Case Study 13.2 The High Cost of Cheap Clothes

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High Cost of Cheap Clothes
I don’t pay much attention to where my clothes are made. But I care much about who made them. The issues of the rights of workers and the ethical issues have managed to sway consumers to be keen on the stories told about the clothes they buy. In the year 2013, the ill-reputed Rana Plaza collapsed, and it killed over a thousand workers in Bangladesh garment factory. Many consumers were affected by this ethical manufacturing issue. Among the stories that make headlines are the successive deaths that occur in factories due to the sweatshop conditions. This paper aims to examine the poor working conditions workers are subjected to in garment factories.
I have always had a negative picture of Gucci and Louis Vuitton products due to the ethical issues that have been associated with the companies. These two industries were alleged to use sweatshop labour and products mislabeling. Consumers can impact the Bangladesh factory conditions significantly. They can boycott the product made by this company and opt for other expensive clothes which are made under good conditions, and this can drive them to change the working conditions. Yes, I can pay more for clothes as long as I’m assured the workers in those countries are subject to good working conditions. The retailers can help to compensate for the damages since they benefit directly from the factory. I believe retailers could have sorted the costs since they have money but the problem is that they don’t like taking up responsibilities.

The European retailers should pay for the damages caused by the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory to safeguard the reputation of the garment factory. Retailers reach the consumer directly and if the status of the factory is affected their sales will also be affected too. Also, they were aware of the factory conditions, for instance, Rana Plaza but continued doing business with them to calling for reduced prices and increased orders. Before Rana building collapsed the retailers knew of the deaths and injuries Bangladesh garment factories experienced.
If the manufacturing standards are tightened, this could impact the garment industries negatively. For instance, favouring of some companies which have broader home markets which result in disproportionate cost enhancing inequality in economic development. Also, vast amounts of money will be directed to mitigation of environmental effects which occurs from pollution by chemicals used in the garment production and maintenance of good working conditions. This cost can be reduced by having measures in place to prevent pollution and giving equal opportunities to all companies and providing insurance for a worker in case of any injury or disaster the coverage gets to compensate them.
In conclusion, workers in garment manufacturing factories are subjected to poor working conditions. The companies compromise ethical issues that are related to the working conditions. Consumers can help to mitigate these conditions by boycotting the products of the factory.