Fashion

GLOBAL INVESTOR 1.16 — 39
backdoor into Europe for chemicals that are
actually prohibited in the EU by the REACH
regulation but are not outlawed in the Asian
producer countries.
What about protection for workers?
CLAUDIA BANZ The textile and
clothing industries are mainstays of the
economy in countries like Bangladesh,
Vietnam and Indonesia. It isn’t in the interest
of politics, and it’s even prohibited
in some places, for workers to form labor
unions or to demand a minimum wage,
for example. The risk is just too great
of the entire industry pulling up stakes and
moving to a place where clothing can be
manufactured even more cheaply, such as
Myanmar or Ethiopia, or Africa in general.
Most industries historically evolve
from “dirty” production to more
sophisticated, less-polluting manufacturing
practices. How is the fashion industry
any different?
CLAUDIA BANZ One possible impediment
is that the textile industry is a socalled
pioneer industry, which means that a
business can be set up with relatively little
expense. A few sewing machines in a
factory hall suffice. The positive flipside is
that the textile industry gives many people,
especially women, an opportunity to work
and earn a little money. More safety standards
are also being fought for, but as we
all know, in the end it’s always about profit.
Who is responsible for the excesses
of the mass fashion industry?
CLAUDIA BANZ That’s a very big
question to which there is no easy answer.
I see four relevant parties: producers and
entrepreneurs, politicians, designers and, of
course, consumers all bear a major respon ­
sibility. Consumers should wield their power
much more forcefully, for instance by voting
with their feet and not shopping in stores
that don’t carry any sustainable products.
It is not only companies that have a duty;
everyone bears some part of the blame.
The responsibility associated with
consumers mainly has to do with the price
of clothing. Are the ideas of “cheap” and
“sustainable” contradictory?
CLAUDIA BANZ Our exhibition also
explored precisely this question of how
clothing can be so inexpensive. It is a fallacy
that fashion apparel necessarily becomes
more expensive when wages are raised.
Wage, production and transportation costs
make up only a very small part of the
end price; marketing expenses and profits
Dr. Claudia Banz
The doctor of art history and author of
numerous publications has headed the
art and design collection at the Museum
für Kunst und Gewerbe (Museum of
Art and Crafts) in Hamburg since 2011.
She previously worked as a curator at
internationally renowned museums such
as the National Museums in Berlin,
the Dresden State Art Collections and
the Kunstpalast museum in Düsseldorf.
account for the lion’s share. So the main
issue is the profit margin. Sustainability and
cheap prices thus don’t negate each other.
But a rethinking of economics has to take
place, and that’s a real problem.
Does that go for cheap mass merchandise
as well as for luxury fashion apparel?
CLAUDIA BANZ Our research revealed
that in Bangladesh, for example, T-shirts
produced for the cheap fast-fashion
industry and for fashion labels in the upper
price segment are manufactured in the
same factory. That’s a bitter realization.
“Companies are
committed in principle
… to sustainable
production at all
stages of the textile
value chain.”
The New York Times recently reported
that the luxury goods industry has
begun to place greater importance on
sustainability. Do you agree?
CLAUDIA BANZ Yes, in principle companies
are increasingly espousing transparency
and, in this context, are increasingly
taking a stand for sustainable production at
all stages of the textile value chain.
“Directors for sustainability” are being
hired to employ “cleaner” materials,
make work environments safer and take
climate change into account.
CLAUDIA BANZ It’ll probably be around
five years before we can judge the earnestness
of these efforts. By then we’ll be
able to make an interim appraisal. And
let’s not forget that sustainability has since
become a lifestyle issue.
Meaning …?
CLAUDIA BANZ Marketing departments
have recognized that there’s a lot of money
to be made by invoking sustainability or
even purportedly sustainably manufactured
products. It always sounds good when
something is “sustainably manufactured,”
but very few seals of approval really do
any good. Still, if sustainability is a lifestyle
choice today, then the fashion apparel
business is perfectly positioned to develop
genuinely sustainable production practices
over the medium term. The knowledge
and possibilities to do so already exist.