There really need to be some changes within the fashion industry toward safety regulations, but what can we, the average consumers, do to help this change? One solution I can think of is to buy luxury clothing and accesssories. If a company isn't doing everything in its power to make the clothes as cheap as possible, the chances of them using safer production methods go up. But that still doesn't stop profit-hungry companies from cutting costs to make even more money. So what are we to do?

The death toll in Bangladesh’s garment industry is staggering, with 1,000 dead over the past several years. In the latest tragedy, an eight-story building that housed five garment factories collapsed, killing more than 500 so far, injuring more than 1,000 and leaving an unknown number of people trapped in the rubble of the Rana Plaza. And just five months earlier, a devastating fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory killed at least 112 garment workers.

These two tragedies are not isolated. Since Tazreen, at least 40 incidents causing death and injuries as the result of fires and explosions at garment factories have occurred. Undoubtedly more will follow unless the major fashion brands change their business models. Read More