Week10

Fast fashion, slow destruction

At first glance, the sudden cancellation of the orders leaving the workers out in the cold might seem to
be the scandal here – a big corporation abandoning the people who make their products, despite
beautiful words in mission statements about “taking care” of people and the planet. At the beginning of
April, tens of thousands of clothing factory workers started taking to the streets and calling upon the
employers and the government to pay a basic wage at the very least. The industry is an indispensable
source of income for the country, and provides no small share of its jobs. But who profits most from the
cheap labour? The answer is: the brands that we put on every day and the stores where we buy our
clothes at rock-bottom prices who now – despite all the lofty words about responsible, fair and
sustainable production – are turning their backs on the people who make what we wear. By years of
participating in the erosion of the industry, C&A – like all the other clothing companies – has contributed
to the fact that people in Bangladesh now have nothing to fall back on. The power that these
multinationals have in those countries is enormous. For decades, reserves have been squeezed to the
penny, leaving workers and suppliers with no choice but to seek support from C&A itself in times of
crisis. And although more and more brands are pledging to pay, and a growing number of the garment
workers receive at least a part of their old wages again, the coronavirus has revealed the extreme
fragility of a system that has been continually eroded, year after year, by the clothing companies –
which, in turn, is influenced by our demand for more and cheaper clothes. No matter how fast and
cheap fast fashion is, it has always needed to get faster and cheaper to the point where now no one has
any buffer to fall back on – not the manufacturers, and not the workers. Speaking up does work
sometimes!

Course
Mentimeter:
1. Clearly false
2. False because unconscious bias so women tell themselves they can’t climb the social steps as well.
it is the fault of sexist men but not only (society, education of women/men…).
3. Corporate cultures, unconscious bias in performance evaluation systems, prejudice that leadership
is a masculine role (not ambitious enough in some cases but it does not play the bigger role).
4. They can be more creative, less risk of group think (story with the airbag, better if it is diverse),
being valued for being different is motivating.
5. OK
6. OK
7. OK

Guest speaker:

The life cycle of a product is mor inclusive than just the supply chain. Each year, 80bn garments are
produced. It has risen by 400% from 1994 to 2014. Fashion is the 2 nd polluter of the world (after oil).
Bangladesh is dependent on garment industry since it represents 80% of its export income. 2 nd largest
producer after China. It is the cheapest place in the world for apparel.
And of course, there are structural problems in Bangladesh that reinforces the problem (bad transports
 delays, lack of education  trouble creating value, weak politics, corruption, weak unions.
High volume, short deadlines (but if don’t keep up -> no work -> so overbooking), low unit prices, on-
demand transactional supplier relationship. Use of subcontractors (where we can’t see child labor!) to
keep up with the extreme deadlines.
Bad working conditions! Supervisors treat their employees like trash (no training). No unions before
2013, no safety.

The government doesn’t reinforce the law  buildings collapse  thousands of deaths.

So, Western companies make their suppliers sign a COD and they send (unannounced) auditors to check
whether the supplier holds his end of the bargain (if too bad  bye).

High competition for suppliers in Bangladesh!

We need to harmonize CSR policy and purchasing policy in big brands. The price shouldn’t be the only
strategic topic. Try to help your suppliers and engage in a long-time relationship to improve together
(not just transactional approach). Empowerment of local workers (unions) and support the local legal
framework (compulsory schooling…). Governments need to be stronger! Otherwise we will fail.