Unraveling Manufacturing: Who Makes Your Clothes and Why You Should Care
When you start investigating “how your clothes are made,” if you’re purchasing from unethical companies with poor manufacturing practices, it can feel a little bit like pulling on the thread of a sweater. . . the whole thing feels like it’s unraveling in your hands.
So, how can we approach manufacturing from a deeply human perspective? How can we be more empowered to make ethical and responsible decisions that are kind to the planet, our bodies, and local businesses? And how can we do all of this while also being busy, flawed, and messy people who can’t always afford morally pure brands?
That’s where we come in! Let’s break down manufacturing and look at it through the BU Style lens:
—Definitions: Demystifying manufacturing terms so that nobody is pullin’ the wool over your eyes (literally)
—Statistics: Snapshots of where the fashion industry currently stands, as well as how the production line functions
—Pricing: How clothes are priced, why, and who profits
—Tell-Tale Signs: What should you look for when you’re shopping? What are some industry insider knowledge drops?
—Recommendations: Which companies and further resources do we recommend?
So let’s do it! This is “Unraveling Manufacturing: Who Makes Your Clothes and Why You Should Care!”
Definitions & Etymology
Manufacturing is a 17th-century Italian word meaning “made by hand.” Simply put, manufacturing is the process of converting raw materials or components into finished goods using various techniques. It includes activities like design, production, assembly, and quality control and can take forms such as mass production, custom production, and batch production.
Textile Industry: the word “textile” is a 17th-century Latin word for "woven," from the verb texere. The textile industry encompasses the production and distribution of fabrics for clothing, starting with raw fibers (like wool and cotton!). These materials are transformed into a thread, which is woven/knitted into a fabric. Raw materials can be natural (from plants, animals, or minerals), synthetic (man-made), or a combination of the two. The fiber properties influence the final product's comfort, durability, appearance, and cost. The Boston Manufacturing Company, established in 1813, was the first American textile factory, streamlining the process from raw cotton to finished cloth. Its staff, mainly young unmarried women, worked 12-hour days, six days a week. Despite poor working conditions, it provided an alternative to farming and marked the start of America's textile industry evolution.
Fast Fashion: Fast fashion is all about taking designs from the runways, catwalks, and microtrends and turning them around extremely quickly to meet consumer demand right as it’s peaking. The term “fast fashion” was first popularized by The New York Times in the early 1990s when Zara burst onto the New York scene, boasting a turnaround time of just 15 days—from a designer’s creative spark to the racks of the store. With lightning-speed design, manufacturing, and marketing methods, the industry cranks out inexpensive, stylish garments, often crafted from synthetic materials that mimic the latest trends. While it may feel exhilarating to snag the newest looks at a low price, this fast-paced consumption comes at a steep cost to our planet, garment workers, and even our wallets. The clothes often lack quality and durability, leading to a cycle of quick disposal that contributes to massive textile waste.
Slow Fashion: The antithesis to “fast fashion.” Slow fashion is a movement that focuses on the sustainability and ethics of a company, coupled with the belief that we also need to consume less. Unlike fast fashion's mass production of low-cost, trendy clothing—which often harms the environment and exploits garment workers—slow fashion prioritizes styles with longevity, durable materials, and the fair treatment of people, animals, and the planet. Key aspects of slow fashion include using local artisans and eco-friendly materials, producing in small batches or on a pre-order basis, and maintaining simple, transparent supply chains. It also focuses on upcycling old textiles and ensuring fair wages and healthy working conditions for workers. The term "slow fashion" was popularized by Kate Fletcher in 2013 in response to the devastating collapse of a textile factory in Bangladesh, which highlighted the urgent need to address the negative social and environmental impacts of fast fashion.
Production Line: The term "production line" was first recorded between 1930 and 1935, but the concept of a production line can be traced back to the 1100s in Venice, Italy. A series or arrangement of machines, tools, and workers needed to produce a product.
Supply Chain: The fashion supply chain is a complex (and often opaque) network that involves multiple parties and processes to bring a garment to the consumer. It encompasses various stages, including designing garments, sourcing textiles, producing textiles, manufacturing clothes, and distributing them to retailers and customers. The supply chain is labor-intensive, employing millions, primarily women, but often lacks transparency, making it difficult to understand the conditions under which clothing is produced. The fashion supply chain often leads to significant humanitarian and environmental injustices. Garment workers often face long hours, unsafe conditions, poverty wages, gender-based violence, and wage theft due to brands prioritizing efficiency and profit over fair labor practices. Accountability is crucial, as it is generally difficult to hold parties responsible for abuses when the processes are not transparent.
Statistics: Snapshots of where the fashion industry currently stands, as well as how the supply chain functions
The global fashion industry is responsible for . . .
