MADE IN INDIA

 

Source: Voice of Fashion


He came home with a second-hand dress, excitedly holding it up like a fresh caught fish. “I thought you might like it!” I thanked him and inspected the dress.

The dress’s AI-generated SEO item listing title from Hell would read: “Aztec Southwest Dress Linen Knee Length Sundress Summer Tribal XL”. 

Daunted by the thought of cutting down an XL to an M, I thought it would be easier to make the dress into something else entirely. 

I plopped down on my couch and began unpicking the stitches to disassemble the dress. The straight stitches, the overlocking, the gathers, the hems, the lining. 

Each thread popped gently as it was cut. 

I stopped when I came to the garment tag.

MADE IN INDIA

I sat for a minute with the new knowledge that had just emerged from the depths of my consciousness. 

Every stitch that I had just unpicked was put into the fabric by a person. 

Who are they?

I imagine she’s a young woman, long braid down her back, sari wrapped around her, feeding Aztec-print fabric through the sewing machine she’s hunched over. 

The floor is slippery with scraps of fabric and trimmed pieces of thread. The cavernous warehouse is filled with the clatter of industrial sewing machines. The air is stagnant, oppressive, and sweat drips down her back. She has little time to look up from her machine if she wants to meet her garment quota for the day.

Was this dress in my hands the first she sewed on her shift, or the hundredth? 

Did she move from a rural province to the city for better work opportunities? Is she in debt to the company that brought her to the factory? Is she working to send a sibling to school? Or, is she from the city, and walks back to her family home in the thick night air? 

Is she happy? Does she like her job? What does she do when she’s not at work? What does she dream about? 

***

Every mass-produced garment has a tag with the name of a country on it. India, China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh. Never once have I stopped to think that every garment I buy, throw out, or give away is sewed by a person on the other side of the world. 

Technology has not progressed to the point where machines can replace human labor in clothing production. Despite the requirement for skilled labor, clothing has become less and less expensive over time. 

We cannot pretend that cheap clothes are just due to inexpensive polyester. 

It is a high human cost that defies the laws of economics and keeps these garments cheap. 

Maybe it’s time we start acting like it.

-

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