7 ms·

"It's unconscionable that they should cost more than $25-$30 a pair." Exactly. I want all my clothes to be made by small children in sweatshops. I don't want m

"It's unconscionable that they should cost more than $25-$30 a pair." Exactly. I want all my clothes to be made by small children in sweatshops. I don't want my money to go to businesses that rely on paying normal wages.

steckerbrett 11y ago
I doubt any of the higher price of clothes goes towards them not being made in sweatshops.
draw_down 11y ago
Yes, "unconscionable" was quite the interesting word choice there.
tdees40 11y ago
This was said a little obnoxiously, but he has a point. Making pants in China takes about three labor hours[1]. Given that about 50% of the cost of pants is the retail/wholesale markup, that leaves $15 to pay for materials, shipping, and labor. It's hard to squeeze a living wage out of that. [1] https://books.google.com/books?id=unXGqA4st54C&pg=RA2-PT56&lpg=RA2-PT56&dq=pants+labor+textile&source=bl&ots=ajCD9oHDhp&sig=e8VARoY8dfQ2dfxx3XMNASn1x7M&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMI_67Q0bfCyAIVgls-Ch0mAg3o#v=onepage&q=pants%20labor%20textile&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=unXGqA4st54C&pg=RA2-PT56&l...
- revelation 11y ago
  I presume it takes that long because having Chinese work in sweatshop conditions to make pants still beats the price of automating it. When that workforce eventually goes away and we have machines doing it, will we then have $40 pants? I very much doubt it.
  - Sherlock 11y ago
    Automating the confection of clothes is VERY challenging from an engineering point of view. We need far better robots to automate that.
bsder 11y ago
Actually, I want my clothes to be made by robots so that I can get a custom fit that exactly fits ME. I'm a 6'3" American, not a 5'8" Italian. Therefore, I fit into almost nothing at places like Nieman Marcus, H&M, Zegna, etc. My choices are solid white or solid blue in broadcloth. My other half just quit trying since every time she finds a gorgeous shirt it simply won't fit. I would learn tailoring except I can't get the really nice fabrics. I have tried taking pictures of nice shirts and then trying to find the fabric. Everybody looks at me like I'm completely insane (effectively--if I'm not buying 10000 yards, I'm not worth talking to). So, if Bonobos really wanted to up-end the business, instead of making clothing that makes you look like every other Wall Street douchebag, they should figure out how to construct one-off clothing in any appropriate available fabric in the world cost effectively. Women would knife each other to guarantee that their dress is genuinely unique.
- meatysnapper 11y ago
  You need to go to Holland where you are average-sized.
  - bsder 11y ago
    Sadly, I don't know of any hotbeds of high fashion from the Netherlands. If you would be so kind as to point me to some, I would happily talk to them. I have gotten suits from Hong Kong before (they were reasonably well-tailored, but the fabrics were still pedestrian), so I'm not averse to international purchases.
    - meatysnapper 11y ago
      I was going to suggest what the other poster said- take a vacation to northern Europe. Dutch fashion brands you may know: G-Star Raw, Scotch and Soda
  - mtanski 11y ago
    Or Denmark. Lots of Danish men's brands, including lots of tall sizes, many of them are actually made in Denmark. The current USD/EUR exchange rate makes the prices decent. And if you can't find high quality mens wear there you not trying enough. Example: http://www.norseprojects.com/store/mens-aw15/knitwear/aw15-verner-pure-new-wool http://www.norseprojects.com/store/mens-aw15/knitwear/aw15-v... . These guys even give you 20% off if you're shipping out the EU. And pro-tip current pick to pay in DKK instead of USD, your credit card will give you a better exchange rate (even with fees).

steckerbrett 11y ago

I doubt any of the higher price of clothes goes towards them not being made in sweatshops.

draw_down 11y ago

Yes, "unconscionable" was quite the interesting word choice there.

tdees40 11y ago

This was said a little obnoxiously, but he has a point. Making pants in China takes about three labor hours[1]. Given that about 50% of the cost of pants is the retail/wholesale markup, that leaves $15 to pay for materials, shipping, and labor. It's hard to squeeze a living wage out of that. [1] https://books.google.com/books?id=unXGqA4st54C&pg=RA2-PT56&lpg=RA2-PT56&dq=pants+labor+textile&source=bl&ots=ajCD9oHDhp&sig=e8VARoY8dfQ2dfxx3XMNASn1x7M&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMI_67Q0bfCyAIVgls-Ch0mAg3o#v=onepage&q=pants%20labor%20textile&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=unXGqA4st54C&pg=RA2-PT56&l...

revelation 11y ago
I presume it takes that long because having Chinese work in sweatshop conditions to make pants still beats the price of automating it. When that workforce eventually goes away and we have machines doing it, will we then have $40 pants? I very much doubt it.
- Sherlock 11y ago
  Automating the confection of clothes is VERY challenging from an engineering point of view. We need far better robots to automate that.

bsder 11y ago

Actually, I want my clothes to be made by robots so that I can get a custom fit that exactly fits ME. I'm a 6'3" American, not a 5'8" Italian. Therefore, I fit into almost nothing at places like Nieman Marcus, H&M, Zegna, etc. My choices are solid white or solid blue in broadcloth. My other half just quit trying since every time she finds a gorgeous shirt it simply won't fit. I would learn tailoring except I can't get the really nice fabrics. I have tried taking pictures of nice shirts and then trying to find the fabric. Everybody looks at me like I'm completely insane (effectively--if I'm not buying 10000 yards, I'm not worth talking to). So, if Bonobos really wanted to up-end the business, instead of making clothing that makes you look like every other Wall Street douchebag, they should figure out how to construct one-off clothing in any appropriate available fabric in the world cost effectively. Women would knife each other to guarantee that their dress is genuinely unique.

meatysnapper 11y ago
You need to go to Holland where you are average-sized.
- bsder 11y ago
  Sadly, I don't know of any hotbeds of high fashion from the Netherlands. If you would be so kind as to point me to some, I would happily talk to them. I have gotten suits from Hong Kong before (they were reasonably well-tailored, but the fabrics were still pedestrian), so I'm not averse to international purchases.
  - meatysnapper 11y ago
    I was going to suggest what the other poster said- take a vacation to northern Europe. Dutch fashion brands you may know: G-Star Raw, Scotch and Soda
- mtanski 11y ago
  Or Denmark. Lots of Danish men's brands, including lots of tall sizes, many of them are actually made in Denmark. The current USD/EUR exchange rate makes the prices decent. And if you can't find high quality mens wear there you not trying enough. Example: http://www.norseprojects.com/store/mens-aw15/knitwear/aw15-verner-pure-new-wool http://www.norseprojects.com/store/mens-aw15/knitwear/aw15-v... . These guys even give you 20% off if you're shipping out the EU. And pro-tip current pick to pay in DKK instead of USD, your credit card will give you a better exchange rate (even with fees).