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A review by samdalefox
We Are What We Wear: Unravelling fast fashion and the collapse of Rana Plaza by Lucy Siegle, Jason Burke
informative
4.0
A short book, or extended essay, looking at the RMG industy (ready made garment), focusing on the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh 2013. Reading this is 2022 I am saddened, but not surprised, to see that not much has improved overall in the sector that I can see as a concious consumer. Doing some research after finishing the book, there does seem to be more discussion and efforts around issues raised, but the systemic problems remain unchanged.
I learnt lots about the industry, many issues highlighted were not a surprise as a well-read socialist e.g., the effects of exploitative capitalism in a country with a poor and vulnerable working class with little workers' and human rights protections. Garment making remains a human intensive process that cannot be automated. The bits that were new to me was the set up on the industry itself, the relationship between Western buyers and Bangladeshi manufacturers. I learnt about the ordering process, lead times, manufacturing, subcontracting, and David Birnbaum's description of the MANY stepped process for an average fast fashion garment piece (considered the industry standard in what seems to be an opaque area to study). I've found reading Birnbaum's publications very interesting since being introduced to him in this book so would recommend reading him to others interested in this area.
Overall, it has solidified my committment to buying less and buying as ethically as I can. (Looking for transparency in the supply chain, paying fair wages, audited factories, using natural materials, made to order, or long lead times i.e. slow fashion, and certitified as Fair Trade or B-Corp or to a similar standard.) Final comment - I wish this was available as a written version, the narrator on the audiobook was grating to listen to.
I learnt lots about the industry, many issues highlighted were not a surprise as a well-read socialist e.g., the effects of exploitative capitalism in a country with a poor and vulnerable working class with little workers' and human rights protections. Garment making remains a human intensive process that cannot be automated. The bits that were new to me was the set up on the industry itself, the relationship between Western buyers and Bangladeshi manufacturers. I learnt about the ordering process, lead times, manufacturing, subcontracting, and David Birnbaum's description of the MANY stepped process for an average fast fashion garment piece (considered the industry standard in what seems to be an opaque area to study). I've found reading Birnbaum's publications very interesting since being introduced to him in this book so would recommend reading him to others interested in this area.
Overall, it has solidified my committment to buying less and buying as ethically as I can. (Looking for transparency in the supply chain, paying fair wages, audited factories, using natural materials, made to order, or long lead times i.e. slow fashion, and certitified as Fair Trade or B-Corp or to a similar standard.) Final comment - I wish this was available as a written version, the narrator on the audiobook was grating to listen to.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death