We know sweatshop clothing is bad – and buy it anyway. Here’s how your brain makes excuses

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 19:53:47 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/we-know-sweatshop-clothing-is-bad-and-buy-it-anyway-heres-how-your-brain-makes-excuses-192944>

"You face a dilemma. You’ve found the perfect shirt, and it’s an absolute
bargain, but you notice it’s “Made in Bangladesh”. You’re conscious it was
probably made using cheap labour. Do you buy it, or walk away?

Today Oxfam released its annual Naughty or Nice list. This list highlights
retail brands committed to transparent sourcing, separating labour costs in
price negations, and conducting a wage gap analysis to work towards paying
workers a living wage.

This list is one of several resources trying to encourage ethical consumption.
Yet despite concerns of sweatshop labour, and consumers claiming they’re
willing to pay more for ethically-sourced clothes, there remains high demand
for ultra-low-price mass-produced clothing.

The explanation lies in a psychological phenomenon called motivated reasoning.
It explains how people convince themselves sweatshop labour is actually okay,
as long as the product is desirable."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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