The high price of cheap clothes
Two years after the collapse of a garment factory at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, victims are still waiting for compensation.
On Friday, April 24, demonstrators took to the streets of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh to demand compensation for the victims of the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse of 2013.
With “Pay Up!” painted on their bodies and holding photo signs of victims, organizers commemorated the two-year anniversary of the deadly incident as they demanded the promised compensation.
Background:
On April 24, 2013, an eight-story garment factory at Rana Plaza in Dhaka collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring hundreds. Faulty construction, poor safety standards, lack of oversight, globalization and the demand for fast, cheap fashion all played a role.
The Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund was set up to help victims and their families receive compensation. To date, H&M, Walmart, The Children’s Place, Mango and Benetton Group are a handful of brands that sourced from Rana Plaza and have made contributions. At least 29 global brands had contracts with garment factories within the plaza. Many, like American retailer JCPenney, have yet to contribute according the watchdog group, Clean Clothes Campaign. The fund is currently short $8 million of the pledged $30 million to compensate workers.
Following China, Bangladesh’s ready-made garments account for 80 percent of the country’s exports. In the 4,500 accounted factories across the country, approximately four million people are employed, most of whom are women.
The tragedy brought issues of fast, cheap fashion to the global stage, creating changes in labor laws and efforts to make garment factories in Bangladesh safer. However, a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), revealed not much has changed and worker intimidation continues.
“Workers report violations including physical assault, verbal abuse — sometimes of a sexual nature — forced overtime, denial of paid maternity leave, and failure to pay wages and bonuses on time or in full.”
Two years after the tragedy, workers are still waiting for compensation.
A female union worker who was beaten while pregnant and eventually fired told HRW, “I was beaten with metal curtain rods in February when I was pregnant. I was called to the chairman’s room and taken to the third floor management room which is used by the management and directors and there I was beaten by the local goons.”
Trendy clothes are cheaper than ever.
While the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse and the lives lost brought global attention to the conditions of garment workers in developing countries, it’s made little difference in the United States when it comes to purchasing power.
The 2014 statistics report released by the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), revealed that American consumption is on the rise.
“On average, every American, including every man, woman, and child in the United States, spent $1,141 to purchase 64 garments and 7 ½ pairs of shoes in 2013, more than any other country in the world.” — AAFA President/CEO Juanita D. Duggan.
Trendy, cheap fashion — great for the people that wear them, terrible for the people that make them.
Watch the below breakdown by John Oliver for a global perspective on the high costs of cheap clothes.
