A Bangladeshi police slaps the face of a suspected protester during a clash with garment workers at Mirpur, Dhaka. Photo: Abir Abdullah/EPA via The Guardian

Let’s go back one year to July 2009.  The world economic downturn was in full swing.  In Ashulia, a major manufacturing center just outside of Dhaka, clashes were raging as “tens of thousands” of garment workers were protesting sudden wage cuts and unpaid salaries.  The protests began in late June and continued into July as they escalated in intensity with 2 workers dead, many injured, one case of factory arson and numerous incidents of vandalism.  The industry website Yarns and Fibers Exchange reported that:

“Since early 2008, salaries have been cut by an average of up to 30 percent, according to union leader Tauhidul Islam who said this week’s violence had been fuelled by desperation. “The workers hit the streets because their backs are up against the wall,” Islam said.

The government’s Factory Inspection Department said this week that 122 of 825 factories surveyed – or 14.7 percent – between January and May did not pay staff on time with eight not even paying the minimum wage.”

Spectators and workers watch as cloud of smoke billows out of the burning Ha-Meem Group complex at Narasinghapur in Ashulia. PHOTO: Shafiqul Alam / The Daily Star

The government’s response to these protests was a crackdown for fear of a loss of business.  In 2008, Bangladesh was one of the largest garment exporters in the world, second only to China.  This event, among others, provided even more pressure on the government to accept a proposal for the formations of an industrial police which had been on the table for a while.

According to official records released in August 2009,  Bangladeshi garment exports had reached an all time high in the previous fiscal year as the country became more competitive due to the economic crunch.  While the industry became competitive within the global market, manufacturers still had to compete within the national market.  As a result, manufacturers engaged in what has been described as a price war in an attempt to attract orders.  Because of this price war, industry insiders claim that they had to cut prices by 20% which decreased their profit margins.  But since many of the manufacturing companies are privately owned, fiscal data is not public and therefore these claims cannot be verified.

In the same month, the Minister of Industry alluded to a conspiracy by accusing “vested interests” of “trying to de-stabilise the ready-made garments sector” saying that “the government would not tolerate any attempts by these trouble makers to ruin the image of the garment manufacturing sector.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stated that an “industrial police could be an effective way to keep the export-oriented garment industry calm.” The government positions are understandable considering that the ready made garments industry accounts for around 80% of total exports, 40% of industrial jobs, and is a substantial source of foreign exchange reserves which are a valuable tool for maintaining currency stability (among other things).  Incidentally, the Finance Ministry rejected proposals for an industrial police due to the costs.

During the month of Ramadan (August 22-September 20), workers became restless once more as they demanded back pay, unpaid allowances and their Eid bonuses.  Reports on this are confusing and I don’t know which side is telling the truth.  The New Nation published two articles that reported the following:

via Fashioning an Ethical Industry

“BGMEA [Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association] president Abdus Salam Murshedy yesterday told The New Nation that it would become very tough to handle the possible labour unrest … ”Workers are demanding double bonus ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. They are raising some demands, which are not mentioned in the labour laws,” he said.”

“Under the labour law, there is no provision of paying festival allowances for garments workers”.

In those same articles the following was also reported:

“Labour leaders said workers are agitating for realisation of their just demands. They said workers are demanding full trade union rights and implementation of tripartite agreement of 2006.”

“The workers and employees are demanding two months’ salaries and full festival allowance, while traditionally any worker or employee is entitled to get festival allowance for his or her job for minimum one year.”

Either way, the industry demanded 30 billion Taka (~US$430,725,047) of government aid for the payment of wages and Eid bonuses by September 7th, 2009, complaining that the industry is struggling because the economic crisis caused a decrease in the number of orders.  This demand was rejected by the Finance Minister and later withdrawn by the BGMEA as an ‘error’. BDNews24.com reported that the union deadline for payment (September 16th) was ignored as some factories shut down for the Eid holiday without paying wages and bonuses.  It is unclear whether this was a widespread problem or not.

During this time, leaders of Samannito Garments Sramik Federation “demanded [the] formation of a wage board and payment of Tk 5,000 as minimum wage”. Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Faruq Khan announced that “a tripartite committee representing government, garment owners and workers has been working to fix the minimum wages for the garment workers.”

