It's easy to believe that if a piece of clothing is more expensive, then it is probably higher quality and ethically made. That, however, isn't always the case.
In an Instagram reel from creator Jansen Garside (@jansengarside), he gave a thorough breakdown of the expected costs that go into making clothing. This breakdown is enlightening in that it exposes how both fast fashion and high-end luxury items can be unethical.
Garside began his breakdown by stating that the average industry profit margin is about 2.35 times. That means however much money it costs to make a garment, that will be multiplied by around 2.35 to determine what cost it should be sold for. Vogue cited a similar range back in a 2020 article detailing the price of fashion.
In the clip, Garside compared two clothing items: a $10 pair of jeans from H&M, and a $260 pair of jeans from Ksubi.
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Using the profit margin of 2.35, the $10 jeans should've cost about $4.25 to produce the garment. However, Garside explained that the cost of fabric is likely about $2.25, meaning less money is available for other parts of the production process, which also includes human labor. This exposes the likelihood that workers are making hardly any money, thus why fast fashion is set up to be so unethical.
Garside repeated this breakdown for the $260 Ksubi jeans, resulting in production costs that had a higher likelihood of also being able to pay laborers an ethical amount.
Garside emphasized, however, that just because a garment is more expensive does not necessarily mean it is ethical and that shoppers should prioritize shopping secondhand and from transparent companies.
"Our current perception of value and how much a piece of clothing should cost is severely distorted," he concluded.
Human Rights Watch specifically focuses on unethical labor practices in countries across the globe that stem from the fast-fashion industry. Not only are workers paid next to nothing to make fast-fashion garments, but they are also exposed to a whole host of toxic chemicals that are detrimental to human health as well as our environment, per Earth.org.
Commenters on Garside's video were grateful for his breakdown, which encouraged people to research the practices of brands they ultimately buy from.
"So great to hear from firsthand how the industry works," commented a user.
"Often people expect a shirt to cost $5, not knowing how unreasonable that is! Education is super important," added another.
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