THE MASS MARKET ; SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS EDITION 2016 1 | Page 12

Fig. 15
THE MASS MARKET ; NOV 2016

THE MASS MARKET ; NOV 2016

ISSUES WITHIN THE SUPPLY CHAIN;

Rana Plaza, India, 2013

12

In the light of the recession of 2008 (Telegraph, 2009) consumers
now more than ever want more for less and demand for cheaper
clothing is now at an all-time high as consumers now have lower
disposable income – this has resulted in a pressure on retailers
to provide product to consumers at a reasonable and realistic
cost. Price and the appearance of a garment as well as quality is
the main contributing and decision making factor to the consumers
purchase choice, rather than the garments history. The consumer
more than often does not stop to think of where the garment has
come from, who has made it and if the garment was made from raw,
organic materials, or even if it was made in an economically
friendly way. Are there ways for the leading retailers within
the mass market to change the way their customers think before
buying a product? There has been a decrease in the prices of
imports which has made it easier for fashion retailers within
the mass market to bring in a lot of cheaper stock into their
stores. (Grose. V, 2011) These imports come from a number of
countries from around the world including Turkey, Mexico, India
and Bangladesh being some of the main countries that put together
garments for companies within the mass market sector, with
Bangladesh being the second biggest exporter of RMG (ready-made
garments) (Pri, 2014) and their RMG industry said to be worth
around $15 billion. (McKinsey, 2011) Due to the mass markets
increasing demand for an extreme amount of stock, whether it be
for their e-stores or brick and mortar shops, this has created a
new opportunity of employment for the parts of the world where
the manufacturing of garments has become prominent which in turn
could better their economy.

13