The fashion industry is more than models on the runway, extravagant photoshoots and designers at glamorous parties mingling with celebrities. This fame driven media is just the surface and is what most people correlate with fashion. What isn’t seen, besides in brief headlines every now and then, is the suffering of along the supply chain from materials sourcing to producing and delivering garments.
Fashion Revolution Week is coming up soon and I’ve been thinking a lot about the Rana Plaza disaster and working conditions in places like Bangladesh, and more specifically, what the future holds for them. It’s been four years since the collapse and I’m excited as we round the corner into a new era of fashion where the consumer is more aware of the human rights issues abroad. The documentary The True Cost and trailblazers like The Reformation and Everlane are changing the game and taking ethical fashion into the mainstream, but there is still a huge disconnect between the consumer and the supply chain.
Now with Trump’s “America First” initiatives, the role of our current political situation in all this cannot be ignored. Bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US is very complicated, and frankly Trump’s approach is quite naive. How does he expect American brands to be made locally at a competitive price when both him and Ivanka were unable to do so with their clothing lines?
Let’s start with a simple question, who will be making these goods? There are few skilled seamstresses in this country, this trade has not been cultivated in our communities. In large part, the people that work in American garment factories are immigrants and are now being threatened with deportation. Will Americans want these jobs?
If the America First movement takes shape like Trump claims, in my opinion there are two routes it could go 1.) more technology driven manufacturing with machines replacing humans, or 2.) sweatshop like conditions in detention centers and correctional facilities, using immigrants and prison labor to make cheap garments. There could be a niche market making higher price point items that could thrive off of a made in America boom, but overall, the companies like Forever 21, will be hurting (although maybe this would be a good thing). Their whole model relies on cheap labor in developing countries.
What about the workers in these developing countries? For many, the working conditions are less than ideal and making a living wage is not possible, but is taking their jobs away the answer? According to WTO data, in 2016 there was $84B in apparel imports. From an economic standpoint alone, shifting to American manufacturing would change the landscape of foreign trade and world economies. With 35% of apparel imports coming from China, 13% from Vietnam and 6% from Bangladesh, among other countries like Indonesia and Cambodia, way over half of these imports are coming from Asia.
Although working conditions can vary in these countries, for many women, garment manufacturing gives them a chance to earn money and potentially gain socio-economic mobility. This can be empowering when the only other options for women are selling their bodies or staying in the household. Many factories take advantage of this desperation to exploit these women and children but as the spotlight grows on this issue, the pressure is growing to create fair working conditions as well. With such a big shift in the garment manufacturing landscape, I’m concerned what this would mean for female garment workers, and what would replace these industries.
The fashion industry is holding it’s breath as we wait to see how the America First policies are enacted. Obviously, there are many uncertainties and this presidency is very unpredictable. I never would have guessed that Trump would alienate Putin and start to warm to President Xi, but here we are. I’ll be watching out for his next moves and what it means for garment workers both here in America and abroad.
Ethical fashion goes deeper than the clothes you decide to put on your back, but extends to showing compassion for those who made them. I look forward to Fashion Revolution Week (April 24th – 30th) and celebrating the beautiful people that often go unseen in the fashion supply chain. If you want to find out more or get involved, check out http://fashionrevolution.org/