Becoming a Socially Conscious Consumer

By Jacob Hahn

It started with a few cracks in the wall. • But then, on April 24, 2013, it became the worst disaster in the history of the garment industry. According to BBC News, on that day the Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, completely collapsed, leading to the deaths of over 1,100 people.

Along with the bodies, bricks, and garments left in the rubble, questions remained about who was to blame for the tragedy. • Sure, there were the obvious culprits—the plaza owner, the construction company. But, there were other suspects too. What about the companies whose goods were manufactured there? As Emran Hossain and Dave Jamieson pointed out in their May 2, 2013, Huffington Post article, garment industry insiders partially blame Western retailers for the tragedy. They claim that it is retailer demand for low-priced labor that creates these poorly constructed and unsafe work factories, which then leads to disasters like the factory collapse.

The thousands of miles that separate us from tragedies like this can make them seem unrelated to our everyday lives. But what if they are not? What if, by purchasing the products these companies make, individuals such as you and me are also somewhat responsible for what happened? •

As we'll see today, there is evidence to support the idea that consumers and companies share a responsibility to ensure safer conditions for factory workers. This is why I encourage all of you to become socially conscious consumers and help convince companies to adopt ethical manufacturing standards. Being a socially conscious consumer means being aware of the issues communities face worldwide and actively trying to correct them. •

Why would companies do business with factories that allow dangerous working conditions? • It's actually quite simple: Corporations want bigger profit margins. The cheaper the production costs, the more money they make when the product sells. And since consumers show more interest in buying lower-priced products than in thinking about how such items are produced, the pressure is on to provide inexpensive goods. The only way to do this and still make money is to make the goods at the lowest cost possible.

But there is a way to break this cycle of cheap labor and deadly working conditions. You, me, all of us as consumers, must be willing to step up and take an active role in the system. • We can do this in two ways: First, we can pressure companies to improve working conditions for factory laborers, and second, we can pay fairer prices. • Some consumer groups are now signaling their willingness to do this, and corporations are responding.

The force behind this new kind of partnership is called “cause-related marketing.” According to the Financial Times, cause-related marketing is when a company and a charity (or a consumer group) tackle a social or an environmental problem and create business value for the company at the same time. • In March 2012, the global marketing firm Nielsen conducted a worldwide study on consumer responses to cause-related marketing. The poll found that two-thirds of consumers around the world say they prefer to buy products and services from companies that give back to society. Nearly 50 percent of consumers said that they were, and I'm quoting here, “willing to pay more for goods and services from companies that are giving back.”

The fact that large numbers of consumers are concerned enough about fairness to pay more for products is key to solving the problems that surround the ethical manufacture of clothing. Corporations can appeal to this group of socially conscious consumers, as they are called, by addressing concerns about ethical manufacturing. What do corporations gain by meeting these concerns? It allows them to charge more for their products while also raising their profit margins and improving their brand image. This means that as socially conscious consumers, we can set the standards that corporations must meet if they wish to maximize their profit from our purchasing power.

You may find yourself asking, Can this actually work? • The answer is a simple yes. In both the food and apparel industries, calls for changes in working conditions led to the now widely known nonprofit organization Fair Trade USA. According to its Web site, Fair Trade USA is an organization that seeks “to inspire the rise of the [socially] Conscious Consumer and eliminate exploitation” worldwide. • If products are stamped with the Fair Trade logo, it means the farmers and workers who created those products were fairly treated and justly compensated through an internationally established price.

Fair Trade USA made its mark in the food industry through its relationship to coffee production in third-world nations. Its success helped major companies such as Starbucks and Whole Foods recognize the strength of cause marketing: If you appeal to the high ethical standards of socially conscious consumers, they will pay more for your product. •

Appealing to high ethical standards is often directly related to preventing tragedies like the one that occurred in Bangladesh. After the factory collapsed, the major apparel sellers faced intense criticism over their lax labor practices. In response, these companies are now much more interested in establishing their products as Fair Trade to meet socially conscious consumer standards. For example, as Jason Burke, Saad Hammadi, and Simon Neville report in the May 13, 2013, edition of the Guardian, major fashion chains like H&M, Zara, C&A, Tesco, and Primark have pledged to help raise the standards for working conditions. • According to the article, they will be helping to “finance fire safety and building improvements in the factories they use in Bangladesh.”

So, what exactly can you do to help bring about ethical labor practices within the clothing industry? The two steps I encourage you to take are these: Become informed, and ask questions about what you're buying—whether it's shoes, a t-shirt, or any other type of apparel. •

To be informed, go to Web sites such as fairtradeusa.org, thirdworldtraveler.com, and tenthousandvillages.com, which list and sell products from clothing manufacturers who have worked to meet the Fair Trade conditions. This list grows monthly, and by supporting these companies through your purchases, you can become a socially conscious consumer.

Additionally, ask questions of other retailers. Whether you shop online or at local retail stores, ask direct questions before purchasing clothes—for example, Where are your products made? Do you have proof of fair-trade practices? Where can I find this information before I make my purchase? Such questions define the socially conscious consumer, and they ensure that you will not be directly contributing to unsafe and unfair labor practices. •

Although several factors contributed to the tragedy in Bangladesh, there is one clear way to help prevent future disasters: become a socially conscious consumer. By being informed and asking questions, you, too, can make a difference in the lives of workers around the world.

References

BBC News. (2013, May 23). Bangladesh factory collapse probe uncovers abuses. BBC. Retrieved from www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22635409

Burke, J., Hammadi, S., & Neville, S. (2013, May 13). Fashion chains sign accord to help finance safety in Bangladesh factories. The Guardian. Retrieved from www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/2798331.html?p=1

Cheng, A. (2013, June 20). MarketWatch: Fair trade fashion gaining momentum after Bangladesh incidents. Retrieved from www.fairtradeusa.org/press-room/in_the_news/marketwatch-fair-trade-fashion-gaining-momentum-after-bangladesh-incidents

Coffee. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.fairtradeusa.org/products-partners/coffee

“Fair Trade” helps “free trade” work for the poor. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.fairtradeusa.org/about-fair-trade-usa

Financial Times Lexicon. (n.d.). Cause-related marketing. Retrieved from http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=cause_related-marketing

Hossain, E., & Jamieson, D. (2013, May 2). Bangladesh garment industry leader says blame for tragedies lies with western retailers. Huffington Post. Retrieved from www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/bangladesh-garment-blame-retailers_n_3204245.html

Moore, B. (2011, November 1). Has campaigning for an ethical fashion industry had any impact? The Guardian. Retrieved from www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2011/nov/01/campaigning-ethical-fashion-industry

Nielsen. (2012, June 27). Successful brands care: The case for cause marketing. Retrieved from www.nielsen.com/us/en/newswire/2012/successful-brands-care-the-case-for-cause-marketing.html

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