last week was this two day event here called Missio Dei, and it was actually quite life changing for me.
i sat in on some lectures on labour in third world countries and how giants like American Eagle and Wal-Mart exploit workers, children in particular, to maximize their companies profits. now, i've heard of sweat shops before, but i haven't really given it a lot of thought. like okay, i knew some kid in vietnam might have sewn my shoes together or something, but it was really quite surprising what sort of conditions they are forced to work in. 12+ hour work days without washroom breaks, for example.
so i get back to my dorm room and look over my clothes and i see that tshirt made in the dominican republic, jogging pants made in vietnam, underwear made in macau, a sweater made in pakistan, and another tshirt made in Mexico with a US component [whatever that means], everything else is seems to be made in china. NOTHING assembled in Canada.
the only company i can think of that produces clothes in canada is ROOTS. and i don't like any of their clothes. [edit: not true, thank you Lynele]
so, the point of all this is, i'm going to look into buying clothes from retailers that don't promote cheap labour. and no, that doesn't mean i'm burning all the clothes i have already bought. no, that doesn't mean i'm going to be raiding thrift stores from here on out [buying second hand clothes made in the same countries doesn't change the principle behind it]. and no, i won't hate people who continue to buy at these places [but i will inform them].
sidenote: i believe the chinese do have better working conditions than other countries, but that's not factual. yet. i'll get back to you with my findings.
anyway, hope i gave you some things to think about.
so just a final thought: think about where you buy your clothes.
K
my roots jacket is made in china
ReplyDeleteWHAT
ReplyDeletei have lost all faith in the textile industry.