The double-edged sword to boycott disposable fashion

  This recent collapse of a textile factory in Bangladesh, so that hundreds of dead and thousands wounded, drew much attention to the dangers of unregulated working conditions in the garment industry. The big question is how the consumers of these products can not only avoid getting help complicity in these conditions, but also to change them.

In a paper option for the New York Times, Vikas Bajaj wrote:

    "Unfortunately, there are some good answers. A boycott of products from Bangladesh would probably be against-productive., It could deprive some of the poorest jobs and income, which offer a step up agriculture or manual labor workers."

After all, garment factories contributed for 75 percent of exports and Bangladesh factors such as low maternal mortality. Bajaj argues that the solution lies in government regulation, but does not address environmental issues with disposable clothing that is deep and comprehensive. The end of production, the workers can be exposed to toxins, while factories pollute the local habitat. On the consumer side, the products fall apart after a few uses and affordable prices to encourage people to buy more than they need. After the secondary and recycled textiles Association, on average, each American throws 70 pounds of clothing per year.

An international news story was before the collapse of the building in Bangladesh, many consumers believe produces clothing should pay fair wages and safe working conditions to abroad. A 2012 research paper from the Department of Political Science at MIT have shown that U.S. consumers say they care deeply for fair labor standards. Unfortunately, their buying habits do not reflect.

The reality is less acceptable these conditions overseas are partially driven by a favorable mode appetite. Although the MIT study found the sweatshop-free labels, sales improved in the upscale retailer Banana Republic "labels have no discernible impact on sales at low prices."
Boycott sweatshop-made clothing is a double-edged sword:
Consumers can only buy fair trade clothes make things worse for the cheap clothing manufacturers, at least in the short term. Much less high-quality products for a long time is the most sustainable option, and our definition of quality should be the quality of life of workers, garment.Yes are made to government regulations to protect workers from hazardous conditions and is an important part of the solution. But is part of the long-term solution, stop clothing than a disposable product, spend more and buy less.