A man attempts to throw a burning mattress while others pelt policemen with stones and brickbats during a clash between agitating garment workers and law enforcers in Tongi yesterday. Photo: Amran Hossain / The Daily Star

On October 31st, workers at Nippon Garments factory came to work in the morning to find a notice informing them that the factory had closed for one month because of the economic downturn.  This event sparked violent clashes during which police fired rubber bullets in response to  stones and bricks being thrown by protesting workers.  A committee formed November 1st to investigate the events announced its findings in December asserting that “both the garment factory owner and the law enforcement agencies [are] at fault for the widespread violence that left three people dead.”

In January 2010, Touhidur Rahman, President of Bangladesh Poshak Shilpa Shramik Federation, told the The New Nation that a written demand for the formation of a wages commission was submitted on December 12th.  Salahuddin Swapan, President of Bangladesh Biplobi Garment Shramik Federation, claimed that the government had repeatedly assured them that a wages commission would be formed immediately to review the minimum wages of RMG workers.  He added that:

“We will wage movement by the first week of February. At first we will do conventions in different garment zones and later will hold a national convention to press home our demands…[n]ow we are sure that the government will not respond positively unless we go for tough movements.”

According to Bangladeshi labour law, wages are to be reassessed and adjusted every 3 years.  The last time that had happened was October 2006 meaning that the government was long over due.  January also saw further isolated clashes with 2 dead and numerous injuries.  The first wage commission meeting was held on January 24th but the BGMEA representative was absent leaving factory owners open to criticism that they were stalling the process.  BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy informed The New Nation that considering economic conditions, it was “impossible” for factories to pay higher wages and suggested that the government step in and provide workers with subsidies on necessities.

Worker unrest and the conditions related to it is a source of worry to global retailers and in February it was reported that they had “written a letter to the Bangladesh Prime Minister requesting her to take ‘swift’ measures to increase the minimum wage of nearly two million readymade garment (RMG) workers.” However, the same report pointed out that

Garment workers shout slogans as they block a street in Dhaka. Photo: Andrew Biraj/Reuters via The Guardian

retailers were paying lower prices than before for Bangladeshi products.  The retailer perspective was also in the news in March as France 24 reported that Bangladesh is “too cheap for comfort for some brands” explaining that the letter sent in January included Walmart, H&M, Carrefour and Levi Strauss.

“Current minimum wages “do not meet the basic needs of the workers and their families,” the letter said, adding that the government should set up a review board to reassess the minimum wage.

“The increased cost of living during 2008 and 2009 has contributed to the unrest among workers in the garment sector as wages have not been regularly revised,” the letter added.”

The report also included statements made by an unnamed source:

“”It’s absolutely unacceptable that minimum wages are just 25 dollars,” the Dhaka-based head of a top Western store, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

“We pay enough to factory owners, but we don’t think that the benefits trickle down to workers or are being spent on improving conditions,” he added.”

Other brands like Zara, JC Penny, Uniqlo, Tesco and Marks & Spencer have decided to forgo the middlemen and created their own liaison offices in Dhaka to “keep an eye on the conditions in which their branded goods are produced.” On the other hand, factory owners claim that the ‘concern’ of the retailers is a stunt pointing out that retailers have slashed order prices in response to low global demand.  Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, a factory owner and “vice president of the country’s leading exporters group” was quoted in the report complaining that:

“It’s not fair that they want us to hike workers’ salaries while the buyers continue to cut order prices”

Police say thousands of workers clashed with security forces at Ashulia via BBC

In another article in The Daily Star, BGMEA president Murshedy pointed out that the letter sent by retailers failed to mention unit prices and a need for an increase in order prices.  According to him, operation costs have increased by 25% over the past year but his order prices remain the same.

Isolated clashes continued throughout this time and in early April at a meeting organised by Garment Shramik Sangram Parishad (a platform of garment workers) in Dhaka, 7 worker demands were reiterated:

• Minimum wage at 5,000 Taka
• Changes to labour regulations
• Amend the Bangledeshi Labour Act of 2006 to match ILO convention
• Punish non-complaint factory owners
• Shut down unsafe factories
• 1 million Taka (~US$14,358) compensation to the families of workers who die due to safety violations
• Ensure the flow of gas and electricity to factories

President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Fazlul Hoque, agreed that there was a need for a wage hike but again pointed to other factors that need to be considered like productivity and inflation.  He also “called upon the workers to leave the labour leaders who exploit them, provoke rampage in the factories and destroy properties.”

