Sarah Muzzillo
Editor-in-Chief
The United States thrives on consumerism; our economy’s fate has always relied upon a healthy atmosphere for customers to purchase goods. This concept is particularly prevalent in modern American culture. Try counting how many people you see twiddling on their Androids or iPhones, notice the number of people wearing brand name clothes or shoes. Consumerism is positive for several reasons: it helps businesses stay afloat and succeed, which in turn pumps money into the economy, allowing our nation to prosper.
Spending should be encouraged, but is there a cost to America’s obsession with material items? It’s easy to become disconnected with your purchases, especially when most products are manufactured across the world, but have you ever questioned where your t-shirt or cell phone was actually manufactured?
Many factories overseas, which cater to Western nations and fuel consumerism, have very poor working conditions. This problem was highlighted last month when unthinkable tragedy struck Bangladesh as a clothing factory collapsed, trapping, wounding, and killing over 1,000 workers. These workers were paid a meager $38 per month. Not day, not week, month. Possibly the same amount your shirt costs.
It turns out that the owners of this building violated multiple construction codes. Three floors were illegally added to the factory in order to hold more workers. Furthermore, the poorly built structure could not support heavy machinery and its vibrations, which were key factors in the collapse.
Although this tragedy shines a spotlight on cheap labor for cheap clothing, countless factories across the world have the same awful conditions, the same shamefully low wages, and are also at risk of fire and collapse. A sequel to this horror film is chillingly probable.
Surely something must be done to fix this awful, inhumane practice. Although America’s economic foundation is set by consumerism, we also like to pride ourselves on being fair and just.
Following the destruction in Bangladesh, many companies have since signed the Bangladesh Factory Safety Accord in an effort to support safer working environments. Most of these companies, however, are not American. In fact, fourteen major North American retailers, including Walmart, Macy’s, and Gap declined to sign, for one reason or another. Since then, Gap has seen profits increase by 43%.
These major, successful, wealthy companies are essentially exploiting workers simply to increase profits. Is sacrificing human lives really worth a bigger bottom line?
As American Apparel CEO Dov Charney says, “This situation of manufacturing clothing and paying wages that won’t even buy you an iPhone after a year is not going to work. Start making clothing in a human way.”
