As the death toll for the building collapse in Bangladesh passes 700 I think it's important to remember that this is our problem. Our demand for cheap clothing has put the workers in this terrible situation. Just because the clothes are not made here, does not mean that we should get away with it. We got rid of awful working conditions like these in the UK decades, even centuries, ago, but sadly have then recreated them overseas.
'Made in China' has become something of a joke to us, but it's true that a vast amount of the things we buy are produced there, and mostly by young people. We have been aware of and buying fairly traded food for years now, but I think it's time this extended to other things, such as gadgets and clothes. We should question Who made this? How long did they work for? How much did they get paid? The western world works on Supply and Demand, but we should not demand cheap things but fairly paid things.
We can try to hide what we don't want to see, but it will continue to show itself and remind us that this is still our problem!
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