!

ETHICS AND THE CLOTHING

Prepared for

Thomas Lornsen

Prepared by

Émilie Blanchette

May!9th,!2016!
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………… 4

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………. 5

The Deficient Working Conditions …………………………………………………… 6

Extremely Low Wages ………………………………………………………… 6

The Incorrect Labor Practices ………………………………………………………….. 9

Safety in the Working Environments ………………………………………….. 9

The Environmental Issues ……………………………………………………………… 11

Use of Inorganic Products ……………………………………………………… 11

Conclusions and Recommendations……………………………………………………. 14

Bibliography/References ………………………………………………………………. 16

   
ETHICS  IN  THE  CLOTHING  INDUSTRY  :  GLOBAL  OR  LOCAL  ?   II  

 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURES PAGE

1.   Average Minimum Monthly Wages for Garment Workers ……………….. 7

2.   Minimum Monthly Wage Necessary for Basic Life Needs (in US$) ……… 7

3.   Child Labor Around the World …………………………………………… 8

4.   Factory Deaths in Bangladesh …………………………………………….. 10

5.   Australian Clothing Import ……………………………………………….. 13

6.   Apparel Industry Trends ………………………………………………….. 15

   
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report analyzes the multiple issues encountered in the fashion industry around the
world.

The Deficient Working Conditions

Garment factory workers are faced with awful working conditions: no or very small

breaks, long days of 12 to 18 hours, extremely low wages that can not even make them

survive their basic needs. Also, garment industry is one of the industry using the most

child labor.

The Incorrect Labor Practices

Women make up the majority of the workers in this industry. Unfortunately, not for the

good reasons: they are abused and discriminated. Furthermore, the workers face very

dangerous work places everyday and have no compensation for it. Many deaths have

occurred because of unsecured factories.

The Environmental Issues

Clothing industry is one of the most polluting industry in the world. From the cotton

picking to the shipping of the final product, it is killing our planet slow and steady.

Thousands of people are directly affected by some of the chemicals used for our clothing,

and others live near a river where there is more garbage than water.

   
ETHICS  IN  THE  CLOTHING  INDUSTRY  :  GLOBAL  OR  LOCAL  ?   IV  

 
ETHICS AND THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY:

GLOBAL OR LOCAL?

INTRODUCTION

Ethics concern an individual’s moral judgement about right and wrong. With every big

decision a company takes the general population can create for themselves an idea of

whether they think the company is “right” or “wrong”. Ethics are part of why someone

would be either encouraging or discouraging the continuity of a business. For ethics to

have an actual impact on a business’ profits, the consumers need to be aware and ready to

take a stand on whether they prefer having a “good conscience” or simply continue

buying what they need whenever they need it.

One of the most important industry in the world is facing various ethical concerns: the

clothing industry. Being a very important part of our everyday life, clothing is a very hard

industry to face on ethical concerns. People need clothing, and they aren’t, for the most

part, ready to let that go for their “moral sense”.

The purpose of this report is to analyze different aspects of the clothing industry and

discover how ethical issues concern the entire population of the world and not only, as

many might think, the underprivileged countries.

In preparing for this report, many previous researches were looked at to help understand

the different aspects of ethical concerns and their expansion throughout the globe. They

will be explained in detail in the next pages.

   
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DEFICIENT WORKING CONDITIONS

Working conditions are put in place to create a safe and organized work place. They

cover many different topics of issues such as hours of work, remuneration and rest

periods. Lacking of efficiency when inputting working conditions creates an austere

environment and can lead to important ethic issues.

Extremely Low Wages

The garment industry is known as being one of the industry with the lowest wages all

around the world, but especially in underdeveloped countries such as Cambodia, India,

Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, and Bangladesh (International Labour Organization

[ILO], 2013, p.2). As a matter of fact, Bangladeshi workers earn some of the lowest

wages in the world which is of about US$ 39 per month (ILO, 2013, p.2).

Figure 1 illustrates the different minimum wages that can be found for garment workers

across the globe. Only three countries have a lower amount than Bangladesh: Ethiopia,

Myanmar, and Uganda which is far behind with a US$ 2 monthly wage. Those numbers

have been steady for about the past five years.

   
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Figure 1

Average Minimum Monthly

Source: Stratfor Enterprise’s analysis

It has been found that an average monthly expenditure for a household family in

Bangladesh is of 8,896 takas which is equivalent to US$ 112. Currently, Bangladeshi

women workers of the apparel industry are paid US$ 33,55 monthly. This amount is way

under the minimum needed to cover basic life needs.

Figure 2 illustrates the way women workers calculated the minimum wage they should

get to be able to afford basic needs. Those numbers have been calculated in 2013, and

this is why they differ a little from the numbers stated above.

