When capitolizm catches up with your wardrobe

This week there was a stunning tragedy in Bangladesh, that's killed over 200 people.  Full story here Huff Post Story but basically a factory that produced Joe Fresh Apparel collapsed while workers were inside and the results were devastating.

While reading through the posts, I came across this one:

As a former product developer at joe fresh I can tell you that the product developer has no idea what factory the garments will be produced in. They only know the country of origin. They work with large agents (like Li & Fung for example) who choose the factory to make the style for joe fresh product. The buyer at Loblaws, also does not know what factory the goods are being made in.


They are not responsible for choosing the factory, but they do negotiate the cost. And the cost is low. It has to be to compete with Walmart. A factory in Bangladesh often makes no profit on a style...but produces it to keep the factory/workers working.

Think about it next time you buy a $7 t-shirt...the cost of buying the cotton, cost of knitting cotton yarn into jersey, washing the fabric, dyeing the fabric, washing it again,cutting the fabric, bundling it, sewing it, trimming it, labelling it, ticketing it, pressing it, packing it, shipping from Bangladesh to north america, transporting it via train to a warehouse, allocating and shipping it to a retail centre ....that's a lot of labour for a $7 t-shirt that has to make at least 60 point profit. Do you think your $7 t-shirt was made in a clean, spacious, state of the art factory ? No. But then you probably don't care about the workers in a hot, filthy, dangerous, cramped, old factory....

This isn't news to anyone, not really.  We all know that there's no magic factory serving fresh fruit and hot meals in the cafeteria while producing these ridiculously cheap clothes.  We (and I mean me here) turn a blind eye to the reality of consumerism so that we can have a plethora of brightly coloured t-shirts and yoga wear for the new season, all the time, ignoring the costs.

Everyone likes to blame Wal-Mart.  They're an easy target (oh yes, and Target too) as they're the ones applying pressure to the manufacturers to constantly reduce (ROLL BACK) prices.   Hell, I work on a committee at work that is focusing on finding ways to save money, reduce costs, improve processes.  It's how the world works, but once in a while, the price is paid.  Not by the North American consumer but by the poor and disenfranchised in a Third World Country.

As a person who has previously sourced product from overseas, I know what it's like.  I know the pressure from the company to "maximize the gross profit on the item".  I know that the buyer isn't THERE in the factory, inspecting the footings of the building and ensuring the workers are safe.  They rely on the systems and rules in place.  Obviously it's some one's responsibility, but who?  The consumer?  The buyer?  The head of Joe Fresh?  There's obvious areas for improvement, but where to start?

I don't know ... will I continue to feed the monster with my hard earned dollars for cheap shirts or find a way to buy local (and a LOT less). 

  

I’m going to go check the warehouse and see if Dilbert has been hired here!

I work for a paint and coatings company in marketing. Well, I have a brand new product coming in and I need a sample from the warehouse to make sure everything is okay with it. We’ve had a few problems lately, so I’m simply doing my “due diligence”. We used to have a purchasing team in the Canadian office to do this, but they’ve eliminated those positions (moved them down to the USA) and I decided to pick up the slack.


From Awesome Warehouse Shift Supervisor (AWSS) to Me:

This item has arrived today and it is now in stock.
By copy to Stewart, please create a pick location for this new item.



Me to Customer Service (warehouse staff on cc):

Can you please place an order for 1xXXXXXX and have it delivered to my office ASAP for a QC check?



Turkey Warehouse Manager (TWM) to me (with people on cc):

Folks, we have to be careful how much finished goods are stored in office areas, including the gallery. The best way is to inspect in the DC and order empty labelled cans as samples for the gallery/office area.



Me to TWM (with people on cc):

I appreciate that TWM, and when empty samples are available, we will replace the gallery stock with them, but to ensure we have correct and up to date images of product for web, catalogue and customer requirements, I need those samples up here ASAP.



TWM to Me (people on cc):

are you suggesting that we put the facility at risk of burning down, because we do not have the ability to expedite a couple of empty sample cans, over night if needed, to our headquarters. I suggest we order the empty sample cans and wait, but in the meantime, have someone come down to the DC and inspect, view, touch etc. the product in the area where we have adequate fire protection.



WTF? We have TONS of aerosols up in the front offices and our Gallery (showroom) has literally hundreds of them in there. No idea why he’s picking this particular hill to die on.



Me to TWM (people on CC):

I believe you're being a little melodramatic, which really doesn't help anyones cause.

Please have the samples delivered upstairs. I will do my QC in the warehouse, but we MUST send this product out for photography.

As well, if it is that much of a concern, please provide some support to clear out ALL aerosol samples that are currently in the offices and the gallery immediately, lest I not feel safe coming in to work. Should I notify my boss and your boss that we should all evacuate the building IMMEDIATELY?

See, the drama doesn't do any good.



TWM to me (same people enjoying the show on cc)

you can do whatever you want....I explained my position regarding this matter and as far as I am concerned; the matter is over and will no longer "tax" my time and efforts.



Fortunately some of the people that were copied on the insanity are more sales and customer service oriented (such as customer service and AWSS) and risked their life and limb by delivering my samples to my office.



I’ve QC’d them, they’re fine … time to return to work.

For Boston

I have no words, only prayers.

Getting back into the swing of it.

Ok, so it was an eye opening week for me, to say the least. BBE had promised me if I cleaned and organized our walk in closet, he’d take me shopping (his treat) for whatever my spring wardrobe was lacking. WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! I’d purged a TON of clothes last summer, as my exercise routine had enabled me to drop 2.5 sized *big grin*. As a result tho, my spring wardrobe turned out to be somewhat lacking. I have a lot of pretty summer dresses, but not a lot of pretty spring skirts, so that was the goal, to go get some skirts.


We went to a store, which I happened to also have a gift certificate to (thanks to his mother from Christmas) and was excited to try on some pretty light coloured and floral skirts. Ohhhhh they had some pretty dresses too. I grabbed my size and headed into the change room. It quickly became apparent that my “new size” was no longer my new size.  Late last summer I started having trouble with my knees (currently doing tests and trying to get in to see a specialist) but as a result, it SEVERLY cut back my ability to work out, specifically treadmill and elliptical. Add that to the upheaval of life last fall, the subsequent moves and adjusting to the new life schedule, I hadn’t been to the gym a whole heck of a lot. I was miserable, I didn’t by anything (refusing to buy anything that fit me now) and cried all the way home.

Of course BBE consoled me, told me that I’m beautiful and he loves me completely (another reason he’s BBE) and has worked to find exercises I CAN do with my knees as is. So, we met at the gym after work and he put me through my paces. I was “less than excited” about the prospect, it had been a while since I’d really had a good workout and I was a bit daunted by it. Fortunately BBE knows me best and ignored my lack of enthusiasm and just dove in. OMG it was a HARD workout, but my knees weren’t screaming in pain like usual, actually they didn’t hurt any more than they normally do and we got a REALLY great workout in, in under an hour!

BOOYAH!!!!!! HUUUURAH!!!!!

I came out of there energized, bouncing, excited. As always, BBE knows me better then I know myself and I LOVED getting back to working out. Today my legs are sore and the back of my arms are tight, but I’m smiling. I feel GREAT, and I’m oh so grateful to have someone so amazing in my life that will push me when I need it!