Amid a Garment-Worker Crisis in Bangladesh, One Local Brand Is Building an Ethical, Post-Coronavirus Future
In Bangladesh, around 4 million people have lost their livelihoods, a direct result of some of the world’s most powerful fashion brands canceling orders due to the closures and layoffs precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic. On March 25, Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina announced a $590 million bailout that would provide direct funds for worker salaries and benefits. But many on the ground there, including the factory owners, say that it’s not nearly enough. As the world faces down a severe recession, this South Asian country is one of the hardest hit, and its plight points up just how unsustainable the fashion manufacturing industry is. Though unethical practices in Bangladesh have been reported in the past, the coronavirus is reexposing the flaws in the system.
The founders of the start-up Lidia May, which trains and employs local artisan women to handcraft sculptural leather bags, are witnessing the financial and societal devastation firsthand. May Yang, a former corporate lawyer and grassroots advocate for poverty-alleviation work, and Rasheed Khan, who comes from a career in international finance and management consulting, launched their social enterprise in 2015. Since then, they’ve been working to create a structural model that is socially equitable and inclusive and has longevity. “Our model isn’t disrupted by what’s happening now,” says Khan, who is running the day-to-day operations in the capital, Dhaka, while Yang is quarantined at home in Boston. “When we set up this company, we set out to go against this very capitalistic idea that you will tell everyone via P.R. that you love your workers and you take care of your staff—they’re like your family—but then the first thing you do in a crisis is fire people and reduce your labor force. That is completely mind-boggling to me,” he adds. “As far as you can, you need to protect your people.”
Lidia May has around 15 employees in its office, with hundreds of artisans working from home while simultaneously taking care of their families. The brand is experiencing a downturn, like most if not all of its competitors in the accessory category, but Khan and Yang remain dedicated to the health and well-being of the Lidia May team. Since February, they have been educating their workers about the coronavirus and the social distancing and hygienic precautions they should be taking to help flatten the curve, and Khan and Yang are continuing to pay them fair wages.
Awareness and disruption of the global supply chain, Yang says, is what will push the broader industry to reconfigure itself in the near future. “Being part of the community in Bangladesh, you do have a lot of friends who are business owners in the garment industry,” she says, “and one of the things you hear is that having the Western press talk about what’s at risk when these large companies make cuts—it creates more awareness for the end consumers.” She adds, “It puts a lot of pressure on these brands who before had very hidden supply chains, and they could just reduce orders and cut jobs without anyone really noticing. If this happened in the U.S. or France, there would be a lot more public outcry, but because manufacturing happens so far away, I think historically there’s been less pressure put on brands to be transparent.”
“This model that has developed over the last 15 or 20 years in the world of commerce is very, very fast-moving,” Khan notes. “The fact that you can go on Amazon and buy something for $5, and you can’t figure out how they made it for $5, but they’re selling it at that price and will ship it to you for free and you can return it, and they’ll ship you another one—all for that $5—this to me shows that there is something wrong with the system.” He adds, “In the garment sector, often these factories in Bangladesh don’t actually have any control over their supply chain. So the company might say, ‘Okay, you can make these jogging pants for us, but you have to buy the fabric from another supplier that we’ve already nominated to make fabric for us that is in Indonesia.’ So it goes from Indonesia to Bangladesh to Walmart for $7.”
Khan hopes that “when the world comes out of this, they are a little bit more thoughtful and considered about how they consume.” Yang is similarly hopeful about the way that the pandemic is shifting our collective thinking about how we buy, what we wear, and from where it’s all coming. “A lot of people are taking this time at home to reflect and read a lot,” she says. “I am cautiously optimistic that more people will be discerning customers and that once they’ve cleaned out their closets, they will see how much garbage they’ve accumulated. I hope the value system is changing. A lot of the world is beginning to reconsider the fact that community, and taking care of it, is important in this business.”
Originally Appeared on Vogue
