Ethics - The True Cost Documentary
Many companies have their textile products manufactured (made) offshore (in another country). This is called outsourcing. When a company such as Nike outsources the manufacture of their clothing and footwear, they contract a factory to produce the items. This factory is then responsible for overseeing the wages, work health and safety and wellbeing of their factory workers as well as complying with environmental laws.
The laws for these matters are strict in Australia and legislation such as the minimum wage for workers makes it more expensive to use Australian factories with Australian workers. This makes it much cheaper to outsource.
The laws for these matters are strict in Australia and legislation such as the minimum wage for workers makes it more expensive to use Australian factories with Australian workers. This makes it much cheaper to outsource.
Learning Goal 1: To consider where my clothes came from and to understand the true cost of them
The True Cost Documentary - Clickview 51:00 mins
The True Cost Documentary - Clickview 51:00 mins
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is common in the textiles industry. It involves obtaining goods or services from outside of a company. An example of this in the textiles industry is designers or brands outsourcing the manufacturing of their product, most commonly to other overseas manufacturing factories in countries such as Bangladesh, India, China, etc.
Outsourcing allows businesses to cut costs, especially on wages but demands a great ethical compromise. The ethical concerns surround manufacturing workers not being paid fairly and being forced to work in unsafe working conditions which wouldn’t be legal in Australia. These factories are often known as sweatshops. |
Rana Plaza garment factory collapse.
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Activity: Research Rana Plaza
Use Google to Research the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse. Write a one to two page summary about the tragic accident, including an account of what happened.