Colèchi talks to Stacy Griffiths about the negative effects of subcontracted labour within fashion production.
‘Exploitation faced by workers within the sub-contraction of fashion production, has never particularly been about the clothes, in some ways it has very little to do with them at all. It is, however, deeply ingrained within our society and seeps into all industries through the very capitalist foundations it was built upon’ (p. 28).
What is the title of your work?
How Does the Sub-Contraction of Labour, within Fashion Production, Perpetuate Systemic Racism and Sexism?
What did you aim to explore in your written work?
The overarching argument for my work was to assess exactly how garment production supports exploitation and where that has stemmed from. I wanted to get to the bottom of the way we think about clothing manufacturing and how, if at all, has it changed over time? The aims were to understand the historical context of fashion and labour on a global scale and how this compares to today which I broke down into three chapters: ‘Subcontracted Labour – Home is Where the Exploitation Is’, ‘Intersectionality – Women & Work’, and ‘The UK’s Not Innocent: Labour in Leicester’. These chapter headings were the basis for the research explored and allowed me to provide the reader with a foundational understanding of each topic.
Did you have to undertake any additional research to supplement this argument?
It was also really important to research into the history of feminism and to understand how it did a lot of damage to a lot of women and how intersectionality is so important to take into account when researching something such as garment production as there are many cultural, physical and geographical intersections that this industry preys upon. I also wanted to write it in a way that was accessible as the few books that are out there on this topic [are] very academic, whereas I realise this is something we should all take an interest in and especially with the rise of fast fashion brands and an environmental crisis, it was something that I felt needed to be written about.
Did you make any interesting discoveries about garment worker exploitation in the past and present?
At the heart of garment worker exploitation there is a defining link between women and race that is surrounded by varying factors relating to, location, religion, class, economic situation, family responsibilities and education. It also highlights the fact that despite quite a considerable passage of time, many working conditions from the early 1900’s are still in practice today which is pretty shocking. I also found it interesting to learn about the use of the word ‘alien’ to describe immigrants and how language has always had a deep impact on communities seeking refuge in Britain. I also found it interesting how government legislation is the reason that modern slavery still exists today.
‘The intention […] was to highlight a section of the fashion industry that cannot be filtered for instagram and to educate the reader on how, from its very inception, clothing production has been used to maintain the status quo in a system of white supremacy and patriarchy’ (p. 29).
What did you conclude on the issues surrounding garment manufacture?
My research concluded that this is a very complex issue that needs further attention and investigation. We know so little, historically, about garment manufacturing because it was not recorded, mostly due to the fact it was often illegal, making it quite difficult to see any patterns from its inception. However, it is also glaringly obvious that nothing has really changed at all despite this lack of documentation. It also re-confirmed that at the root of garment worker exploitation lies a link between race and gender. The essay also highlighted a massive disconnect between the makers of clothing and the designers of clothing as well as the fact that, unlike most other mass produced items, clothing is still one that remains un-automated – (I’ve also written an essay about the automation of garment manufacturing and that’s a whole other issue!).
How do you think your research could influence the future of fashion culture?
Hopefully these discoveries will get people interested in learning more about garment manufacturing and exposing more truths within this field. There really isn’t much academic writing on this part of the industry as it isn’t glamorous and once you know about it, for me personally at least, it’s very hard to turn the other way when involved with a fashion company, or even as a consumer. I also hope that people will wake up to the ‘sustainable fashion’ movement and see it for what it is, as well as understanding that the whole fashion industry needs to be changed. However, as my dissertation concludes, the issues stem from society and governmental legislation and trickle down into the industry, so without a more concrete plan to tackle that first it may always be a tail chasing exercise.
Since you wrote this piece, are there any new findings in garment manufacturing that you would like to explore if you had the opportunity to do so?
There are a few things I’d like to add/change. If I hadn’t written this [essay] in a pandemic I would have liked to have visited Leicester and tried to engage with some of the companies there to see what was happening for myself and perhaps conducted interviews etc. However, the industry is always moving and new and relevant articles are coming out – even in the final days of finishing my dissertation I was often trying to add in more and more. If I had a higher word-count I would have liked to have gone into a lot more depth with all the topics but particularly with manufacturing here in the UK.
I would have also liked to explore the whole process of garment production from the cotton fields, to the weaving factories as this is also where a high level of exploitation lies, and again is under-researched, but is also getting a little more traction with documentaries and journalism.
