Editorial: Counting the Human Cost of Cheap Clothing

The collapse of Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in April 2013 sent a shockwave through the textile and apparel industry. More than 1,100 lives were lost in the incident, and Bangladesh's reputation as a reliable low cost location in which to manufacture clothing suffered a severe blow in the eyes of consumers and the major brands. The tragedy of Rana Plaza also raised much wider concerns about worker exploitation in the clothing industry worldwide -- including wage levels and factory safety -- and these concerns show no signs of abating. The danger for the industry in Bangladesh is that buyers will simply avoid the problem by placing orders in locations which are not under the spotlight. This would deprive Bangladesh of its main source of export earnings and employment and lead to hardship among, potentially, millions of families. In this report, Robin Anson questions whether leading clothing brands are taking adequate steps to help improve the working conditions of their supplier factories. In addition, he analyses the findings of recent research into global wage trends for apparel workers and discusses the impact of low wages on apparel workers in low cost apparel producing countries. Robin Anson also provides information on issues relating to factory safety, and provides suggestions as to how national governments, major brands and workers' unions can work together in order to improve working conditions in the clothing industry.

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