While fashion is not an obvious field of development policy, there is a growing belief that the “ethical fashion” movement could make a significant contribution to the lives of those in need of fair employment in African countries.
What’s ethical fashion?
“Ethical fashion” is a term used to describe the design, production, retail and purchasing of items. It covers a range of issues such as pay and working conditions, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment and animal welfare. In the contemporary global economy, materials and labour can be purchased globally, wherever costs are lowest, with less regard for other considerations. More industrialised methods of cotton growing have meant fabrics are produced quickly, cheaply and in big quantities. All of this has made shopping cheaper for the consumer and has allowed clothes to become much more disposable.

The ethical fashion movement aims to change this. Its growing popularity demonstrates growing consumer awareness of how clothes are produced. And ethical suppliers such as SOKO, Mantis World and ASOS Africa are satisfying shoppers’ desire for better ethics. These retailers offer transparency, traceability, personal contact with their staff and guaranteed good work practices and conditions in countries such as Malawi and Tanzania.

The newly-set up Africa Fashion Guide shows that there are plenty of brands out there that fit in to each of these categories, especially as the African fashion industry has taken off in Nigeria, East Africa, Ghana and globally amongst diaspora and fans of African style alike.

The Ethical Fashion Forum, based in London, is sure that fashion can bring about positive change. It proudly describes the role the sector is playing in employment across the continent. However, what Africa has offered the global fashion industry is predominantly cotton in its raw form. And this has resulted in serious problems for development.

When I think about solutions to the problems of how our clothes are made—and let’s be honest, the vast majority of our clothes are made in factories just like the ones in Rana Plaza—I become overwhelmed. The problem seems so huge. If you look at yourself solely as a consumer, your options are limited and ultimately not very appealing.

Even when you buy things that say Made in the USA or from a local company or certified organic, there are often still unfair labor practices involved. Not all pieces of a garment are actually made locally or in the US. Certified organic pieces are sourced from things like cotton, from farms which may or may not have ethical labor practices themselves.

Then there’s the fact that a lot of people in places like Bangladesh rely on garment production for their income. Entire economies are built around producing ready-to-wear garments, and to entirely withdraw that support from a consumer standpoint (if that were even possible, which it isn’t), would hurt laborers, too. The lives and livelihood of the people who make our clothes seem not to factor into many of these discussions, including the one I’ve linked to, which seems to dismiss all Bangladeshis out of hand as lost causes who are of little to no concern to us. The article I’m linking to has an underlying current of racism and xenophobia which seems to imply, “Those people deserve what they get, but at least we don’t have to implicate ourselves in the horror.” (Even though we’re already implicated, if you know anything about history.)

My hope is for improved regulation, enforcing existing safety and labor laws, and unionization for the labor force, but…how do you do that? From a consumer standpoint, your only real means of exerting pressure is to withdraw financial support for the companies that ultimately uphold unethical—even deadly—labor practices. But to withdraw financial support of those companies also means to withdraw financial support, and unlike this lady, I would rather the people in Bangladesh have jobs that pay a living wage in safe environments than have the money dry up for them entirely. (I’d like the same for people here, too!) That’s what the workers in Bangladesh ask for, and I think in this situation, where they are the ones dying for our cheap clothing, they are the people to back.

An alternative route is to support labor groups. If you are interested in providing direct financial support to specifically Bangladeshi labor groups:

Aotearoa Solidarity Network (direct donation to the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity)
International Labor Rights Forum
AFL-CIO Solidarity Center

Please share if you know any other organizations to support.

Fashion: It's about Choice

At the end of the day, Fashion is about choice. We decide what to wear as individuals, to express ourselves, to keep ourselves comfortable and warm or to make a statement. There are a lot of people in this world who are obsessed with fashion. It’s a huge industry both economically and culturally.

So it’s your choice. I have written about Fair Trade standards, child labour and the environmental impacts of chemicals, transportation and production. If you’ve been inspired by any or all of these issues, here are some links to help you find more ways into ethical fashion. They are not always easy to find.