Global Ethical Trading Issues in the Clothing Industry

Global Ethical Trading Issues in the Clothing Industry

Mahima Nand
Asst. Editor Textile Merchandising
Assistant Professor, Amity University
Research Scholar in Sustainable fashion
National Institute of Fashion Technology
New Delhi – 110 016, India
Email: mahima.nand@nift.ac.in

Ethical Trading:

Ethical trading can mean different things to different people. To some, it is an umbrella term for all types of business practices that promote more socially and environmentally responsible trade, but more specifically ethical trading means taking responsibility for the labor and human rights practices within the supply chain.

Challenges of Ethical Trading:

Faced with these challenges most companies have now developed and implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies and ethical trading sit within the social accountability framework which is one of the 3 pillars which support the CSR process i.e. economic, environmental and social accountability. 

So what does ethical trading mean in practice? It means that retailers help to reduce poverty by improving labor practices for workers in their supply chains through the implementation of an adopted code of conduct or ethical standard. It means using the company’s buying power and influence to implement the Code and ensure that workers enjoy better working conditions.

Major Ethical Issues in Clothing Industry:

The major ethical issues in clothing industries are as given below-

1. Cheap Wages
2. Child Labors
3. Animal Threats
4. Environmental Pollution
5. Health and Safety Hazard

1. Cheap Wages:

The fashion industry argues that it generates employment opportunities in Second and Third World countries and that because of this, their so-called sweatshops invariably benefit the lives of its workers, regardless of whether these employees are paid living wages or not.

2. Child Labors:

In their pursuit of cheap production, major fashion brands often relocate their production facilities to underdeveloped parts of the world, mostly in the Second and Third World. Here, they employ anyone and everyone capable of working in a factory, including children.

3. Animal Threats:

Animal abuse within the fashion industry comes in two parts: one part tortures the animal directly by objectifying it for its fur, its skin, or its hide, while the other part harms animals by polluting their habitat and disrupting their food chains. In both circumstances, the processes involved in fashion production make it impossible for these animals to live wild and free.

4. Environmental Pollution:

In the past, textile manufacturers paid little heed to their impact on the environment, because the scale of production back then was not as massive as it is today. These destructive habits forged in the early days of apparel manufacture were passed on from generation to generation, however, leaving a nasty, indelible impact on the environment and our natural resources.

5. Health and Safety Hazard:

On top of denying scores and scores of men, women, and children of their human basic rights, and of paying its workers with insufficient wages, the fashion industry poses fatal threats to the lives of its workers and employees as many these companies are known to build their Second and Third World apparel production units cheaply and shoddily.