Zara, Brazil and why Fast Fashion is so cheap
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I will add my 2 cents to this whole discussion. If you have not yet heard (under which rock have you been living, by the way?) , Brazilian authorities have found that one of Zara´s clothes suppliers in Brazil has been using slave labor to produce clothing right in the center of São Paulo, our largest and most metropolitan city.
Now, the fact that there is a huge social cost associated with so called fast fashion (cheap, trendy clothing) is already well know but this reality seemed a bit far from the average Brazilian consumer, who have always though that this type of issues belonged only to sweatshops in Asia and Central America, not in their own backyard. And that is what shocked the local public opinion the most.
It is also worth to mention that Brazil has strict labor laws and that the high cost of apparel items here (just for comparison purposes a denim pants that is similar GAP will retail at about U$ 160). I, for one, have always taken solace on the fact that while I would be paying more for apparel here in Brazil (compared to the US), at least I would be paying for fair (unionized) labor practices. That innocence is now lost.
Brazilian authorities are now prosecuting this supplier while Brazilian consumers are commenting online on how it is Zara´s responsibility to ensure its suppliers are following the law. Many friends of mine down here are vowing not to buy from Zara ever again. We shall see the implications of this scandal in the medium and log terms.
What do you think?
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