Buying Ethically-Made Clothing — How can we reshape the way we shop?
In 2018, a video was published to YouTube by Oxfam where a man by the name Sammy J sung a letter to Kmart promoting the movement “What She Makes” — the video itself states that the women who create Kmart’s clothes only make an insanely low $0.62 an hour. This isn’t just exclusive to Kmart either; in a separate video also by Oxfam, other large corporations who are under investigation for their sourcing practices include Target, Big W, H&M, and Cotton-On (just to name a few). This almost sounds so criminal! Well, unfortunately, it isn’t. This is due to the lack of regulation in their sourcing location, Bangladesh; the country’s minimum wage is one of the lowest in the world, meaning its workers in the garment industry receive low wages, something of which is incredibly desirable to fashion brands to cut costs.

Source 1 — data retrieved from International Trade Centre

79% of total exports in the clothing industry, which is relied on by many national economies, come from Bangladesh. In Source 1, it is quite apparent how attractive their low wages are to fashion brands, with their total number of exports reaching just over $30 billion, and about $27 billion of that coming from clothing and accessories alone.

So, clearly, these brands are exploiting their garment workers. Yet, despite the YouTube video from Oxfam on their letter to Kmart receiving 170,700 views (as of June 2021), not much change has occurred. Though many of the comments from viewers recognised the severity of the issue — one even suggesting a potential brand opportunity for big retailers — 3.6 million people, or 22.6% of the Australian population, still shop there in an average four-week period.

Source 2 — Comments on Sammy J’s song to Kmart video on YouTube

However, the reason Kmart is still so attractive to shop at for many customers is its price range. 2.2 million Australians are on minimum wage, which is about $753.80 per week or $19.84 an hour. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t part of that 2.2 million myself — while it is not always clothes, their other products and goods are equally cheap, which is another discussion in itself. In saying that, it’s quite clear that we need to reshape the way we shop to ensure the workers behind our clothes are paid reasonably for their work.

So, with all that said, where are some places you could go to spend your hard-earned money instead?
['Courtney Hagan']
['Clothing', 'Fast Fashion', 'Brands', 'Ethical Fashion']