—About 430 million people (12.6% of the world's working population) work in fashion/clothing/textile production
—The global fashion industry is worth about $2 trillion
—In certain low-income countries, cotton production alone represents nearly 7% of total employment
—In some countries, garment workers toil up to 99-hour weeks, with only one day off per month
—In Bangladesh, Ghana, India, and Pakistan, the garment and textile industries are affected by forced labor and child labor
—Gender discrimination is rampant, and there are few protections from sexual violence in some workplaces
The apparel supply chain is getting faster and faster, which allows companies to swiftly tap into industry trends and seize new business opportunities, paving the way for market growth in the coming years. Of course, all of this has a cost. As technology improves, companies are getting faster and faster at making decisions and driving growth, but often with opaque supply chains. The true cost is harder and harder to see.
Pricing: How clothes are priced, why, and who profits
We have a podcast episode about this called, “Who Profits from Your Purchase.” So, if you’re looking for more information, this is a great place to start.
We’re going to say the quiet part out loud: We’ve all been conditioned to feel like we’re entitled to spend less on clothes than they’re probably worth. More than that, we’re all conditioned to think about our pocketbooks more than the people who made the garment. More than the planet that supplied the materials.
So how much should you pay for a garment?
What is the “right” price for a garment?
As a consequence of steadily decreasing fast-fashion prices, our perception of value has been totally warped. The truth is that if an item of clothing seems too cheap to be true, it probably is.
Costs such as materials and transportation are often fixed. Even sourced from places that hurt the environment, the cost of those materials is difficult to negotiate down. Do you know what can be negotiated down, however? Yep. The hourly wage of the workers making the garment. That’s where companies have wiggle room to beat down the cost of production.
Then, in order to make a profit, the profit margin industry standards require between 2.2-2.5x markup, which means that:
“…a dress that cost a designer $100 to produce might be sold to a retailer for $220. That retailer has to mark it up by 2.2x again to make its own profit, bringing the final price up to $484.”
So when you purchase a T-shirt that costs very little (say, $10), go in with skepticism and do some research on the company. If their practices and supply chain are difficult to deduce, that’s usually a sign that someone is paying for the garment—even if it’s not the consumer.
The truth is that there’s no “right” price for a garment. Because likely shouldn’t be $10, but maybe it shouldn’t be $400 either. The simplest way (and the BU Way!) to approach pricing is to think about consuming less and applying the cost-per-wear principle to your purchases. This requires a paradigm shift, but we’ll all be better off if we start signaling to the industry that our consumption habits are changing.
Tell-Tale Signs: What should you look for when you’re shopping? What are some industry insider knowledge drops?
Here’s what you should look for:
—Fabric: Prioritize natural fibers that breathe well. We love organic linen and recycled/upcycled cotton.
—Stitching: Such a tell! This holds for accessories like belts and handbags as well. Take a look at the stitching and see if it looks tight and even, with nothing peeking out. In luxury-quality goods, you’ll also never see where the thread may have run out and a new one started. Everything will appear tight and seamless. This is not just an aesthetic marker but also a durability marker.
—Seams: The different types of seams indicate the manufacturer’s commitment to prevent fraying and unraveling. Check to see how the garment has been finished. The seam types most known for durability are French seams, double seams, and flat-felled seams.
—Consistency: This is a good one you won’t read about everywhere. If you’re in a store, hold up and inspect two of the same garment. You’re looking to see how the garments are finished consistently. In circumstances where speed is prioritized, you’ll often see discrepancies between garments.
—Zips, buttons, and fasteners: See how everything has been finished. Is everything secure? Is everything finished with high-quality pieces?
—Reinforcements: Areas like the shoulders, elbows, and pockets are really high-impact on garments. They get the brunt of wear-and-tear. Check for reinforcements here.
—Linings: Not every garment requires lining, but if you want one for that particular item, then you should have it! It’ll prevent the item from being too transparent, provide insulation, and add to the structure of the garment. This can be really important for high-quality tailoring. Also, check the fiber content of the lining.
—Look and feel: How does the fabric feel? Does it drape well?
A really irritating fact of life is that men’s clothing is generally more well-made than women’s clothing. That’s also because, traditionally, men shop less and prioritize impeccable tailoring. So, if you’re unsure about some of these signs, head to the men’s section and take a look to see how their garments are made. To read more about how to identify high-quality garments, head to this excellent resource.
Recommendations: Which companies and further resources do we recommend?
Where do you look?
—The Good On You platform allows you to search brands and see their rankings by category
—Shop independent! Independent brands are just that: independent. They're owned and operated independently. From our experience, independent brands often prioritize local or ethical manufacturing practices, which may involve working with smaller factors or artisans. When you buy their products, a significant portion of your money goes towards covering the cost of sourcing materials, production, labor, and quality control.
—Embrace Slow Fashion! Consume less, and be proud of the items in your closet. You won’t get it “right” 100% of the time, but that’s okay. We are flawed, messy, and complicated creatures.
If you start tuning into how your decision-making aligns with your values, chances are you’ll start to feel proud and happier when someone approaches you and says, “I love your shirt. Where did you get it?”
Further Reading:
—What Is the Right Price for Fashion?
—How to Tell if a Garment is Well-Made
Relevant Episodes of Wear Who You Are:
—Who Profits from Your Purchase?
—How Your Wardrobe & Writing Coincide w/ Althea Simons of GRAMMAR
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