http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/25/opinion/bangladesh-factory-collapse-opinion/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
I know you've all head about these, but I just find it unbelievable how little exposure the related information gets. I saw the information about Zara employing slave and child labour in its Argentinian factories making a couple of hits on Facebook and then it was gone.
Then the loud collapse of the Bangladeshi clothing factory, well you can't hide 600 hundred (and rising) dead underneath some dirt and say 'we have nothing to do with it'...or at least that's what I thought! Yet Benetton, Mango and H&M deny their partake even thought their branded garments are found in the rubble amongst the dead factory workers. I cannot express how shocked I was about the news and how even more 'shocked' - this word is not enough to describe - to hear the blatant lie the Western clothing companies are trying to feed us.
Here's an excerpt from another article about the collapsed factory:
"Many clothing brands were quick to distance themselves from the five factories that were housed in Rana Plaza. The building, which was not designed for industrial use and had three illegally added levels, collapsed April 24.
Benetton said none of the factories were its authorised suppliers, although Benetton labels were found in the rubble. Spain’s Mango said it hadn’t bought clothing from Rana Plaza factories but acknowledged it had been in talks with one factory to produce a test batch of clothing.
German clothing company KiK said it was “surprised, shocked and appalled” to learn its T-shirts and tops were found in the rubble. The company said it stopped doing business with the Rana Plaza factories in 2008. It promised an investigation.
Wal-Mart said there was no authorised production of its clothing lines at Rana Plaza but it was investigating whether there was unapproved subcontracting. Swedish retailer H&M, the single largest customer of Bangladeshi garment factories, said none of its clothes were produced there.
The Walt Disney Co. in March responded to publicity from last year’s fire at the Tazreen factory, where its branded clothing was found, by pulling out of Bangladesh production altogether.
Only a few companies, including Britain’s Primark and Canada’s Loblaw Inc., which owns the Joe Fresh clothing line, have acknowledged production at Rana Plaza and promised compensation. Loblaw’s CEO said there were 28 other brands and retailers using the five factories and urged them to end their “deafening silence.”
Companies that are downplaying involvement in Bangladesh’s factory safety problems may be counting on the short memories of Western consumers, who tend to focus on price and may not even check where a piece of clothing has been made. But that’s a risky strategy..."
My apologies to y'all sensitive readers for posting pictures of dead people on this blog, but I found this particular one circulating on Tumblr with comments like 'the final embrace' and 'tenderness rises above rubble'.
My say? Well... FUCK embrace, FUCK tenderness - they were just not supposed to die making stupid fucking cheap clothes for our insatiable Western lust for quickie fashion grabs and cheapo daily fashion fixes. I'm swallowing this porcupine-shaped truth for dinner.
Are you?
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