Fast Fashion, Cheap Clothes and the Bangladesh Disaster

Michael Krasny

May 6, 2013 at

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(MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

The death toll from the collapse of a Bangladesh clothing factory surpassed 600 on Monday, making it the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry. Officials from Walmart, San Francisco-based Gap Inc. and other retailers met in Germany after the collapse to talk about improving safety measures in Bangladesh. We discuss the social costs of cheap clothing. Are you concerned about where and how your clothes are made?

Interview Highlights

More: Fresh Air: Ethical Fashion – Is the Tragedy in Bangladesh a Final Straw? – NPR.org
More: Bangladesh vs. the U.S.: How much does it cost to make a denim shirt? – GlobalLabourRights.org
More: Bangladesh Fears an Exodus of Apparel Firms – NYTimes.com
More: GoodGuide: An online source for the health, environmental, and social impacts of consumer products – GoodGuide.com
More: Last Hope in Ruins: Bangladesh’s Race to Save Shaheena – NYTimes.com

Guests:

Katie Quan, associate chair of the UC Berkeley Labor Center

Ian Maitland, professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management

Dara O'Rourke, associate professor of environmental and labor policy, UC Berkeley; co-founder of GoodGuide

Renee Dudley, reporter covering discount retailers, Bloomberg News

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