Here are two news articles. Oh happy days for those of us who have the "means", we can get cheap clothing and we celebrate it. Do we report about those who make this clothing? Yes, the article talks about profit margins being shaved but really, costs will have been shaved - how can it just be margins and tariffs that have reduced prices in spit of inflation over 20 years?
At least 112 people were killed in a fire that raced through a multi-story garment factory just outside of Bangladesh's capital, an official said today.
The blaze broke out at the seven-story factory operated by Tazreen Fashions late Saturday. By Sunday morning (local time), firefighters had recovered 100 bodies, fire department Operations Director Maj. Mohammad Mahbub told The Associated Press.
He said another 12 people who had suffered injuries after jumping from the building to escape the fire later died at hospitals. The death toll could rise as the search for victims was continuing, he said.
Local media reported that up to 124 people were killed in the fire. The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear, and authorities have ordered an investigation.
Bangladesh has some 4,000 garment factories, many without proper safety measures. The country annually earns about $20 billion from exports of garment products, mainly to the United States and Europe.
The cost of clothing has hardly budged in the past 20 years - and items can be even cheaper if you're prepared to barter.
We enlisted the help of savvy Auckland shopper Kym Nyhoff. Her mission: to outfit her family of four for less than $100.
What Nyhoff lacked in purse power, she more than compensated with her eye for fashion and the tremendous bargains, sales and discounts on offer in the shops.
Nyhoff visited Farmers, K-Mart, The Warehouse, Amazon Surf and Number One Shoes. If necessary, she thought, she'd get clothes and a pair of Jandals each.
"It was a miracle based on the sales," she said, of the end result. "It's all quite decent stuff, it's close to $180 worth of stuff."
Nyhoff's favourite purchase was her $25 pair of high-heeled wedges from The Warehouse. Even their full price of $39 would be a bargain.
"The shoes took a quarter of it. The reason for that is that, well I wanted a decent pair of shoes, but also my dress was only $12.
But she wouldn't be wearing them today had she not been bold enough to ask for a discount at another store.
Her wallet held just $35 and she still had to get footwear for herself and husband Andrew Nyhoff, a secondary school teacher. A nice pair of Jandals at Amazon Surf for Andrew was on sale from $28 down to $15, but even at that price, she'd have had to return hers.
"It was sweet-talking. I said [to Amazon], 'I've only got $10, what can you do'?" The shop knocked $5 off the sale price, and she got both pairs.
Daughter Saskia, 6, and son Luke, 3, ended up with good quality outfits.
Retailers' Association chief executive John Albertson said Nyhoff's experience reflected a hugely competitive marketplace in which retailers were shaving their profit margins. "Going back a few years ago a speciality retailer's profit would have been about 8 per cent; today it's probably about 3 per cent. There's a lot of risk for not a lot of return."
The Consumer Price Index shows the price of men's and women's clothing has hardly changed since the late 1980s.
Statistics New Zealand said prices were kept down by cuts in import tariffs for clothing and the 1992 removal of import quotas, allowing anybody to import clothing. In 1987 some clothing attracted a 65 per cent tariff; by 1991 the tariff had fallen to 40 per cent for all items, and by 1999 it was down to 19 per cent, and now clothing imported into New Zealand attracted a 10 per cent tariff.
By Kathryn Powley EmailKathryn
