Sometimes when I am shopping I think about where my clothes are being produced but then 'how cute is this jumper?! And it's £30, love it!' I used to think sweatshops were a thing of the past, there's no way that with Government policies and public attitudes they could still be used right? Wrong.
After just scratching the surface with research, I am dis-heartened to find that the only highstreet brand to use ethical manufacturing is the debt riddled American Apparal. From the -it's so cheap, it's obviously sweatshop- Primark to the -this tie is £50- Hugo Boss, all brands use some form of exploitation of developing/3rd world countries. Zara I thought was safe and was so glad because I could happily get my whole wardrobe from here! Reasonably priced, good quality, beautiful garments that are produced in Europe; Turkey to be precise. Turkey is a developed country and a popular tourist destination so I thought it would definitely meet similar wages and conditions as Britain. So why are people working 60 hours per week in the factory and taking second jobs to make ends meet? HOWEVER Inditex (the company behind Zara) is beginning plans to increase wages alongside mum's favourite M&S so I will continue to support these brands.
But some household brands are really doing nothing to help out their struggling employees: Tesco, Next, Matalan, Nike, even Gucci and Hugo Boss use cheap labour in unsafe work environments. Case after case of factories collapsing or burning down in Bangaladesh and China have been recorded. Isn't the thought of someone dying for a pair of jeans or a jumper absoloutely insane?? But it happens, a lot... look at:
https://www.cleanclothes.org
Now it isn't our fault, we are being exploited too with grossly overpriced products of poor quality being sold to us! So what do we do? The organisation mentioned below has way more information than me and also states **don't stop shopping on the highstreet** for one that is impossible unless you are a seamstress and secondly the people in these countries need the tiny amount of money they earn. The very least and first is awareness, check out this amazing organisation fighting for the rights of workers all over the world:
http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/
Maybe even take 2 minutes to sign a petition @ http://www.cleanclothes.org/livingwage/sign or if you're feeling a little flushed, a small donation to either will go a long way!
This was long winded I know but I've barely touched on this absolutely enormous topic! Knowledge is power, thank you so much for reading!
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