by Vipal Jain for The Toronto Globalist
Check where you t-shirt was made, and think about how far it travelled to get to you. Is the price really an accurate reflection of the cost of production? What about the value of the labour that went into it? Some companies have, in recent years, begun to take these things into account, redesigning their manufacturing processes with socially conscious consumers—those concerned about working conditions and the environment—in mind.
American Apparel, a Los Angeles-based clothing company, strives for quality and integrity without outsourcing its operations to China and third-party companies. It operates the largest garment factory in the United States and has more than 250 stores worldwide. According to the company, all American Apparel clothing is made my workers who are paid fair wages. “It is not about branding but also about ensuring quality and keeping your workers happy while focused on producing good quality”, says Dov Charney, founder and chairman/CEO of American Apparel. “As the world globalises, people’s demands for fair wages, will go overwash.”
For consumers, it can be difficult to know for sure whether or not a given article of clothing has really been made ethically. There is no shortage of brands that claim to be committed to environmental sustainability, but which ones really are? “The important thing is that the company that is selling the product is manufacturing the product,” says Charney. For him, this is an important part of sustainability. When a company outsources its operations, it gives up control over how those operations are carried out, including quality and working conditions.
Toronto-based Me to We Style, founded in 2005, markets itself as a clothing company for socially conscious consumers. It uses organic cotton in its products, all of which are made in Canadian factories by adult workers receiving fair wages. “Consumers don’t always realise they are the reason a brand flourishes or fails”, says Andrea Mammolite, marketing director of Me to We Style. She explains the bottom line as follows: if you aren’t buying, companies aren’t selling, and if companies aren’t selling, they aren’t making any money. This leaves them with no choice but to look into why you aren’t buying, which might be because their operations aren’t environmentally friendly. “With a little patience and research”, Mammolite adds, “consumers can find companies like Me to We Style that use ethical practices to produce the products they are looking for.” By using organic cotton, Me to We Style ensures that toxic chemicals aren’t being used. The company also donates half its profits to its charity partner, Free the Children.
The rise of socially conscious companies like Me to We Style locally and American Apparel globally will, Charney argues, likely reverse the process of outsourcing. “Over the next twenty years, as transportations costs go up, as the difference in wages between poor countries and rich countries gets minimised by force of competition, more and more companies will want to make products themselves”, he says.
It remains to be seen whether or not ethical manufacturing processes can really replace the traditional, less responsible variety. Charney contends that, with a little bit of free trade and public pressure stemming from increased awareness, it’s possible. He attributes this increased awareness and move toward ethical manufacturing to the trend of young people getting involved in companies. “The more people think, talk about these issues, the more we can approach solutions that are friendly to workers and that are sustainable”, he says.
