There are many concerns with how animals are treated and how to save the environment. Yet on the other hand, we are always pleased to be able to find a good bargain for our clothing. Have we ever thought of how it is produced and how the people making them are treated? The clothes we buy may look pretty but the working conditions and how they are being produced is the opposite of that. Ethical fashion symbolizes a method to design, source and manufacture clothes which aims to raise benefits to people and communities while reducing the impact on the environment. This then leaves us wondering if the price we pay for our clothing justifiable to the people who produce them. As a general knowledge to the public, business are meant to make a profit. The price these items of clothes are sold at is not just a markup from the cost of production but consist of many markups. This is because the items are being passed through so many intermediaries before reaching the final consumers. Markups are added at every stage when the items change hands this also includes transportation cost. The prices that the final consumer pays has a markup of approximately 200 percent more than the cost of production. Cost of raw materials, equipment, chemicals and labour makes up the cost of production. Transportation and profit contributes to the price that retailers buy from suppliers and then another extremely high markup is added before being sold to consumers. A portion of this markup is to cover the cost of retail workers, electricity, and advertising campaign amongst other things. This is one of the reasons why retailers are able to give such a huge discount during sales season and still make a profit. On a business point of view, this is a reasonable thing to do in the company going and have a high amount of revenue. On the other hand, if we take the point of view from the factory workers that produce these items, it is a whole different story. Many brands outsource their manufacturing process to developing countries to exploit the cheap labour available there in order to keep costs of production at a minimum rate hence maximizing profits. The wages paid to garment workers in these countries are extremely low, usually less than a hundred dollars a month. Workers are mainly females who have to work far away to support their families in the countryside. Due to high inflation, this amount is not enough to support themselves or dependent family members.