Figure 2
Minimum Monthly Wage Necessary
for Basic Life Needs (in US$)

Source: NPR article on Bangladesh’s

   
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Child Labor

According to the United Nations, child labor is “work that children should not be doing

because they are too young to work, or – if they are old enough to work – because it is

dangerous or otherwise unsuitable for them” (UN, 2016)

The ILO reported that “an estimated 170 million children are engaged in child labor, or

11%f the global population of children” (as cited in theguardian.com, n.d., para. 14) (see

Figure 3). Most of them are employed to fulfill jobs other human beings could not do, or

could not do efficiently because of their size and speed of execution. Many of them work

for the fashion industry to satisfy the high demands of Europe and American consumers

(theguardian.com, n.d., para. 5).

Figure 3
Child Labor Around
The World

Source: ILO, 2013

   
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The children are exposed to dangerous working conditions, long hours, and most often

paid under the minimum wage. In the clothing industry, children are used at every stage

of the production: production and harvesting of cotton, yarn spinning, and putting the

garments together (theguardian.com, n.d., para. 12).

Ending child labor is a pretty difficult problem to solve since it comes down to a more

complicated and expanded problem: poverty. When parents have a low education, they

get low-paid jobs which will often force their children to work very young to bring

money to the family. This makes them miss out on their education and end up with also a

low-paying job like their parents. It becomes a vicious circle very hard to break

(theguardian.com, n.d., para. 20).

INCORRECT LABOR PRACTICES

Labor practices are similar to working conditions, but are more centered on the basic

rights of the employees. For example, discriminating an employee for their race, religion

or gender is completely forbidden. Unfortunately, it is hard to make sure that those labor

practices are followed in some undeveloped countries.

Safety in the Working Environments

“In April 2005, 64 garment workers were killed and 80 were injured when the Spectrum

factory, producing clothing for Inditex and Karstadt Quelle, among others, collapsed”

(cleanclothes.org, 2012, p.3). This kind of incident has become usual to people working

   
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in the garment industry. One of the most important and recent example would be the

collapse of Rana Plaza, in Savar, Bangladesh, on April 24th, 2013. The collapse of this

eight stories building caused 1,134 deaths and injured almost twice as much people

(cleanclothes.org, 2013, para.1). As illustrated in figure 4, Rana Plaza is the biggest

collapse garment industry has seen, but it is still only one of the many collapse causing

deaths in Bangladesh (see figure 4).

Figure 4

Factory Deaths in Bangladesh

Source: The School of

Data http://bit.ly/13iWBh5)

Even though Bangladesh is not the only place with garment factories, it is the one with

the most collapses and it is known for its unsafe environments.

Harassment and Discrimination

Women workers represent 85% of the garment industry (War on Want, 2011, p.3). Even

though this could be a chance for women to gain emancipation and independency in those

undeveloped countries, they are mostly hired in an exploitative context.

It has been shown that 70% of the women workers in a factory in Guangzhou were

sexually harassed (Brones, 2015). In Dhaka, Bangladesh, women workers make up 2-3%

of the population, but represent 11% of the rape victim’s population (Brones, 2015).
   
ETHICS  IN  THE  CLOTHING  INDUSTRY  :  GLOBAL  OR  LOCAL  ?   X  
 
 
In a report by War on Want made in 2011, almost 50% of women reported to have been

beaten up, hit in the face or threatened to losing the job (p.6).

Pregnant women are supposed to be given a total of 16 paid weeks on leave: 8 before the

birth of the child and 8 after. In an interview conducted by War on Want in 2011, half of

the women working in a garment factory did not even know they had right to a paid leave

(p.8). Furthermore, 50% of the workers stated that even when pregnant, they had to work

overtime in the regular hard conditions (War on Want, 2011, p.8).

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

“The clothing industry is the second largest polluter in the world...second only to oil”

(Alternet, 2015). Every step of the production is part of polluting the environment: the

production with its chemicals, the transportation to the retail stores, and finally the waste

created by discarded clothing.

Use of Inorganic Products

The Citarum River is known as being the most polluted river there is. It is surrounded by

factories and it is estimated that 68% of them are garment factories. There are about 5

million people living around this river and the effects on their health and on the wildlife

of the sector are alarming (Alternet, 2015).

Greenpeace described the river as “highly caustic, will burn human skin coming into

direct contact with the stream and will have a severe impact (most likely fatal) on aquatic

   
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life in the immediate vicinity of the discharge area” (Alternet, 2015). The menace of the

chemicals contained it the dye does not stop at the production factory. The dye stays in

the shirt for a few washes before disappearing completely.

Moreover, the cotton plant which is used for the majority of our clothing is one of the

most demanding plants. In total, cotton itself need 10% of all agricultural chemicals and

25% of the insecticides (Alternet, 2011).

