The New York Times‘ article is particularly interesting. As China is growing exponentially as an economic power, so are the wages, and higher wages means improving (at least we’re hoping) work environments. With higher wages, outsourcing to China is no longer a cheap endeavour as manufacturers are now looking to other asian countries like Vietnam and Cambodia for labor work. However, outsourcing to other asian countries proves to still be a difficult move.

The Reuters article points that cheap labour entices designers to use more expensive fabrics and that many countries don’t seem to mind the Made in China labels as much as previously thought. Also, the article points out a very important factor where Made In labels are being faked, thus it is difficult to really know where clothes come from.

When a shoe company openly admits the whereabouts of their production facilities, even down the very city in which their production factories are located, it’s a good indication that this company not only shows you to trust them, but that they have taken measurable steps to improve working conditions.

As my ongoing research of learning more about outsourcing factory jobs in third world countries, the news of businesses taking measurable steps to improve working conditions is not an urban fashion myth. Ecco, a Denmark shoe company, has taken measure to ensure that the shoes they create for you are comfortable, environmentally friendly, and produced in the best conditions possible.

The reason I’m bringing this up is because I bought a pair of sandals from them today: the Clear Water sandals. Priced $140, and perhaps one of the most comfortable leather sandals that have ever adorned my feet, and because it was made in China, it prompted me to look them up online.

And what a treasure their website is. Honestly, THIS is how a company website should be like, full of vital information for the consumer and the whereabouts of where their shoes come from. It must take a company lots of dedication to erect such a long list of information of their mission, production facilities, the number of employees at each facility, even the date of birth of their board of directors.

Where my sandals come from: Xiamen, China

Xiamen is one of the most vibrant economic cities in China, attracting large numbers of foreign investors to their international trade fairs, earning over $11 billion US annually from these contracts. It also home to the muchly publicized Dell factories, and recently served as one of the Olympic torch stops for the Beijing Games. This island city has been named as a “Special Economic Zone” since the 1980s and has been growing ever since.

After reading up on Xiamen, China, it’s not one of those rundown cities that you read about in the newspapers all the time, it’s a seemingly respectable city that employs thousands of workers for hundreds of foreign companies. But this is just one shoe company who willingly disclosed its own factories and the number of employees it hired. What about the other clothing companies in Canada? Where are they really outsourcing their productions from? Few will let you know that’s for sure.

Here are the other factories that produce Ecco shoes:

ECCO Portugal in Feira
ECCO Slovakia in Martin
ECCO Indonesia in Surabaya
ECCO Thailand in Ayudhthaya

Despite such honesty, how will their product hold up over time? We will see, for now, I’m quite happy with my new pair of sandals

Image credits: ecco designs

I read this appalling article online from the Toronto Star about how we’re in dire economic times, and that it was time to look for some cheap fashion.

What’s the most insulting part of the article was this:

Funny thing, though, this looming recession. As bad it gets, economists and retail anaylsts predict this one will be different from years past. We’ll have never looked so good. The recent explosion of “fast fashion” has retailers like Joe Fresh, Wal-Mart and H&M in a race to introduce trendy and basic apparel for less and less. Thank you, China, Vietnam, India, Cambodia.

Seriously? Have you no shame? I was waiting to read about a worker who’s working 10 cents an hour and how fast fashion is an epidemic we should try to avoid not encourage! You would think that very last phrase was sarcastic. It wasn’t. It was seriously thanking them as the rest of the article dives on how to shop for 5 outfits for less than $100.

I do consciously think about the stuff I buy, and I feel guilty when I buy something made in China, but it’s because of this that I spend much less. Sure I may tout the opening of a store here and there and touring high end places like Chanel, but I am not encouraging in any way to purchase ANYTHING. Sure the purchasing is left to your discretion, it’s your money, do what you want as long as you know what you’re going into. But to blatantly tell people “Hey I know this thing’s made from Cambodia and that workers suffer, but I get to save me some dollars cause times are ‘hard’ over here.” Give me a break.

I find this article to be heartless. Shame on you Toronto Star.