Eps 1: Romanian show production or why clothing is optional
— Romo
Economic data shows Romanian clothing and textile workers are suffering from comparatively low wages, with increases lagging behind employees in other sectors.
Romanian Clothing Manufacturers, a company facilitating outsourcing for foreign brands, lists cheap, hardworking labour as a top selling point for investors, highlighting "the second lowest minimum wage out of 20 EU members."
The organisation claims that Romanian clothing and textile workers often live on or below the poverty line, with wages that make up only 14% of a living wage for a family.
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Allan Gregory
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To make the most of Romania's low-wage labour, LVMH established its first factory here in 2002, making it the world's largest retailer of high-quality clothing and accessories. The company, which facilitates the outsourcing of foreign brands, cites cheap, hard-working labor as a top selling point for investors, highlighting its low cost of living and low labor costs. Romanian textile and clothing production has collapsed over the last two years, with some 135,000 jobs lost as the VAT increase discourages foreign investment.
Somarest was not able to discuss how many shoes it currently produces, but said that production had increased by 70% in the last two years, indicating an increasing demand for the company's high-quality shoes and other products. The company produces more than 100,000 pairs of shoes per year, which is about a third of its total production. Even then, profits had slumped to five per cent of sales, compared with seven per cent for better deals.
Ciobotaru says it can only pay up to half of its 200 employees, and an estimated €1.5 million was spent on salaries and benefits in 2017, according to the National Statistics Institute. British brands have placed orders in Romanian factories in recent years, reflecting the high production costs in Romania and the lack of quality control.
Brexit has exposed the precarious state of Romania's textile industry, and the British vote to leave the EU has damaged Eastern Europe's ability to attract Western money. According to Pasculescu, Brexit is reflected in the number of factories trying to switch customers.
For years, the UK has been the second largest market for clothing from Eastern Europe after the United States, behind Germany.
But the relationship is in decline, with factory owners blaming stubbornly low prices of British brands. Efforts to renegotiate prices have been thwarted by a lack of permanent intermediaries such as the European Union, the EU and the International Trade Commission.
British fashion brands, which are known to have contracts with Romanian factories, have been contacted by BIRN to ask for price changes. Topshop said it could not provide information, while Debenhams said it sourced only 3 per cent of its products from Romania and could not comment on trade deals. According to the European Commission, the volume of trade has barely changed in recent years.
At the moment, our customers supply us with raw materials, but only a few parts are actually made in Romania and only in a very limited number of factories.
I would like Romanian factories to sell more than a minute's work and for brands to recognise the human component in the make-up process of clothing. Given that fashion brands are currently migrating to cheaper countries, I think that luxury brands should retain labels such as' Made in Romania 'because they are consistent with the quality of work, and have been doing so for many years. If brands know the country where their clothes are made, they know which company makes them, "he says.
REDU is a non-governmental organisation that carries out a project for the upcycling of second-hand clothing in Cluj-Napoca, Romania's second largest city. The project is being developed and developed in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Council for Human Rights. Those who are not transformed are taken to urban collection points, sorted, cleaned, sorted and distributed to disadvantaged social groups.
This is why our work is primarily about demonstrating the impact of the textile industry on the environment, "says one designer. It recalls that the country is a country with a well-developed textile industry, but also a very poor environment.
The Patzaikin hemp collection will be launched in spring 2019 and 95% of the clothing will be made in Romania. Hemp fibres are an extremely durable material and, refusing to follow the trends, the trio wanted to create a timeless collection. Returning to tradition does not just mean removing decorative elements, "explains Teodor Frolu.
Management says it has made an effort to make sure it doesn't show up in Google searches, but they say they're taking the trouble to make sure you don't let it pop up in Google searches.
Now the Guardian can report from inside the factory for the first time, confirming that thousands of Louis Vuitton shoes have been left outside its doors. Inside is a wall with the company's logo, a Louis Vuitton checkerboard print painted gray on a factory wall. The entire shoe is made in Romania before being sent to Italy where the soles are added, "said the anonymous worker.
The video was filmed by a woman who worked in the factory but later quit because of her husband, and by another woman who worked in another factory and later quit with her husband.