ARE YOUR CLOTHES REALLY ETHICAL?
The collapse of the Rana Plaza building is a perfect example of what can go wrong when there is an issue in the supply chain.
On the 24th April 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh killing 1,137 people.
The day before the building collapsed the workers had informed Sohel Rana the owner of the building that there were cracks in the walls and that they were concerned about their safety. But he said that the workers were just exaggerating and there was no danger of the building collapsing.
The workers were forced to go into the building the next day or they would lose their jobs. The building collapsed at about 8.57 am. The emergency services rushed to the scene to try and save survivors who were trapped under the rubble. Many people had to have their limbs cut off to be able to free them.
I believe this disaster happened because the fashion industry cares more about making profit and business than it does about the welfare of the workers. In the western world, we are very disconnected from where our clothes come from, we only see the end product and forget that a person made these garments. To stop tragic events like this happening again we have got to start having more compassion for the workers in these factories and improve their quality of life, even if this means companies have to invest more money into the workers.
Supply chain is the process of how goods get from the raw materials to the consumer. A problem at any stage of the supply chain can cause huge issues for the company so it is essential that the process is well coordinated.