In a piece written by Nina Strochlic from the Daily Beast she writes:
In the week since an eight-story, four-factory complex collapsed in Bangladesh, online records and physical debris has revealed a growing list of international retailers tied to the suppliers housed in the Rana Plaza building. More than a dozen brands have been identified—including big names like The Children’s Place, Benetton, Mango, and Primark—and a number of these companies have emerged to explain their association with the shoddily built, illegal bloc that housed the factories.
Who's to blame?
In an assembly line with so many middlemen, who’s to blame? ... But in the finger pointing after every disaster, little progress is made to fix the issue, as companies often blame corrupt government inspectors or factory owners, who blame companies for the pressures of a rigorous supply schedule. ...
“You’re the leader in the industry, and the industry’s been structured in a way that keeps responsibility at a distance from you and that’s not acceptable,” says Judy Gearhart, executive director of the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), of the companies.
Still, we all know that this is not the first accident, and some are more guilty than others:
In November, 112 garment workers were killed in a fire at Tazreen Fashions factory, where products were being made for Walmart and Sears. A year and a half earlier, Walmart shareholders had voted down requiring annual safety reports from suppliers, saying it “could ultimately lead to higher costs for Walmart and higher prices for our customers. This would not be in the best interests of Walmart’s shareholders and customers and would place Walmart at a competitive disadvantage.”
I'm personally so unfashion conscious that I never check the label (and hardly ever step into Walmart's - only if I'm with others who insist).
There are many here who know the labels better than I - I hope they'll add their insights and recommendations.
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Tired of politics? Need to escape? Try one of my Greek mythology based novels, either the story of Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus or a trilogy about Niobe, whose children were murdered by the gods - or were they? or one of the first examples of civil disobedience, Antigone and Creon. Or, if you like mysteries and/or Jane Austen, treat yourself to
The Highbury Murders: A Mystery Set in the Village of Jane Austen’s Emma.