Fashion v People

Is our need to be fashionable disrupting the human rights of others in developing countries?

Fashionable clothes at affordable prices seems idyllic to the majority; however have you ever given a second thought as to why the prices are so reasonable? It has become evident that large, global companies such as Primark are guilty of using child labour and sweat shops within developing countries to manufacture their products. This benefits the company as paying their workers pennies in return for their tireless, well executed labour, allows them to gain great profit whilst customers around the world rejoice over fashionable, cheap clothes. Isn’t a pretty top for £3.00 too good to be true?

The modern world has become materialistic. It is natural during this economic crisis for the public to search for high quality clothes at reduced prices; however if the truth as to where these items came from were widespread, would you still buy that £5.00 bag? The moral balance of a desire for a new bag, over the discrimination of a workers human rights seems like a no-brainer; so why is it that when we see a pretty, fashionable yet cheap bag in the shops, we forget this? It is because human nature causes us to put ourselves before others.

So the next time you pick up a cheap, fashionable item of clothing in a shop; take a minute to think about where it has come from.

Georgia