This learning sequence investigates the ways people work and how businesses use outsourced labour to manufacture clothing and shoes in the global economy.
Engage
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Take a photograph of yourself in what you might wear on a typical weekend.
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Use a photo editor to label where each item of clothing and your shoes were manufactured. Link your labels to Google Maps.
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Where in the world was most of your clothing manufactured? How many countries were from the Asian region?
Resources
Use Google Maps to complete this activity. It is a web mapping service that provides detailed information about geographical regions and sites around the world.
Take a photograph of yourself
Explore
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Watch the 'Fashion factories' episode from ABC Behind the news.
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Explain why shoe and clothing companies outsource their labour to countries in the Asia region.
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Define the issues concerning the working conditions in some shoe and clothing factories in the Asia region.
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Identify the impact of the demand for better working conditions on the final costs of clothes to the consumer.
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Explain how some Australian businesses have responded to the impact of the poor conditions experienced by factory workers.
Resources
Fashion factories ABC Behind the news – well-known fashion brands have their clothes made overseas
A worker in an Indian garments factory
Reflect
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Describe the factors that influence consumer choice when making shoe or clothing purchases. Is it price, fashion, advertising, friends, family, or where it was made?
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How has this activity made you think about the clothes and shoes you wear?
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Investigate the Ethical Clothing Australia and FairWear websites.
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As a consumer, what could you possibly do to help the working conditions of those who make your clothes and shoes?
Resources
Ethical Clothing Australia – minimising the exploitation of clothing factory workers
FairWear – stopping the exploitation of sweatshop and homeworkers in garment manufacture
Where was your clothing made?
It is recommended teachers preview websites prior to use in class to ensure they are suitable for their students. Content accessed via these links is not owned or controlled by the Asia Education Foundation and is subject to the terms of use of the associated website.
Acknowledgements
Images: Intruding on a Selfie by Michael Coghlan (CC BY-SA 2.0); At a Garment's Factory in Delhi by Ishan Khosla (CC BY-ND 2.0); AEF
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