Meanwhile, the government activated their security apparatus which created 8 “crisis management cells” situated in the main garment manufacturing districts.  The intelligence agency had a government mandate to investigate and “identify the culprits who were involved in making garment sector unstable through creating artificial chaos”.  Continuing with the conspiracy theme, The New Nation reported that following a meeting at the Ministry of Labour and Employment sources informed them that:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Photo via The Daily Star

“the Government believes that a vested quarter is active in the field to deteriorate the law and order situation in the country through raising differences among the owners and workers of the RMG industry.

They are trying to destroy the highest foreign exchange earning sector through creating chaos. To this effect they start to ransack in the garment factories on simple issues…

There are allegations against some labour leaders that they were destroying the RMG sector through creating chaos in a planned way. To stop their unruly activities the Government has ordered the detective agencies to investigate the legal status of their organisations.”

At the same meeting, a BGMEA representative was present and stated that the industry was being held hostage by “10 to 12 so called labour leaders.” It is unclear whether any of the “so called labour leaders” were present at this meeting.  However, they were present at the second wage board meeting that took place in April during which the board requested that detailed reports from both sides of the issue.  A statement made by the Minister of Labour and Manpower, Mosharraf Hossain, to the AFP promised a wage hike within 3 months.  This promise came as large-scale clashes rocked the country and labour unrest was no longer an isolated incident.

Speaking on May Day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused a “third party” of instigating unrest: “I’ve already come to know about the evil force, the persons involved in conspiracy to create unrest in the garment sector”.  The Minister of Labour called for the creation of labour unions saying that “[o]therwise the problems of the garment factories won’t be solved”.  Later in the same month, factory owners released their minimum wage proposal of 1,800 (~US$26) to 2,200 (~US$32) Taka/ month.  And as World Cup fever spread across the world, France 24 quoted one factory owner: “My garment factory has bled cash over the last few months as we lacked export orders due to the global meltdown…[b]ut over the last two weeks, I have used 50 workers to sew World Cup flags and made a great profit. Next month, I’ll be able to pay workers on time”.

In June, large-scale protests continued and the world finally began to take notice.

The numbers were small at first and increased quickly from 8,000 workers in Jamgarh district of Ashulia to 50,000 workers in Ashulia industrial area.  Clashes with government security forces were fierce as reports of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons were disseminated.  Many factories shut down for a short time fearing vandalism and violence.  The local police chief stated that protesters blocked a key highway, ransacked factories, fired live rounds and threw rocks.  These events were accompanied by a threat of a nation-wide wage-hike campaign.  The BGMEA responded with an appeal to workers:

“We have been reeling under acute gas and power crisis, which has affected our productivity…[a]nd now comes the call for shutdown from the unions. They should be logical. We have yet to bounce back from global meltdown and it is not the right time to seek such a huge wage hike”.

Factory owners suspended production indefinitely which alarmed many workers who took to the streets to protest the action.  After meeting with government representatives, production facilities opened again with assurances of safety and protection from violence and vandalism.  Again, clashes erupted 3 days after opposition parties called for a nation-wide general strike prompting the arrest of 131 opposition activists.  It is unclear how the garment worker protests are related to the general strike protests.  Still, at the end of June and into early July, scores of garment workers came out to protest prompting the dispatch of riot police.  Photos were released showing children, women and men being beaten by the police using batons and bamboo.  On July 2nd, garment workers began a month-long peaceful agitation program waiting until the results of the wage board negotiations on July 27th.

In mid-July, the New York Times published an article entitled Bangladesh, With Low Pay, Moves in on China, in it, Li & Fung, one of the largest sourcing companies in the world, explained that they had increased their production in Bangladesh by 20% in the past year while decreasing production in China by 5%.  The article also discussed the wage issue with factory owners arguing that a big increase of wages will make them less competitive not just against China but also against other cheap labour countries like Vietnam and Cambodia because those countries have better infrastructure and productivity levels.  The article ends with a foreshadowing statement by factory owner and former head of an unspecified Bangladeshi garment industry trade group, Anisul Huq:

“If it’s 5,000 taka, I would close all my factories…[e]ven if it’s 3,000 taka, lots of factories will close within three or four months.”

