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by Kelsey Timmerman, author of Where Am I Wearing?
In my global quest to answer the question “Where Am I Wearing?” I picked my favorite items out of my wardrobe and traced them back to where they were assembled. I went to Honduras for my favorite T-shirt, Cambodia for my all-American blue jeans, and China for my flip-flops.
In Bangladesh, I tracked down the factory that made my Jingle These Christmas boxers. Here are a few glimpses from my experience, including one case where I almost lost it.
1. It can be hard to keep it together
“So, I hear you are interested in women’s panties.”
Salehin magically whips out a pair of sea-foam green granny panties and splashes them down across the desk between us. They’re see-through. I’ve just taken a swig from the skinny can of Coca-Cola that was given to me when I arrived at the office. I fight hard not to spit it all over Salehin and his granny panties.
“No… I’m interested in boxers,” I pull my boxers out of my bag, “like these.” I B.S. my way through a discussion about my underwear: how they were printed, what their thread count is. The sad thing is that I don’t know squat about any of this and still Salehin salivates at the thought of doing business with an American buyer.
I experience a mix of emotions: nervousness– that I’ll be caught in the fib; exhiliaration– because he’s actually buying the fib; and guilt– again, because he’s actually buying the fib.
“We can make those,” Salehin says. “We can make anything.”
2. The factories aren’t as bad as you think
Asad leads us past a high table with neat stacks of cloth. The factory is clean, exits are marked, and fans maintain a nice breeze. The conditions seem fine. They are much better than I had expected, and I’m relieved.
Today they are making T-shirts, but I’m assured, they can produce almost anything, including underwear. There are eight production lines, and each consists of 40 people– none of whom seem to be children or “malnourished Bangladeshis whose growth has been stunted.” There is no chatter, just thimping needles and quick hands. I wonder if their hands move that fast when their boss and some foreigner aren’t looking over their shoulder.
As with Asad’s lazy eye, I try to pretend the workers aren’t there. I’m a garment buyer. I’m not interested in workers. I’m interested in the products they produce.
3. Kids don’t make your clothes (but they do work)
In 1994, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, under pressure of the boycott and the damaged image of the Made in Bangladesh label, required the factories under their power to fire all children under the age of 14. The widespread use of child labor in the Bangladeshi apparel industry ended. But it’s of little consolation because heart wrenching levels of child labor continue. According to the 2002/2003 National Child Labor Survey, 93% of working children work in the informal sector in Bangladesh. While there are a small number of kids making our clothese there, there are 4.9 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 holding other jobs down.
Monday’s Entry: 9 Things You Should Know About the People and Places That Make Our Clothes
Go out and buy Kelsey’s fascinating new book today at Amazon.com. (Seriously, it’s great!) And if you want to see what Kelsey’s been up to today, check out his website whereamiwearing.com.
Comments (4)
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The factory that you visited sounds nicer than what I expected. Did you visit other factories in Bangladesh? Was the one you visited the exception to the rule? I look forward to reading your book.
posted by Wayne on 12-9-2008 at 4:34 pm
@ Wayne
There were places I visited that were literally “sweatshops.” I mention them in the book. I think for the most part, the big places that make our clothes in Bangladesh look like a factory you would see in the US. Although, the big factories often subcontract out to smaller ones that fly well below most monitors’ radars. It’s in these subcontractor’s factories that the conditions are really deplorable.
posted by Kelsey on 12-9-2008 at 5:40 pm
“required the factories under their power to fire all children under the age of 14″
This kind of bothers me. I’ve long felt that our approach and attitude to child labour is seriously flawed. Children work for the same reason adults do – to provide food and basic needs for themselves and often for their families. Simply taking away the work isn’t a solution – it just means these children now lack for some of their basic needs. Most of those kids who were fired are probably still working somewhere, and since their work has gone from formal to informal, are likely making less money.
A better alternative is necessary. Schools need to provide those basic necessities, so that kids can afford to not be working. That’s a start. But some kids are the breadwinners of their families, so there needs to be other support mechanisms in place…something to make school and “not working” the more attractive alternative.
posted by Neil on 12-11-2008 at 2:55 pm
@ Neil
Well put. In fact, in the 1990′s the U.S. boycotted Made in Bangladesh products because of the reports of widespread child labor in the industry. Bangladeshi unions and nonprofits spoke out against the boycott. Eventually the factories banned anyone under 15 from working for them. Kids flooded the streets and some actually turned to prostitution.
It’s really easy to be against child labor, but, what’s not easy, is accepting that we live in a world where in some cases a child working is necessary to help support his/her family.
posted by Kelsey on 12-12-2008 at 11:42 pm