Excessive Transportation

More than 60% of the world’s clothing is produced in developing countries, and at least

32% of them are produced in Asia (Alternet, 2011). Not only are the final products

shipped from a part of the world to the other, but even at the beginning of the supply

chain, a lot of transport is needed.

China might be the biggest clothing producer right now, but companies are moving to

other countries with a lower cost for production and labor such as Bangladesh, Vietnam,

Pakistan, and Philippines. Unfortunately, those countries do not have the raw materials to

produce the clothing, so they have to be shipped from countries like the U.S., China, and

India (Alternet, 2011).

   
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Figure 5 illustrates where the clothing comes from in Australia. Those numbers are very

similar to the ones we would find here, in North America. As shown in this figure, China

is by far the biggest exporter for clothing in Australia, but that would be true for a major

percentage of the world.

Figure 5
Australian Clothing Import

Source: Catsle, 2014, choice.com

Furthermore, we know that a single container ship can produce as much asthma and

cancer-causing pollutants as 50 million cars in one year (Alternet, 2011). It is estimated

that there are 9,000 container ships used in the whole world. With those numbers, we can

imagine that the repercussions on people’s health is enormous.

   
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

In conclusion, the garment industry is still very unethical in many ways as of today.

There have been some changes seen in people’s attitude towards the clothing industry.

People start caring more about where their clothes come from and how they were made.

This is why some companies have been turning to a “greener” way of producing their

clothes.

If people are aware of what is happening, then the garment industry can change. It’s the

people wearing the clothes who can do something about it. By being aware of the

working conditions, the labor practices, and the impact on the environment, the general

public can make a decision for itself: do they want to wear those clothes knowing where

they came from?

More and more, the answer to that question is no. People understand that if they stop

buying those products, then the companies will have to change their way of production to

be able to make profit again.

This last figure, figure 6, is a chart showing the general “grade” a clothing company

would have on traceability, monitoring and workers right. Red color indicates a failure in

that field. The importance of this chart is not the names of the companies, but the amount

of red we can see.

   
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Figure 6
Apparel Industry Trends

Source: Free2work.org, 2012

By being aware of where our clothes come from, we can actually make a change.

   
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 REFERENCE PAGE

Alam, K. (2011). Stitched Up: Women workers in the Bangladeshi garment sector.

Retrieved May 02, 2016, from

http://media.waronwant.org/sites/default/files/Stitched

Up.pdf?_ga=1.207223831.589581398.1461861050

Bangladesh's Labor Strikes Foreshadow Political Violence. (2013, September 25).

Retrieved May 04, 2016, from

https://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/bangladeshs-labor-strikes-foreshadow-

political-violence

Brones, A. (2015, May 06). 9 Ways Women Are Getting Abused in the Fashion Industry |

Brooklyn Fashion Design Accelerator. Retrieved May 04, 2016, from

http://bkaccelerator.com/9-ways-women-getting-abused-fashion-industry/

Castle, J. (2014, July 28). Ethical clothing - fashion - CHOICE. Retrieved May 03, 2016,

from https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/everyday-

shopping/clothing/articles/ethical-clothing

Clean Clothes Campaign. (2012). Hazardous workplaces: Making the Bangladesh

Garment industry safe. Retrieved May 01, 2016, from

https://www.cleanclothes.org/resources/publications/2012-11-

hazardousworkplaces.pdf

International Labour Organization. (2013). Bangladesh: Seeking Better Employment

Conditions For Better Socioeconomic Outcomes. Retrieved May 03, 2016, from

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---

dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_229105.pdf

   
ETHICS  IN  THE  CLOTHING  INDUSTRY  :  GLOBAL  OR  LOCAL  ?   XVI  

 
Kenney, C., & Chace, Z. (2013, October 2). How Garment Workers Decided $104.72 a

Month Was A Living Wage. Retrieved May 03, 2016, from

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/10/02/228195527/how-garment-

workers-decided-104-72-a-month-was-a-living-wage

Moulds, J. (n.d.). Child labour in the fashion supply chain. Retrieved May 01, 2016, from

https://labs.theguardian.com/unicef-child-labour/

Pay Up! (n.d.). Retrieved May 04, 2016, from

http://www.cleanclothes.org/safety/ranaplaza

Sweeny, G. (2015, August 13). It's the Second Dirtiest Thing in the World-And You're

Wearing It. Retrieved May 01, 2016, from

http://www.alternet.org/environment/its-second-dirtiest-thing-world-and-youre-

wearing-it

U.N. (n.d.). Child Labor. Retrieved May 01, 2016, from

http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/childlabour/

Wrinkle, H. (2012). The Story Behind the Barcode: Apparel Industry Trends from Farm

to Factory. Retrieved May 03, 2016, from

http://www.free2work.org/trends/apparel/Apparel-Industry-Trends-2012.pdf

   
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