The Post reports that production costs in China are rising and this will be passed on to the American consumer who shops at places like Forever 21 and Macy’s. However, H&M’s prices are going down. The dress you see here will cost only $4.95, which Vogue Daily notes is less than the cost of a Starbucks frappuccino. An H&M rep explained how they can manage to sell dresses for under $5 and trenches for $20.
“We have over 2,000 stores in 37 countries. This provides high volume and there is no middleman. We have our own team of over 100 in-house designers and we do all our own production.” Asked about working conditions in the many countries where H&M merchandise is produced, Uglialoro sends over the company’s Code of Conduct, which discusses H&M’s stands on child labor, health and safety, sustainability, and other issues. And there’s a Q&A section on their Web site where questions like, “Why don’t you pay the factory workers more?” and “How does H&M check that suppliers are abiding by its Code of Conduct?” are addressed.
That $4.95 price tag is pretty ridiculous. In this town that buys you, like, 0.3 ounces of tequila at a bar.
Price hikes in fa$hion next year [NYP]
Do I Get a Coffee? A Snack? Or Something to Wear? The H&M $4.95 Dress [Vogue Daily/Vogue]