Garment worker Kulsi Begum, 20, shares this room with two other workers. They pay 1,500 taka rent a month, which is a large part of their 1,662 taka monthly salary. August 2009, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Taslima Akhter / Clean Clothes Campaign

The wage board announced two days ago that the new minimum wage would be set at 3,000 Taka (~US$43).  This amount includes a 200 Taka allowance for medical expenses and an 800 Taka allowance for housing leaving workers with 2,000 Taka (US$29) for other expenses.  The Daily Star reported that the factory owners’ representative would sign the deal today (July 29th) after adding some conditions including security for factory owners, release of an industrial stimulus package, a four-month time frame for implementation, zero tax at source, reduction of ship turnaround time at Chittagong port, and suspending a minimum charge on the use of gas and electricity.  Meanwhile, reports are mixed on the reaction of labour groups to the new minimum wage.  In the same Daily Star article as above, it was reported that:

“Towhidur Rahman, a coordinator of the Garment Sramik Oikya Parishad, said, “Tk 3,000 is not enough. I urge the government to reconsider the proposed pay structure.”

…Labour leaders and garment workers yesterday protested the proposed pay.

“We reject the proposed wage structure. We will stage demonstrations against the proposed pay in early August,” said Mushrefa Mishu, president of Garment Sramik Oikya Forum, at a rally in the capital’s Muktangon area.”

In an article published by the Jakarta Globe yesterday, unions claim that workers will accept this wage hike adding that “[n]early a dozen left-leaning unions, none of whom had representatives on the wage board, organized a protest in Dhaka on Wednesday, but the demonstration’s turnout was low.” The new minimum wage of 3,000 Taka will be formally announced today at 5pm by Labour and Employment Minister Hossain.  As for other demands, we just have to wait and see.

UN Refugee Agency Provides Shelter to Quake Victims (UN Photo/Evan Schneider) available under Creative Commons license on Flickr.

Along with father’s day, June 20th also marked World Refugee Day.  The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) along with its partners ran week-long awareness raising activities world wide centered around this year’s theme: Home.  The day was commemorated in different ways from a simulated refugee experience in Kuala Lumpur to free concerts and entertainment in Canada as part of Luminato, an annual festival of arts, culture and creativity.

In Syria, which hosts the largest number of Iraqi refugees, UNHCR chief António Guterres stated: “I appeal to the international community to do more to host refugees.” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also appealed to the international community reiterating this year’s message while “calling for working with host governments to deliver services.” So, the role of governments in this issue has been emphasized but is there a role for business?

One example of an ongoing program run in partnership with UNHCR is UNIQLO’s Clothing Recycling Initiative.  This initiative has been a part of UNIQLO’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in Japan since 2001 when they began recycling fleece and expanded to include the rest of their products in 2006.  According to the company:

Refugees in Liberia (UN Photo/John Isaac) available under Creative Commons license on Flickr.

Our initial intention was to recycle the clothes as fuel, but with the cooperation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), we started donating the clothes to refugee camps. After recognizing once more the great need for clothing and the critical role it plays, our focus has shifted from recycling to reuse. To that end, approximately 90% of the clothing we collect is donated to refugee camps the world over, including those in Nepal, Ethiopia and Georgia. To facilitate our decision-making process, we not only check shortages of clothing but also conduct research on levels of demand, taking into consideration season and size, religiously appropriate color, and details concerning differences in local culture. In addition, to avoid theft and reselling during transit to the refugee camps, we go to the sites ourselves and distribute the items with the cooperation of the UNHCR.

The program is explained by the company:

UNIQLO Recycling Program

Since 2006, UNIQLO has had collection drives in March, June and September and the number of collected items has increased significantly:

UNIQLO Recycling Program: Items Collected

Map: Recipients of UNIQLO Clothing

Beginning in March of this year, UNIQLO is accepting clothes for recycling year round in Japan.  The company also works with Tokyo Metropolitan High Schools and other educational organizations to bring awareness to the All-Product Recycling Initiative.

UNIQLO’s impact on the lives of refugees in 2009:

• September 2009: 150,000 pieces donated to Nepalese refugee camps

• June 2009: 79,000 pieces donated to Pakistani refugee camps

• March 2009: 280,000 pieces donated to Georgian refugee camps

For previous years click here.

According to their 2010 CSR report, UNIQLO collected 7021 items at two high schools in Tokyo after running a high school version of the Initiative.  UNIQLO’s goal is to reach 30 million items within 5 years — one for each refugee around the world. The company also plans to expand beyond donated clothing to include technical training for employment.

