Fashion Factories

Designed by Rachel Smith

Four years ago I dropped $500 at Shein. It is safe to say none of that clothing has lasted. About a year after that, I realized that the unethical foundation of Shein was not worth the concerningly low prices. I switched over to more expensive brands: Aritzia, Urban Outfitters, Lululemon, Anthropologie. Little did I know that those companies—and really all the companies I shopped at—were not as ethical as I thought. For years, I had no idea that I had been contributing to labor injustices, pollution and overconsumption. Look at your closet: maybe you see a Zara going out top, Urban Outfitters jeans and Lululemon leggings. Have you ever thought about where those garments might come from and who is making them?

Approximately 80 to 150 billion articles of clothing are produced each year. The International Labour Organization reported that 55% of garments are produced in Asia, 31% of which are manufactured in China alone. The European Union takes up another 27.4% of clothing production. The share of imported clothing looks much different – with the majority of clothing consumed in the United States and the EU. Despite being the largest clothing manufacturer in the world, China only makes up 1.8% of clothing consumption.

China produces almost a third of all garments globally, meaning it churns out approximately 26 to 50 billion articles of clothing each year. The country employs around 20 million textile workers; however, through every stage of creation – from the cotton fields to sewing on the final buttons – labor injustices occur, according to the International Labour Organization. Workers are forced to work excessive hours in unsafe conditions for below minimum wage. They are not allowed to unionize and rarely receive social security benefits. Factories often hire workers on short-term contracts as they do not know the quantity of clothing they will have to produce from month to month. Such contracts allow the factories to easily fire excess workers at any point, creating extreme instability for the workers at all times. Many companies hide these injustices by highlighting their later-stage factories responsible for assembly while dismissing the earlier stages of production, where the majority of labor abuse occurs.

For example, Lululemon does trace part of its supply chain and provides some information on the factories involved in the final stage of production. This makes the company appear to be vigilant of its supply chain, when in reality they only give the appearance of transparency. Though Lululemon gives some details on its Tier 1 factories responsible for assembly, they do not disclose much information on the supply chain or labor policies beyond that. They do not disclose the percentage of workers that receive a living wage or the average wage paid to their garment workers. Additionally, the company has ties to the manufacturing industry in Xinjiang China, known for forced labor, and the company has not taken sufficient steps to ensure forced labor does not occur in their factories. Despite the initial appearance of ethical manufacturing due to their partial transparency on the final factories, when digging deeper, it is clear that the company is being neither transparent about its supply chain nor vigilant in ensuring fair labor practices.

The next highest exporter of garments is the European Union with approximately 1.3 million garment and textile workers, according to the European Apparel and Textile Confederation. Despite having a better reputation in garment manufacturing, their production process also lends itself to the abuse of workers. In Europe, companies hire first-tier factories that then subcontract to lower-level factories which operate somewhat under the radar. In these factories, there is little regulation and, therefore, many labor abuses including unsafe working conditions and wage theft.

These injustices mainly occur due to the pressure clothing companies put on manufacturers. The fashion industry’s path in the past decades can be described as “a race to the bottom.” Companies constantly switch factories and manufacturers, chasing after the lowest possible costs. They have no obligation to the factories to continue sourcing from them; therefore, factories are constantly at risk of losing their business. According to the International Labor Organization, 75% of manufacturers rely on a single company for more than 1⁄3 of their sales, which puts pressure on the factories. They know the companies are looking for the lowest prices, so they do whatever is necessary to provide them. This results in underpaying and overworking their garment workers to get as many garments made as cheaply and quickly as possible.

So where does the industry go from here? It appears that trying to shift production away from these regions and towards regions with more ethical manufacturing is unrealistic. The Collective Fashion Justice reports that only 2% of garment workers are paid a living wage globally. This means there is no real example of an ethical manufacturing country or region, aside from a few ethical companies that trace every step of their supply chain to ensure there are no labor abuses. One example of an ethical company is Arknit Studios, located in Italy. This is a knitwear company that provides ample information regarding who exactly makes their clothes, where they are made, what protections the workers have, and how the pieces are made ethically. They share the locations of all their factories including information about the rules at the factories and what pieces each factory specializes in. This type of transparency should be the standard for every clothing company, and yet this type of deep dive into the labor policies is quite rare in the fashion industry. Some other companies that are similarly transparent are Kotn, Ética Denim, LA Relaxed, and Christy Dawn. Aside from a few companies such as these, the fashion industry as a whole is lacking this level of transparency as well as concern for the wellbeing of laborers. Therefore, instead of looking elsewhere, the industry must begin by reforming the existing manufacturing structures. It cannot be up to the manufacturers to reform themselves; this initiative must start with the clothing companies at the top. The key to this is transparency. Companies must be able to trace their entire supply chain - from fibers to finished garments. Companies must make this information available to the public, including customers, to ensure accountability. Pressure must be relieved from the manufacturers, and factories must be regulated, especially cracking down on subcontracting where most labor injustices take place.

The fashion industry can be reformed on a global scale to ensure safe working conditions and quality production worldwide. However, just because the solutions exist does not mean they will be implemented. In the past decade, some progress has been made, however, change has been slow. Too few consumers are willing to give up low retail prices for ethical production, and governments are not forcing any changes to be made either. This means it is entirely up to the companies whether their clothing is produced ethically or not. Many are not willing to forfeit profits to make their manufacturing a safer environment for workers. True reform will require a consumer revolution and a strong commitment from companies to improve their manufacturing practices and treatment of labor.