Dive Brief:

• Photographer Ismail Ferdous, who covered the deadly destruction of the garment-production center Rana Plaza in Bangladesh a year ago, has now uncovered several recognizable clothing labels that can be found in malls and retailers all across America.

• He is now working with filmmaker Nathan Fitch to reveal tags of clothing found amid the rubble there, although they make clear that not all the labels were necessarily being produced at the time of the disaster.

• The project underscores that Americans’ propensity for low prices may be contributing to the pressures for retailers to cut costs of production. They’ve started a campaign, the Cost of Fashion, to educate people about the consequences of low prices and to pressure retailers to improve conditions in manufacturing. 

Dive Insight:

While this campaign by photographer Ismail Ferdous and filmmaker Nathan Fitch is meant to pressure retailers to remain aware of potentially disastrous conditions in the clothing manufacturing centers they enlist, it also aims to educate consumers about their role in the problem. As long as price is a major driver of consumer behavior, without regard to how those prices are possible, the problem will remain difficult to solve. Educating consumers about the need to improve conditions for garment workers may lead to their willingness to spend more for the sake of more humane working environments.