The impact of UNIQLO’s project cannot be underestimated.  Other than protection from the elements, clothing plays an essential role in human dignity, self-esteem and self-expression.  Thank you UNIQLO for taking on such an important and sometimes overlooked need for refugees. I hope that this program will expand to include UNIQLO’s  international locations soon.

Sources:

UNHCR

UNIQLO

UNIQLO CSR REPORT :  Section on the Initiative

Here is how it works: “With the CWACPG, visitors can browse and compare CWAC-approved clothing and accessories based on the criteria of their choosing. The idea is have all of the best eco / ethical product in one place, thus taking the hassle out of socially responsible shopping.” (Brad Bennett, Editor at CWAC).

The CWACPG organizes items by “Ethical Attribute,” showcasing only clothing and accessories that have been “CWAC-approved.” Amazing.

Congratulations to CWAC on a fantastic initiative. Check it out!!

The David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) has compiled a list of toxic chemicals to avoid in personal care products.  

Research has shown that “one in eight of the 82,000 ingredients used in personal care products are industrial chemicals, including carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors, plasticizers, degreasers, and surfactants.” (DSF)

You’ll notice that Formaldehyde has made the list. Please note that this chemical, a known human carcinogen, is widely used in permanent press fabric.  

Here’s who made the list:

BHA or BHT // Siloxanes // DEA // Dibutyl Phthalate // Formaldehyde-releasing Preservatives // Fragrance or Parfum // Coal Tar Dyes // Parabens // PEG compounds (e.g., PEG-60) // Petrolatum // Sodium Laureth Sulfate // Triclosan

Click here for more info.

In our activity “Talking Back” students were asked to ‘talk back’ to fashion magazines, by cutting out images and placing them on a poster board either under the category “OK!” or “NO THANKS.” Students at Balmoral said “NO THANKS!” to this fashion theme.

 I recently had the pleasure of stepping in as a guest speaker at Balmoral Jr. Secondary School, in North Vancouver (BC, Canada), to talk responsible fashion consumption with a fantastic group of Grade 10’s (thanks Ms. Thomson!).

Why? We got to talking recently at SA about how many of the resources we’re aggregating for fashion designers/students/educators are easily translated into resources for youth (pre-16). In fact, thanks to groups like Fashioning an Ethical Industry and TRAID (to name just a couple), so many resources on responsible fashion dedicated to students within this age bracket already exist.

Because we want to make sure teachers know where to go to access these great educational tools, we’ve pooled some of our favourites together to present to you what we think is an amazing workshop for Pre-16 students: [Fashion High] Understanding the Impact of your Clothing: An Introduction.

We want to share the experience with you here and give you all the tools you need to run your own workshop. We’ll be uploading a package for the 1 hour workshop I ran at Balmoral, as well as an extended 2 hour version of the same workshop. Like all of our content, these lessons are completely interdisciplinary.

I’ll be stepping back into the classroom at Balmoral soon, so to make sure that this workshop goes as smoothly as possible on your end, I will record some video footage to give you a sneak peak at how it all works together when put into action.  

My experience at Balmoral, here in Canada, was a complete success; Not only was I inspired by these students, encouraged at how comfortable they were discussing Human Rights and the environment within the fashion context, I believe that the workshop had a real impact on the students, providing them with tangible solutions to some very big problems.

Stay tuned for more on this.

Here are some images of the workshop:

“The design by Ruben @ Buro RuSt combines with the more than readable texts by Anne Lally combine to create an innovative, attractive description of the FWF approach to improving labour conditions in garment supply chains. In hardback or paperback.” (FWF)

Image: FWF’s focus (image from the Fair Wear formula, (c) Buro RuSt

If you aren’t already familiar with the Fair Wear Foundation, an international verification initiative dedicated to enhancing workers’ lives, take a minute to check out their guiding principles:

Supply chain responsibility = realising that the Code can only be fulfilled when sourcing companies, as well as factory management, actively pursue practices that support good working conditions.
Labour standards derived from ILO Conventions and the UN’s Declaration on Human Rights = basing FWF’s Code on internationally-recognised standards which have been set through tri-partite negotiation.
Multi-stakeholder verification = verification processes developed through multi-stakeholder negotiation, and involving experts from diverse disciplines and perspectives in FWF verification teams.
A process-approach to implementation = paying special attention to the means (i.e. building functioning industrial relations systems over time) in order to achieve the end (i.e. sustainable workplace improvements).
Involvement of stakeholders in production countries = engaging local partners in shaping FWF’s approach in a given region or country.
Transparency = keeping relevant stakeholders informed of FWF policies, activities, and results; publicly reporting on member company efforts to fulfil FWF requirements.

