This tag was created by Sampreety Saha.
Assignment 2
When I used to work at H&M, I noticed that most of the clothes were made from my home country, Bangladesh. I also noticed that most of the European and Western textile companies such as Walmart, H&M and Gap have their clothes produced in developing countries. The clothes were very affordable which I should have been very happy about, also it made me feel good thinking about buying something made from my home country. But, at the same time, I thought about lives of workers being sacrificed every year to make these clothes and the struggle they were going through just to make a small amount of money. This is just a fraction of how much European and Western companies make. Thinking about the workers’ situation made me reconsider purchasing anything from H&M. Getting clothes made in Bangladesh has as many positive aspects as it does negative. Considering that Bangladesh lacks worker’s safety regulations, we must ask ourselves if it is morally correct that European and Western merchandise brands order clothes made in Bangladesh. Should textile buyers continue importing clothes from Bangladesh? In order to try to answer this question, I have done some research which shows that the question is indeed a very complex one.
Receiving Garments Cheaper and Faster
Many companies who sell good and affordable clothes for regular use are very successful. H&M is a great example. Customers want cheap clothes and big European and Western companies want to make a profit in order to import more clothes from foreign countries. The New York Times Writer, Bajaj states in his article, “Before you buy that T-shirt,” that Bangladesh is known as one of the countries from where clothes are received faster and cheaper, which is why European and Western companies prefer importing clothes from them. Clothes that are made in the USA are much more expensive because of the workers’ wages and the maintenance of factories. According to The Editorial Board of The New York Times, “… the minimum wage [for a Bangladeshi factory worker] is just $37 a month—that is still far higher than the wages of famers or maids”. In currency exchange, it is around 83 Bangladeshi Taka per 1 US Dollar (“Dollar to Bangladesh Taka Exchange Rate Today”). The huge difference in wages, gives the textile companies a great reason for importing clothes from Bangladesh. It benefits both the company and the workers of Bangladesh. Mr. Richard Locke, deputy dean of M.I.T’s Slone school of Management states that, “… our insatiable hunger for cheap clothing is constantly changing styles has created a race to the bottom in which perpetually push supplies in Bangladesh for faster delivery and lower price” (Bajaj, “Before you buy that T-shirt.”). Since clothes are being made cheaper and the delivery is faster, it is a great reason to continue importing clothes from Bangladesh.
Creating More Job Opportunities
The big companies are not only receiving benefits by getting clothes made from Bangladesh, they are also providing benefits by creating job opportunities for people. Most people of Bangladesh are poor and expenses for living are getting higher every day. “The garment industry serves as one of the few ladders out of poverty in Bangladesh,” (The Editorial Board). This article also states that there are more than 3.5 million Bangladeshi workers. The job opportunities are saving the low-income families. People from villages of Bangladesh move to the city to work at factories to make money for their families. Continuing to import clothes from Bangladesh will create more job opportunities. Eighty percent of these workers are woman. This explains how importing clothes from Bangladesh has opened such great opportunities for the women to be independent. The Editorial Board also states, according to one study the percentage of garment factories was strongly correlated with higher numbers of girls going to school and delaying marriage and childbirth. This article also states that Western clothing brands are making a big shift to Bangladesh, creating more job opportunities because labor costs are rising in China. The government of Bangladesh and the workers are very happy about this. If the companies stop producing clothes from Bangladesh, many people will lose their job and will not be able to support the family.
Low Wages
As the companies create more job opportunities for people of Bangladesh, the wage is very low comparing to how high the expenses are to support a family. If any problem occurs at the factory and it needs to be shut down, the workers don’t get paid for those days. Sometime one-person working from a family is not enough, so the children and the housewife must work at the factory to provide some money. “Bangladesh exports about $18 billion worth of garments a year. Employees in the country’s factories are among the world’s lowest paid, with entry level workers making the government mandated minimum wage of about $37 a month or slightly above” (Bajaj, “Danger Facing Garment Workers”) The wage is low comparing the amount of clothes being imported. This goes against humanity that the companies are continuing to import clothes from Bangladesh even after knowing the situation. Not having any rules for child labor, allows children to start working at very young age. Sometimes they end up getting injured. According to The Editorial Board, the workers don’t get paid if they are injured. There is no medical insurance system in Bangladesh, which is more expense for the family. This concludes how the garment workers are not being taken care of by the companies or the governments of Bangladesh. The workers are being forced to work receiving low wage because they have no other option which the merchandise brands are taking advantage of.
Lack of Fire Safety
The article “Danger Facing Garment Workers” by Bajaj According to a New York Times article, published on 2012 by Vikas Bajaj, states that Bangladesh’s garment industry, which is considered as the second largest exporter after China, has a poor fire safety record. This article states the fires occurred at Tazreen Fashions which killed at least 111 people. Since 2006 more than 500 Bangladeshi workers have died in factory fires. These kinds of fires occurred at Bangladeshi factories every now and then yet there are no improvements.
Safety at factories have always been a big issue of Bangladesh. The big garment companies like Walmart, H&M and Gap have the power to improve the safety situation but they are not taking responsibilities. “The main Difficulty was to put out the fire; the sufficient approach road was not there, said the retired official, Salim Nawaj Bhuiyan…” (Bajaj, “Danger Facing Garment Workers.” This kind of situation explains how retail companies are backing up when it is their responsibility to take care of the worker’s safety first. They only seem to want the clothes cheaper and faster. The Editorial Board summarizes in the article how merchandise brands have money to make an improvement to the safety situation. According to the labor group, it would cost $3 billion over five years to bring Bangladesh’s roughly 4,500 factories into compliance with building and fire standard. The Editorial Board also talks about how the US Government and European Union should push the government of Bangladesh, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to enforce the country’s labor laws and building and fire code. But the Bangladeshi government has been reluctant because they think that this will bring up the cost for Western and European companies to order clothes from Bangladesh and they might start going to other countries for their supply. This might be a big issue for the country since after the fire, Disney said they will no longer use clothes that’s made in Bangladesh, New York Times, The Editorial Board, 2013.
Discussion of Findings
Should textile buyers continue importing clothes made in Bangladesh? Based on my research, it can be concluded that Western ad European companies are hungry to get cheap and fast delivered clothes. On the other hand, poor people in Bangladesh are hungry for job opportunities. It is important for the brands to continue importing clothes from Bangladesh to make profit and for business purposes. Clothes can be received much cheaper and faster and the Bangladeshi workers depend on the factories as their income source. The bad side of importing clothes from a developing country is that no improvement has been made about the wages of the workers as well as fire safety has always been neglected. However, the companies and the workers depend on each other’s needs, for that reason, the companies and the government of Bangladesh should find a way to maintain safety and take care of the workers so that them and the companies can make good amount of money for their needs.
Work Cited
