Ethical Fashion: The Hidden Human Cost of the Clothes We Wear | Robert Handfield & MD Rejaul Hasan

What is the hidden human cost of ethical fashion? Explore how clothing supply chains affect garment workers, human rights, and human flourishing.

Every time we buy clothing, we participate in a global supply chain. But how much do we really know about the people who make what we wear?

In this episode of Stories of Impact, Dr. Robert Handfield and Dr. MD Rejaul Hasan of North Carolina State University explain why ethical fashion requires more than environmental sustainability. It also demands safe workplaces, fair treatment, and respect for the human rights of garment workers.

Drawing on decades of supply chain research and firsthand experience in apparel manufacturing, they examine the conditions behind global clothing production, including child labor, forced labor, unsafe factories, and the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh.

The researchers also introduce their proposed Ethical Apparel Index, a project designed to make information about factory working conditions more accessible to consumers and investors. They explain how greater transparency could help people make informed decisions, hold brands accountable, and support better treatment of workers.

At its heart, this conversation is about human flourishing: how our everyday choices connect us to people around the world, and why dignity, safety, and opportunity should matter at every stage of the supply chain.

Chapters:

1. Global supply chains and human rights (2:48)
2. Introducing the Ethical Apparel Index (7:10)
3. The countries and workers behind our apparel (8:08)
4. How transparency can change buying decisions (26:41)
5. What ethical fashion means for human flourishing (28:29)

Dr. Robert Handfield — Bank of America Professor of Supply Chain Management at North Carolina State University, with approximately 35 years of experience studying supply chains.

Dr. MD Rejaul Hasan — Textile engineer and researcher working on the Ethical Apparel Index at North Carolina State University's Poole College of Management. His research draws on experience in the garment manufacturing industry.

• Read the transcript of this episode
• Catch the video edition of this episode here: The Ethical Apparel Index
• Subscribe to Stories of Impact wherever you listen to podcasts
• Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube
• Comments, questions and suggestions info@storiesofimpact.org

Stories of Impact explores the art and science of human flourishing through conversations about wellbeing, hope, compassion, altruism, mindfulness, spirituality, positive psychology, and human connection. Presented by journalist Richard Sergay and writer-producer Tavia Gilbert, the podcast brings together research, personal stories, and conversations with experts to explore how individuals and communities can flourish.