How much is your shirt really worth?

For the average consumer, the thought process of consumerism is rather simple.  Unless you go digging for information on facilities and production you will not find the disheartening truths of corporate greed. After speaking with a few friends, I discovered that they had not been paying attention to where/how a product was made, but rather what the price was and what they interpreted the value of the good to be. Mostly they were assuming that when you are paying more for the product, the quality is higher, that the employees in every process from materials to finished product are treated and paid justly. 

You may be familiar with the collapse of the Rana Plaza sweatshop in Bangladesh that happened back in April of last year. A lot of hype has spun out from this incident from activists and companies that produce domestically in the US. Companies that have created "sweat shop" workplace environments in the US have been outed, using immigrants to work below minimum wage in unsafe working conditions. These things exist abroad and even more shockingly, on our own turf.  

We are censored from the reality of what goes into the creation of the products and services that we choose. There are iPhone apps such as Buycott, which allows the user to scan a good and get an instant feedback of whether the company is "good" or "bad". There is also a slew of information on the internet that gives choice to the buyer, but requires time and patience to do the research. We have small local businesses that are working to raise awareness and offer only local fair trade products. Has that been enough to convince you on the importance of being an aware consumer? It hasn't always for me. 

After learning about the collapse of the sweat shop in Rana Plaza, I really started to dig into research. I was disgusted by some of the things that I found, especially from the retailers that I trusted. It wasn't just for apparel, I learned things such as where my coconut oil was coming from and how conditions were poor and inhumane, how palm oil is produced and that thousands of gorillas are being killed in the process.  Even my beloved lululemon is guilty of the greed with manufacturing facilities overseas. 

It is true that it is necessary to search for cheaper production costs to stay competitive in the global market, but as consumers become aware that the cost of this is human worth, the savings are no longer important.  

We could speak of incidences of this exploitation forever, but rather than being reactive to something that we can not change in this moment, I would rather speak to how we can make small positive changes on our own. Our actions will inspire others to do the same.

While conditions are poor and inhumane, this is the livelihood (still below line of poverty) for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Check out this website for more simple facts. Consumers are willing to pay more for a product if they are aware of the reason for differences in price. In an ideal world, we can convince producers and consumers to create goods that are reasonably priced, with reasonable production methods. 

Here are some things you can do to silently pressure companies:

1) Live with less. Do you really need everything that you are buying? How many shoes, shirts and dresses do you own? Think of living to survive rather than living in gluttony. 

2) Shop second-hand. Yes it's trendy, but you are also helping to reduce the amount of new product that has to be produced, while using what already exists.

3) Buy local. Simple and easy, while the product may cost more up-front typically it will last longer and be of higher quality. 

If you are interested in creating change to what already exists, take it a step further. 

1) Educate yourself. 

2) Educate other people about things we buy and where they come from. Dialogue is step one and opens the floor for different perspectives.

3) Write and call the brands that you like, ask them to be transparent and use your voice.

4) Connect with like minded individuals. The power of plenty. Your money talks. 

5) Ask salespeople if the items were produced in sweat shops. If you are shopping they will listen, and word will make its way to the top. Most sales people have no idea about the production of the goods they are selling, but you may spark their curiosity to learn more and echo your sentiment.