How the price of a garment is determined
To be able to judge whether a garment is too expensive or not, one must first understand what its price represents. As Liz Pape explains, the price of a garment includes the material and the labor, but also the transport, the rent and the maintenance of the buildings, the marketing, the salary of the employees who do not take part in the actual production, and finally, the net profits that the company will use to reinvest and grow. The profit margin is at the discretion of the company, but a gross profit of 50 to 75% of the selling price is usual.
How to explain the price difference?
The larger a company sells, the more it can reduce its profit margin. This is possible since some expenses such as the salary of its employees and the rent are fixed (we call this the overhead). Thus, not only a global company like H&M and Zara can reduce the cost of producing the garment itself by producing in quantity, it can also spread its overhead over the amount of clothing sold and thus reduce the profit margin required for the survival of the company. On the other hand, these companies do not reduce their profit margins, but keep about the same to allow for growth at an accelerated rate. So, even if a H&M tank top sells for just $ 15, it can be assumed that it cost about $ 3.75 to produce. At $ 3.75 per camisole, we also understand that the fabric is of poor quality, and the labor is paid very little. Fast fashion retailers operate voluntarily on a model of poor quality and high volumes to be able to offer such low prices.
For a sustainable and ethical fashion company, the cost of manufacturing the garment is higher. Indeed, these companies often use natural fibers, produced by better paid farmers, and therefore better quality textiles that allow clothes to be worn longer (why that is will be another topic!). In addition, workers are paid fairly, which means they have a salary that allows them a minimum quality of life. It is therefore normal that for the same tank top, we expect a double manufacturing cost, or triple, depending on the company. Indeed, sustainable fashion is more expensive than fast fashion, but does that make it unaffordable?
The price of all consumer products has risen since the 1980s, while that of clothing has remained the same or decreased. Our idea of a “normal” price for a garment is skewed by those of fast fashion companies. In addition, we consume on average 60% more clothes than at the end of the 90’s. Thus, even if the prices have decreased, we do not spend less to dress, on the contrary. Increasing consumption also means increasing waste. In fact, the amount of garments found in garbage dumps has also increased (on average, North America throws 12 million tons of garbage into garbage dumps), which means we do not have bigger wardrobes, we are only renewing its content more often. If we stopped buying all of these clothes to buy only thing we need and that are going to last us a long time (which is possible because we did it 30 years ago), we would find sustainable fashion a lot more affordable.
Nowadays, it is difficult to recognize a quality garment of a garment that will last several seasons, so that one has the impression that they buy the same product no matter how much they spend. The truth is that there is no direct relationship between the price of a garment and its quality. Increasingly, luxury companies are having their clothes produced in the same factories as the fast fashion ones, in order to increase their profits. As a consumer, it is our responsibility to do our research on companies to find out which have respect for the environment and for workers at the heart of its values. The trick: go read the “About” section of their websites. When there is no mention of these two aspects of sustainable fashion in the “values” section, it should be a red flag, no matter if the company offers a “conscious” range (click here to understand what is the green washing).
Is ethical fashion too expensive?
The short answer is no. Ethical fashion seeks to bring the fashion industry back onto the path of respectability, and clothing that is produced ethically and without hurting the environment cannot be compared to mass-produced clothing. Once this fact is established, one must question the durability of the garment. A pair of fast fashion jeans will not last as long as a pair that has been made with durability in mind, and one will buy much more in the long run. My sister bought real leather sandals made in Italy five years ago and thought they were really expensive to her ($240 if I remember correctly). But she still wears them and they look new. If she had bought a cheaper, lower quality pair produced in China, she would have bought a pair at $ 50 each year and it would have returned to the same. This is called the principle of “cost-per-wear”. A garment that stays in good condition for years even when worn weekly is much cheaper than a poor quality garment that must be redeemed each season. In addition, by buying quality clothes, we save the time we would need to look for new ones when they are broken and as they say: time is money!
Be careful! This does not mean throwing away old clothes and buying quality clothes! The transition to a more responsible consumerism can be done gradually and according to the capacities of each one. Personally, I prefer to invest my money in timeless pieces, or basics. These pieces will last several years, but since they are basics, they will not go out of style. Many sustainable fashion companies do this kind of products. So, I bought a pair of black denims and a black turtleneck at Everlane and a white t-shirt at Everybody World. These pieces cost a little more than they would have cost if I had bought them from fast fashion companies, but they will last much longer. I do not plan to buy a white t-shirt in the next few years, but I bought a black H&M camisole every year between 2010 and 2015 because it was faded, peeled, stretched, etc. In the end, it came back to $ 75. At this price, I could have had a 100% silk camisole made in Canada …
The fact is that by slightly changing our consumption habits, we have more disposable income to buy quality products, which will last longer. By buying this way, we throw away less faded clothes every season and we can invest in better quality ones. It’s a cycle that is worth it!
We must stop seeing clothing as disposable consumer products. Every piece of clothing is an investment and if you keep it, it can last for years. It’s time to stop fthinking that the norm is coming out of a mall with 10 pieces of clothing having spent less than $200. It is not normal to want to spend as little as possible for something that is used every day. It’s time to stop trying to buy the cheapest and ask yourself what is the true value of what you buy. Personally, if a clothing cost a farmer’s life, forced a mother to separate from her child because she could not feed him, poisoned the water source of a city, or will end up in my bin in a few months, it is not worth anything anyway.
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