Clothed in Integrity: Weaving Just Cultural Relations and the Garment Industry

Karen Danielson, Ph.D., is a research consultant at Laurentian
University who specializes in leisure, textiles, family life, and Japan.

This book originated over concern about the conditions of home workers
employed in the garment industry in Ontario. In addition to these local
concerns, the author discusses theology, international issues in free
trade, roles of women, economics, and the development of a coalition for
fair wages and working conditions.

Section 1 deals with the conditions of home workers in the garment
industry. It covers present, historical, and international conditions
and points out the need for solidarity. Section 2 deals with ethical
issues, including biases based on gender, race, and wealth; the neglect
and devaluation of private life; and the important elements of
socioeconomic ethics.

Paleczny describes how homework has become a strategy for paying lower
wages, although it is commonly described as a convenient opportunity for
women to combine their work with family responsibilities. Since
economics is not neutral and value-free, she presses for the
incorporation of ethics and social issues in economic policy. For
example, clothing production serves the accumulation of profit and
competitive vanity rather than meeting genuine human needs. As well,
disclosure of corporate practices is needed to enable consumers to make
factual judgments. Home management may be beyond the scope of public
decision-making, but it should not be beyond the concern of people in
public office.

Achieving socioeconomic justice in these circumstances is also an
important theological issue. Paleczny shows how consumers who are
neutral and Christians who seek the middle way may be maintaining
oppressive systems by helping to conceal the realities. She makes a
strong case for action against repression and favors legislation and
child-care programs.

Paleczny’s conclusions are supported by an extensive bibliography but
a limited amount of empirical data. Her request for dialogue and
collaboration is appropriate since many issues remain controversial. For
example, studies of privacy in family life and the ways in which
clothing serves genuine human needs might lead to somewhat modified
conclusions.