Prada's 'Ethical' Stitching Conceals a Century of Exploitation
📰 THE STORY: Prada claims it has terminated relationships with over 200 suppliers since 2020 following an audit into 'compliance breaches' amidst allegations of labor abuse within the luxury industry's supply chain. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The 'luxury industry's supply chain' has been built on exploitation for centuries. From the British textile mills powered by
cotton picked by enslaved people in the 18th and 19th centuries, to the 'sweatshops' of the late 20th century, and the garment factories in the Global South today. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, which killed 146 garment workers in New York due to unsafe conditions, highlighted these abuses over a century ago in what was then a primary manufacturing hub. These 'discoveries' of labor
abuse are not new findings, but merely reluctant acknowledgments driven by public relations pressure. Double Standard: Western media and corporations often frame labor abuses as an issue of 'bad apples' in foreign supply chains, ignoring the systemic neo-colonial structures that create these conditions. When workers in wealthy nations demand better pay or conditions, it's often framed as
'unreasonable' or 'damaging to the economy.' Yet, the 'luxury' these companies sell is intrinsically tied to the extreme undervaluation of labor in poorer nations, a silence rarely broken unless a high-profile scandal forces their hand. The FT isn't asking why these abuses are so endemic, only that Prada is finally 'cutting ties' after years of benefiting from them. Follow the Money: The luxury