Continuing with the fast fashion theme ---- until I sat in class, read the case law, toured the Garment District, toured the studios of several American designers, walked through the CFDA's designer incubator, and listened to discussions about fast fashion and the harm it does, I was unaware of the controversy. All I knew was my own limited consumer
point of view, which included: HOT DAMN! Look at this! It looks just like a DVF dress and it's just $29.95. The real thing at Saks costs $400! I was not confused -- I knew the $30 version was fake.
The textiles feel and smell different. There is no confusing the quality of
the workmanship on the two garments. But, I never considered what harm the knockoffs are doing to the designer, to the industry, or to the workers who make the garments.
<-------------------------------- See this?
The dress on the left is the original Diane von Furstenberg dress. The one on the right is Forever 21's copy. (Yup, them again.) Ms. von Furstenberg, an outspoken advocate for NYC's Garment District, is working hard to keep apparel manufacturing in the USA, particularly in NYC's Garment District. I applaud her and I admire her. I applaud and support other brands that manufacture in the United States: Nanette Lepore; J Brand Jeans; New Balance; and others. I don't know, however, how US-made goods can compete with cheap labor. If the original, made of fine materials, is designed and put together by American workers, do you think it can retail for $30? Nope.
A fake can retail for $30 only when the product is made of cheap textiles and put together by workers earning $70 per MONTH. Cheap labor is found in places like Bangladesh, or Pakistan, or India. These workers put in 10-hour days, 6 days a week. There is no way an American worker will or can afford to work for around 30 CENTS per hour. For example, in North Carolina, the current minimum wage is $7.25/hour. Assume an 8-hour work day, 5 days per week; that's $290/week, or $1,247 per month. Experienced garment workers in NYC earn more than NC's minimum wage. However you look at it, there is no economic way for the US to compete with the pay rate of cheap labor. To further illustrate, using simple math, assume your factory employs 50 workers (pretty small factory). In Bangladesh, the employee cost is 50 X $70 = $3,500/month for 50 workers. Compare the cost for workers constructing the same garment in NC: 50 X $1,247 = $62,350/month for 50 workers. It would cost the factory owner an extra $58,850 every single month to manufacture US goods. As if this wide disparity isn't enough, consider that in Bangladesh, the workers are working longer hours and thus manufacturing more product. If Americans want to buy American-made goods, we are going to have to willingly agree to pay substantially more for US-made goods. From an economic standpoint, I do not know how it can be otherwise.
point of view, which included: HOT DAMN! Look at this! It looks just like a DVF dress and it's just $29.95. The real thing at Saks costs $400! I was not confused -- I knew the $30 version was fake.
The textiles feel and smell different. There is no confusing the quality of
the workmanship on the two garments. But, I never considered what harm the knockoffs are doing to the designer, to the industry, or to the workers who make the garments.
<-------------------------------- See this?
The dress on the left is the original Diane von Furstenberg dress. The one on the right is Forever 21's copy. (Yup, them again.) Ms. von Furstenberg, an outspoken advocate for NYC's Garment District, is working hard to keep apparel manufacturing in the USA, particularly in NYC's Garment District. I applaud her and I admire her. I applaud and support other brands that manufacture in the United States: Nanette Lepore; J Brand Jeans; New Balance; and others. I don't know, however, how US-made goods can compete with cheap labor. If the original, made of fine materials, is designed and put together by American workers, do you think it can retail for $30? Nope.
A fake can retail for $30 only when the product is made of cheap textiles and put together by workers earning $70 per MONTH. Cheap labor is found in places like Bangladesh, or Pakistan, or India. These workers put in 10-hour days, 6 days a week. There is no way an American worker will or can afford to work for around 30 CENTS per hour. For example, in North Carolina, the current minimum wage is $7.25/hour. Assume an 8-hour work day, 5 days per week; that's $290/week, or $1,247 per month. Experienced garment workers in NYC earn more than NC's minimum wage. However you look at it, there is no economic way for the US to compete with the pay rate of cheap labor. To further illustrate, using simple math, assume your factory employs 50 workers (pretty small factory). In Bangladesh, the employee cost is 50 X $70 = $3,500/month for 50 workers. Compare the cost for workers constructing the same garment in NC: 50 X $1,247 = $62,350/month for 50 workers. It would cost the factory owner an extra $58,850 every single month to manufacture US goods. As if this wide disparity isn't enough, consider that in Bangladesh, the workers are working longer hours and thus manufacturing more product. If Americans want to buy American-made goods, we are going to have to willingly agree to pay substantially more for US-made goods. From an economic standpoint, I do not know how it can be otherwise.