An Inside Look at the Clothing Industry

After I finished reading “The Conscious Closet” by Elizabeth L. Cline, I was hungry for more information about fashion and sustainability. (You can read my review of The Conscious Closet HERE). I have a whole list of books on my Goodreads that are under the “want to read” category. So, the next book I chose was Fashionopolis. Although I have been a fashion lover and avid shopper my whole life, it was only recently that I started to think about where our clothes come from. Who makes the clothes? How are the clothes made? I was blissfully ignorant of these facts for a long time. “Fashionopolis: Why What We Wear Matters” by Dana Thomas changed all that. 

Fashion’s Dirty Secret

Thomas is a storyteller and in Part I of the book she tells us stories that lay the groundwork, describing the conditions that have led to what the fashion industry is today. In 1980, 70% of the clothing Americans bought were made in the United States. Then, because of a series of trade deals, it became necessary to make clothes off-shore in order for brands to compete on price. When we buy a $10 shirt at Forever 21 or H&M, most of us don’t give much thought to just how they are able to sell a shirt so cheaply.

The #1 answer, cheap labor. With cheap labor comes awful working conditions that range from super sketchy to downright deadly. On April 23, 2013, the Rana Plaza building, in Bangladesh, collapsed, killing 1134 people and injuring 2500. It was the deadliest factory accidentally in modern history. Thomas tells the story of Rana Plaza through interviews with those who survived the disaster. Many who survived have suffered ongoing physical and mental injuries that have left them unable to work and care for their families. Thomas explains: 

“News stories on Rana Plaza were blunt and inescapable. The awareness campaigns that followed were vocal. Yet Americans didn’t change their apparel shopping habits. In 2013, they spent $340 billion on fashion – more than twice what they forked out for new cars. Much of it was produced in Bangladesh, some of it by Rana Plaza workers in the days leading up to the collapse.”

Thomas does such a great job of painting the picture of what the garment industry working conditions are really like, it becomes difficult to ignore it. We have an opportunity to buy more consciously so we can confidently say that our clothes were not made while others lost their lives. 

Dressing With Intention

I don’t mean for this to sound so doom and gloom. It can be overwhelming to try and think of what one person can do against a giant industry like the apparel industry. But, it all starts with becoming aware. Aware of the problem and some of the solutions. In part II of the book, we learn about reshoring – “the act of bringing back the manufacturing that went offshore during the post-NAFTA globalization boom.” In order to bring production back to the US, designers and manufacturers are being forced to innovate, to completely change what experts thought was possible when it comes to making fabric and sewing clothes. 

At times, I found it challenging to follow along with the industry jargon. But the stories in the book show us who makes our clothes and how they are made. I admit I knew 0% about how clothes are made on a mass scale. Just imagine that every time you shop now, you’re thinking about who made your clothes? Would you make different choices? I know I will. We can finally start to have a wardrobe that reflects our values. 

Feeling Good About Our Fashion

In the last section of the book, we learn about the ways in which shopping has changed. Did you know that it was projected that in 2017 a fourth of America’s remaining malls would shutter in five years? Malls were already a dying breed…then entered the pandemic (which of course, the book does not address since it was published in 2019). The good news that I find in these pages is that as consumers, we have SO MANY CHOICES now when it comes to where we shop and what we buy.

As Thomas points out, “Consumers now routinely and freely tell brands and retailers how they feel and what’s important to them: their emotions, their envies, their neuroses.” When we start to vote for the change we want to see with our dollars, brands have to sit up and take notice. We have choices: consignment, resale, swapping, shopping ethical, and/or sustainable brands. Reading a book like this has definitely empowered me to shop with more confidence and clarity. My preferred shopping method is second hand, whether it be resale or thrifting. But if/when I choose to get something new, there are a host of brands I know I can seek out.