Why Do We Still Know So Little About How Our Clothes Are Made?

As consumers demand greater transparency, high-street and luxury labels are being called on to inspect their supply chains.

It’s been six years since the Rana Plaza tragedy in April 2013, when an eight-storey garment factory complex in the Dhaka district of Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1,134 people. Following the disaster, brands and trade unions signed the legally binding five-year Bangladesh Accord and its successors, the 2018 Transition Accord and the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC), all designed to ensure the safety of factory workers by implementing inspections and workplace programmes.

The disaster also sparked the #WhoMadeMyClothes campaign in 2014, organised by Orsola de Castro and Carry Somers as part of their not-for-profit global movement, Fashion Revolution. Around 3.25 million people engaged with the campaign during Fashion Revolution Week 2018, which called on shoppers to demand more information about the origin of their clothes. “We needed to reconnect the supply chain and push brands towards greater transparency,” Somers tells Vogue. “We know that both social and environmental exploitation thrives in hidden places.”

In 2016, Fashion Revolution launched its Fashion Transparency Index, which publishes supplier lists to help NGOs, unions and workers to rectify any potential human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. That year, the index looked at 40 leading global fashion brands and saw that just 12.5 per cent were publishing the names and addresses of their first-tier factories (where clothes are sewn together). Meanwhile, the Fashion Transparency Index 2019 found that out of the 200 brands surveyed, 35 per cent are now volunteering this information. “In terms of traceability, we’ve really seen considerable improvement,” Somers adds.

But there is still a huge amount of work to be done. In October 2019, Lululemon investigated allegations that female workers in their Bangladeshi factories face physical violence and humiliation from their managers. In May 2018, Global Labor Justice released reports that suggested the workers

Even in Europe and the US, where working conditions are highly regulated, it’s difficult to find out how your clothes are being made. “We’re told things are made in Italy, but they’re made in a sweatshop in Italy, or they could be made in the US, but they’re made in a sweatshop in Los Angeles — we just don’t know,” says Dana Thomas, the author of Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes.

Brands often don’t know exactly where their clothes are made either, as manufacturers employ a vast network of subcontractors to produce garments. “If brands shirk the responsibility and can’t keep track of their supply chain, there’s no way we [as consumers] can know [who made our clothes],”

Despite initiatives such as the Bangladesh Accord and the 2018 Transition Accord, exploitation of workers in the garment-making industry, of which approximately 80 per cent are women, is still rife. A UK study published in September 2019, focusing on the south Indian garment industry, found that factory audits are frequently manipulated. Researchers also suggested that short turnaround times, cost pressures and fluctuations in orders by brands increased the risk of worker exploitation.

While some brands are now publicising their social and environmental policies, it is unclear how these are being implemented throughout the supply chain. “We’re seeing a lack of information from brands in terms of the real impact [their policies] are making on the workers in the supply chain and on the environment,” Somers explains.

What are the next steps?

According to the 2015 documentary The True Cost, only 2 per cent of garment workers are paid a living wage. In Bangladesh, the minimum wage for those working in the garment industry is 8,000 taka (£72) a month; campaigners say this is half the amount needed to live comfortably. That’s why two ethical fashion brands, Able and Nisolo, decided to launch the Lowest Wage Challenge, calling for brands to publish the lowest wage a worker is paid in their supply chain.

“There are brands who will share the average wage with you or the labour costs that go into an individual garment,” comments Patrick Woodyard, CEO and co-founder of Nisolo. “But that doesn't actually tell you whether or not the people at the bottom of the supply chain, the most vulnerable workers, are actually being protected. We want the whole industry to look at the lowest wage.”

The more information that consumers are armed with, and the clearer that information is - the easier it is for us to make better choices. “We would like all brands to be disclosing [information] against a common framework; that’s going to make it much easier for consumers,” Somers says. “And for brands to see how they’re scoring against their competitors and how they can improve.”

Ultimately, consumers have the power to hold brands to account. “Buy from brands that have been either vetted by third parties [and where] there’s transparency and it’s very clear they’re paying their workers well and sourcing properly,” Thomas adds. “You can do your homework and know that they’re doing the right thing.”