Why ethical clothing?

Our current retail practice is described as one of "fast-fashion" by clothing campaigners. What this means is that we buy cheap clothes that are only meant to last a season. So our retailers turn to their suppliers and demand new clothes. Shorter lead-in times and lower costs are passed down the supply chain until the pressure is borne by the worker in the factory, the farmer in the field.

This chain reaction is called "the race to the bottom", where suppliers look for factories that can offer the shortest production times at the cheapest price.

Clothing campaigners argue that consumers can reverse the race to the bottom. If we demand that retailers stock only clothes made under ethical conditions and if we change our buying habits, then the lives of clothing manufacturers in developing countries will improve.

Many retailers note the contradiction between consumers who want cheap, up-to-date clothes and improved labour rights at the same time. Fashion Industry NZ chief executive Mapihi Opai told the New Zealand Herald: "we know consumers are concerned about sustainable clothing. But when it comes to spending money, it's still a question mark."

A small price to pay

The cost of labour when compared with a garment's final retail price is low. According to the International Consumer Research and Testing Organisation (ICRT), a 400 percent increase in benefits to workers is theoretically possible for only a 4 percent increase in price. "A major retailer selling products at this slight premium, on its ethical credentials, could transform the market."

How? The price structure for a pair of jeans looks like this:

• worker: 1 percent
• fabric and manufacturer: 12 percent
• transport and packaging: 13 percent
• brand, administration and advertising: 24 percent
• retailer and GST: 50 percent.

The difficulty is making sure the 4 percent extra paid by the consumer makes it back through the supply chain to the workers. Demand for supply-chain transparency has led some major clothing companies (Nike, Reebok, Levi's and Timberland) to publish the addresses of all their supplier factories.