Fast fashion industry has always been known for developing commercialization and boosting the economies of the countries involved in the manufacturing process. But those interests mostly belong to the heads of these giant supply chains. When it comes to the workers who directly make the aforementioned fast fashion products, are they benefit economically from participating in this manufacturing industry?
\At the time of mid-December 2020, a series of events occurred that fashion consumers in China simultaneously boycotted the H&M brand, and previously, Nike, due to the announcement from these brands about stop using Xinjiang’s cotton to produce fashion products. The reason for this decision is that China has forced hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities to do hard labor in the vast cotton fields in western Xinjiang province. A series of evidence shows that up to half a million minority workers each year are forced to pick cotton during the harvest season, under poor working conditions that raise concerns about the risk of forced labor, according to Dr. Adrian Zenz, a senior research fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington.
This is just one of a myriad of troubling situations related to labor violations in the fashion industry. The forced labor situation, poor physical conditions at factories lead to unfortunate labor accidents, no safety and protection when working lead to long-term consequences on the health of workers, and minimum wages... are always thorny problems in poor populations in China, India, and other developing countries.
Another “mysterious giant” of the fast fashion industry is SHEIN. Recently, this brand has become the favorite choice of many shoppers in the North American market because of the release of thousands of new styles each week at very low prices. SHEIN is valued at about $15 billion and has recently surpassed major brands like H&M and Zara to become the best-selling fast-fashion retailer in the United States. But an investigation by Sixth Tone, an online magazine owned by the Shanghai United Media Group, revealed that SHEIN has used a series of tricks to make production faster and less expensive than competitors, these tactics have made thousands of Chinese workers vulnerable to exploitation. Many of SHEIN's manufacturers cut costs by renting small factories located in areas where buildings are built close together with high population density.
It is known that these factories often circumvent China's labor laws and pose many potential fire and explosion risks. Many workers do not even have a formal contract with SHEIN, which makes it difficult to determine if they are being treated legally. Huang Yan - Professor at South China University of Technology (Guangzhou), commented: "SHEIN's operation is a step backward in the issue of protecting workers' rights. Their interests have been ignored by this company". SHEIN supply chain facilities operate 24 hours a day and workers split shifts to work. Many people call this the "SHEIN Challenge" - something not for the faint of heart. If they can withstand the intense work, they can receive large remuneration. On the short video platform Kuaishou, many people shared about quitting their jobs at SHEIN because the workload was too heavy.
Thus, can we conclude that the fast fashion industry, in general, does not bring any benefits to the unskilled working class in developing countries? In an interview with Steve Paikin on "The Agenda", Sarah Portway, Ph.D. A candidate in Apparel Design and an instructor of Fashion Design at Cornell University (New York), has indicated an argument that by manufacturing in countries like Bangladesh or China, everybody gets risen and taken out of poverty. It is undeniable that, despite the workload many times heavier than the salary received, these factories have provided a large number of jobs for the people here. With that being said, the fast fashion industry has somewhat reduced unemployment in these developing countries.
Although these workers receive a small part of the benefits from participating in the fast fashion manufacturing industry, it seems that they have to trade too much in terms of their health and safety. If a fashion product that costs only a few dollars in the market is a cake, after deducting a series of costs of production, transportation, distribution, and advertising, and a large part of the profits for the owners as well as brand employees and direct stakeholders, is there still a tiny cut out of that cake belongs to these low-cost workers?
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