Yesterday, I came across a pair of fair-trade certified jeans at Target. They cost $34.99 (full price)! They have the fair-trade logo on the tag + in the jeans. This discovery got me thinking + doing a little bit of digging.
 target fair-trade $34.99 |  |
I noticed that these Target fair-trade certified jeans cost $34.99 (full price), while the same style of non-fair-trade certified jeans cost $29.99. Sadly there is not even a mention of the fair-trade certified jeans being fair-trade in the title of the item on the website or in the store, so the only difference most shoppers will notice is the slightly higher price tag.
 madewell fair-trade jeans $128 |  |
These Madewell fair-trade certified jeans cost $128 (full price), while the same style of non-fair-trade certified Madewell jeans also cost $128. Again, there is no mention of fair-trade status in the item description. The identical pricing leads me to believe that the cost increase of making jeans in a fair-trade certified factory must not even be enough to be reflected in the cost to consumer! Madewell's enormous mark-up can easily absorb this cost.
It's interesting to imagine that sourcing cotton from farmers, processing that cotton, spinning, weaving + dying that fabric...transporting the fiber from one process to the next...the zipper, other hardware thread, tags...all the detailed sewing of jeans...transport to warehouse + stores...AND mark-up...could be done for $34.99. I'm assuming that only fair-trade (overseas*) sewing has been included in the fair-trade certification of these jeans. Fair labor throughout the supply chain has not necessarily been addressed...not to mention cotton that is grown without toxic chemicals. I imagine that the same goes for the $128 jeans. The only difference is that Madewell makes a lot more money than Target does on mark-up.
Even so...if fair-trade (overseas*) labor can be achieved for $35...then how much more would it really cost to pay fairly throughout the supply chain?
And really...shouldn't fair wages just be part of the system? Most of us lived under the assumption that garment workers were paid fairly for some period of time + needed to wake up to the fact that fair wages aren't already part of the system that brings us the clothes we wear.
Who is responsible for unfair wages? Anyone choosing to keep a little (or a lot) more money for themselves. This comes down to heads of brands who cast a vision for profits over people. It comes down to owners of factories who want to grow their own wealth rather than that of their employees. It comes down to us...when we continue to choose cheap/easy/instant gratification without regard to who is paying the price that we are unwilling to pay.
These jeans seem to reveal something that even the self-proclaimed "transparent" brands are not sharing with us: fair-trade does not cost them much. They cannot continue to sell us on the lie that WE would not want to pay them enough to pay their garment workers fair wages.
Photos via links. Unlinked photo, mine.
Love,
Jane
*Just one more thing to address: The brands mentioned here outsource labor to countries with the lowest standards of living, so "fair wages" are falsely low. Jeans made closer to home cost more, because a living wage is higher. Even then, many garment workers in the USA are paid poorly. It is important for brands to manufacture where they live, so that they can have close relationships with those making their (our) clothing.
Even so...if fair-trade (overseas*) labor can be achieved for $35...then how much more would it really cost to pay fairly throughout the supply chain?
And really...shouldn't fair wages just be part of the system? Most of us lived under the assumption that garment workers were paid fairly for some period of time + needed to wake up to the fact that fair wages aren't already part of the system that brings us the clothes we wear.
Who is responsible for unfair wages? Anyone choosing to keep a little (or a lot) more money for themselves. This comes down to heads of brands who cast a vision for profits over people. It comes down to owners of factories who want to grow their own wealth rather than that of their employees. It comes down to us...when we continue to choose cheap/easy/instant gratification without regard to who is paying the price that we are unwilling to pay.
These jeans seem to reveal something that even the self-proclaimed "transparent" brands are not sharing with us: fair-trade does not cost them much. They cannot continue to sell us on the lie that WE would not want to pay them enough to pay their garment workers fair wages.
Photos via links. Unlinked photo, mine.
Love,
Jane
*Just one more thing to address: The brands mentioned here outsource labor to countries with the lowest standards of living, so "fair wages" are falsely low. Jeans made closer to home cost more, because a living wage is higher. Even then, many garment workers in the USA are paid poorly. It is important for brands to manufacture where they live, so that they can have close relationships with those making their (our) clothing.
