When I think about solutions to the problems of how our clothes are made—and let’s be honest, the vast majority of our clothes are made in factories just like the ones in Rana Plaza—I become overwhelmed. The problem seems so huge. If you look at yourself solely as a consumer, your options are limited and ultimately not very appealing.
Even when you buy things that say Made in the USA or from a local company or certified organic, there are often still unfair labor practices involved. Not all pieces of a garment are actually made locally or in the US. Certified organic pieces are sourced from things like cotton, from farms which may or may not have ethical labor practices themselves.
Then there’s the fact that a lot of people in places like Bangladesh rely on garment production for their income. Entire economies are built around producing ready-to-wear garments, and to entirely withdraw that support from a consumer standpoint (if that were even possible, which it isn’t), would hurt laborers, too. The lives and livelihood of the people who make our clothes seem not to factor into many of these discussions, including the one I’ve linked to, which seems to dismiss all Bangladeshis out of hand as lost causes who are of little to no concern to us. The article I’m linking to has an underlying current of racism and xenophobia which seems to imply, “Those people deserve what they get, but at least we don’t have to implicate ourselves in the horror.” (Even though we’re already implicated, if you know anything about history.)
My hope is for improved regulation, enforcing existing safety and labor laws, and unionization for the labor force, but…how do you do that? From a consumer standpoint, your only real means of exerting pressure is to withdraw financial support for the companies that ultimately uphold unethical—even deadly—labor practices. But to withdraw financial support of those companies also means to withdraw financial support, and unlike this lady, I would rather the people in Bangladesh have jobs that pay a living wage in safe environments than have the money dry up for them entirely. (I’d like the same for people here, too!) That’s what the workers in Bangladesh ask for, and I think in this situation, where they are the ones dying for our cheap clothing, they are the people to back.
An alternative route is to support labor groups. If you are interested in providing direct financial support to specifically Bangladeshi labor groups:
- Aotearoa Solidarity Network (direct donation to the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity)
- International Labor Rights Forum
- AFL-CIO Solidarity Center
Please share if you know any other organizations to support.