申論題

      While you are out shopping for new clothes, what is your first thought when you choose something to buy? Is it the brand name, the style, or the price? For many, money is the main factor when they decide to buy something. People love saving money, but they often do not realize the hidden costs involved in the making of clothes.
      The working conditions for people who make clothing in factories continue to be very bad in many regions around the world. In order for companies to be able to sell clothing cheaply and still make money, they must pay their workers very low wages. Also, the companies do not spend money on improving their workers’ often dirty and unsafe environments, which, in turn, usually leads to a marked increase in profits for these companies
      Many people are unaware of these poor working conditions as well as the time and effort that factory workers spent making clothes. Therefore, a hypothesis has been put forward: If people were given the chance to learn about how their clothes were manufactured, then most of them wouldn’t buy products from companies that violate workers’ rights. Based on the hypothesis, an experiment in Germany was aimed at testing this hypothesis by attracting people with cheap T-shirts from a vending machine. After people inserted 2 euros into the machine, pictures showing on the screen demonstrated the poor working conditions in which the workers made these “cheap” T­shirts. They then had a choice between either continuing with their purchase or donating the money to a charity that helps poor workers in clothing factories. Ninety percent of the people chose the latter, which indicates that the vast majority of people have great sympathy for these workers and will choose not to support those companies.
      What’s more, a minor factor that people also need to consider is the materials that are used to make clothes. Clothing companies want to make sure people buy new clothes frequently. Therefore, they intentionally use materials that are not meant to last a long time. This constant buying and discarding of clothing is creating more and more waste for landfills.
      It may seem difficult, but people have the power to turn the situation around. First, people should only buy clothes produced by companies that provide safe and good working conditions for their factory workers. In addition, people should not buy clothing that may only be worn a few times and then thrown away. Thus, clothing companies that refuse to change their manufacturing processes will risk losing business if people choose not to support them. Without a doubt, people have not only the power but also a duty to make these changes happen in the clothing industry