Clean Fallacy : A quantitative study about the price-sustainability relationship within the garment industry

Abstract: Corporate colonial behaviour of fashion companies has left the Rana Plaza in ruins and paved the garment industry with catastrophic deaths, casualties, and hypocrisies. As a consequence, the industry is being scrutinized, especially the cheap brands. This paper is an examination of the sustainability of clothes in relation to price and an exploration of the differences between price segments. Quantitative data in the form of price and country of manufacture of 173 t-shirts from different brands were collected and analysed by using the Sustainable Society Index. The results indicate that the social sustainability level of the country of manufacture accounts for roughly 20% of the differences in t-shirt prices. Clothes made in more socially sustainable countries indeed tend to have higher prices. However, the difference in social sustainability is not significant between the high-priced and the luxury segments. Environmental and economic sustainability have little influence on clothing prices. The limitations and implications of assessing product sustainability through the lens of the country of manufacture are addressed.