeshi garment workers are often underpaid, harassed, beaten and forced to work extra hours in order to meet their employers’ production targets.
In order to find an effective solution to the problem facing fast fashion companies that source their products from Bangladeshi suppliers, it is important to first determine who bears responsibility for the unsafe and inhumane working conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories. Fashion companies have certainly contributed to the problem as they are the ones that have been exploiting the fast fashion business model in order to minimize their costs while boosting their sales and revenues. Consumers also bear responsibility as their growing demand for affordable and trendy products has prompted clothing retailers to embrace and stick to the fast fashion model. Bangladeshi factory owners, on the other hand, are guilty of compromising on workers’ safety in order to meet their buyers’ expectations – e.g. unrealistically low prices, acceptable quality standards, speed, willingness to accept urgent orders. However, it is worth pointing out that factory workers wouldn’t be able to exploit workers in such a ruthless manner if only the Bangladeshi government took steps to raise the national minimum wage, enforce existing labor laws and grant workers more rights. Finally, Western governments should also be blamed for signing a series of trade agreements that have encouraged Western retailers to shift production to countries like Bangladesh.
In view of these considerations, it is evident that someone is going to have to break this vicious cycle in order for working conditions in Bangladeshi factories to improve. A possible solution could be to develop awareness campaigns aimed at discouraging consumers from buying from fast fashion companies. Activists and non-governmental organizations could cooperate with celebrities and popular YouTubers to persuade people that buying less for more is much more ethical than buying more for less. This way, fast fashion companies would have to rethink their strategies and ensure that their suppliers take good care of their employees before buying from them. On top of that, Western companies could use their bargaining power to get the Bangladeshi government to approve new laws aimed at improving working conditions and granting workers more rights, threatening to source their products from other countries if their requests are not met.
- Burke, Jason and Saad Hammadi. “Bangladesh textile factory fire leaves more than 100 dead.” The Guardian. 25 Nov. 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/25/bangladesh-textile-factory-fire. 15 Dec. 2017.
- Fatal Fashion. Analysis of recent factory fires in Pakistan and Bangladesh: a call to protect and respect garment workers’ lives. 2013, https://cleanclothes.org/resources/publications/fatal-fashion.pdf. 15 Dec. 2017.
- Financial Times. Bangladesh garment-making success prompts fears for wider economy. 5 Jan. 2017, https://www.ft.com/content/5cd0d9ea-d316-11e6-9341-7393bb2e1b51. 15 Dec. 2017.
- Nova, Scott. “Apparel industry outsourcing costs garment workers’ lives in Bangladesh.” The Guardian, 13 Dec. 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/13/apparel-industry-outsourcing-garment-workers-bangladesh. 15 Dec. 2017.
- Whitehead, Shannon. 5 Truths the Fast Fashion Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know. 19 Aug. 2014, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannon-whitehead/5-truths-the-fast-fashion_b_5690575.html. 15 Dec. 2017.
