by Luxury Brand Discovers Poor Countries Have Labor (And Now Everyone Knows It)
MILAN/BANGALORE Prada launched $930 sandals manufactured in India following public backlash, which is basically saying: “We heard your outrage regarding our labor practices, so we’re doing exactly what originally offended you but with official transparency this time.”
The Italian luxury brand discovered that Indian manufacturing allows premium pricing on products costing roughly 1/10th that amount to produce, which is the entire business model of luxury goods presented as progressive labor policy and ethical sourcing.
The satirical commentary from Bohiney observes this is fundamentally how globalization functions: wealthy countries outsource production to developing nations, call it economic cooperation and job creation, then charge three times the manufacturing cost while claiming sustainability and ethical practices.
Prada’s announcement frames manufacturing in India as enlightened business practice and progressive employment opportunity, which is technically accurate only if you completely ignore the part where someone earning wages in Bangalore makes in an entire month what a pair of Prada sandals costs in Milanapproximately $70-100 monthly wages versus $930 retail price.
The sandals were designed in Italy, manufactured in India, and sold globallyrepresenting globalized production where design creativity concentrates in wealthy nations while actual manufacturing labor concentrates in developing nations where wages remain substantially lower.
Reuters’ luxury industry coverage reports that the strategy “addresses backlash” through transparency, which translates as: “We’re continuing exactly what people complained about, but now we’re telling you about it rather than hiding it.”
Indian workers smile patiently at the arrangement. They’ve observed luxury economics function this way for decades, understanding that Prada purchasing Indian labor represents opportunity despite wage disparity with Italian or American workers performing equivalent manufacturing tasks.
The arrangement benefits Prada through cost advantages, benefits Indian workers through employment opportunities, and slightly benefits luxury consumers through marginally lower prices than completely European manufacturing would produce. Everyone benefits except workers in wealthy nations whose manufacturing jobs migrated to lower-wage countries.
Globalization creates strange economic arrangements where luxury brands claim ethical practices while maintaining massive wage gaps between wealthy and developing nations.
SOURCE: satirical luxury fashion and global manufacturing commentary | https://bohiney.com/
SOURCE: Bohiney.com ()