For more information on this publication, and others, contact info@fairwear.nl

Eco-conscious artist transforms trashed PCBs into stunning sculptures via Ecofriend

A roundup of some of the stories, headlines, and updates you may be interested in from in and around the community of socially responsible fashion design.

Become a Fan on Facebook for other news, links and regular updates.

Core77

Design and the public good

CSR Asia

Not for Sale: Exporting products from forced labour camps in China

CSR and poverty alleviation

CSR Europe

‘Degradable’ plastic not so environmentally fantastic, study reveals

Shoppers go green ‘to impress neighbours not to save planet’, study finds

UN report reveals financial cost of environmental damage

Corporate Responsibility comes of age  

Ecouterre

Kate Moss Dons Recycled Mosquito Net Dress For Malaria Awareness

BREAKING NEWS: Acid, Formaldehyde Found in Designer Clothing Brands

The Detectair is a “Smart” Vest That Sniffs Out Air Pollutants

Why Are There So Few Options in Men’s Eco-Fashion?

Karl Lagerfeld Ships 265 Ton Artic Iceberg to Paris for Fashion Show

Ecotextiles News

Help on organic and fairtrade supply chains

Gap Inc pushes denim recycling

Eco-Textile Labelling Guide 2010 – now published

AAFA updates restricted substances 

GOTS launches new database 

Liu Institute for Global Issues

Launch of the Global Health Network

Planet Green

There’s Going To Be a Little Less Cancer in Your Shampoo

Certified Organic Textile Companies Increase 40% Last Year: More than 50 countries now making organic cloth

The Centre for Sustainable Fashion

Call for Designers: Fashion Footprints – Sustainable Approaches

Rapid Prototype Shoes

Tesco Launches Recycled Clothing Collection  

The Global Compact

Principles for Responsible Management Education Initiative Adopts Governance Framework

Top Organizations Unite to Support Global Oath Initiative

859 Companies Delisted for Failure to Communicate on Progress

March 22nd is World Water Day. Here are just a handful of stats out of the UN report World Water Day 2010: Clean Water for a Healthy World, “Water quality facts and statistics”:

• Worldwide, infectious diseases such as waterborne diseases are the number one killer of children under five years old. More people die from unsafe water annually than from all forms of violence, including war. (WHO 2002)
• Unsafe water causes 4 billion cases of diarrhoea each year, and results in 2.2 million deaths, mostly of children under five. This means that 15% of child deaths each year are attributable to diarrhoea – a child dying every 15 seconds. In India alone, the single largest cause of ill health and death among children is diarrhoea, which kills nearly half a million children each year. (WHO and UNICEF 2000)
• Freshwater species have faced an estimated extinction rate five times greater than that of terrestrial species. (Ricciardi and Rasmussen 1999)
• Point-of- use drinking water treatment through chlorine and safe storage of water could result in 122.2 million avoided DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years, a measure of morbidity), at a total cost of US$ 11.4 billion. (UN WWAP 2003)
• 70% of untreated industrial wastes in developing countries are disposed into water where they contaminate existing water supplies. (UN-Water 2009)

For more stats and facts, and to download the full report click here.

Here is a video form charity: water, “a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects” on their campaign for Haiti.  

Unshaken – charity: water’s campaign for Haiti from charity: water on Vimeo.

Within the context of responsible fashion design, water consumption, pollution and contamination are endemic within the industry, make no mistake.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has done the math on cotton and water:

10,000-17,000 litres of water = 1 kg of cotton lint

6 pints of water = 1cotton bud

Global cotton consumption has been estimated to be responsible for 2.6 per cent of the global water use, however, much of the impact is not felt in the country where the cotton is consumed, but where it has been produced. As a global average, 44 per cent of the water use for cotton growth and processing is not for serving the domestic market but for export.

As a result it has been estimated that nearly half of the water problems in the world related to cotton growth and processing can be attributed to foreign demand for cotton products. In this respect, it has been calculated that 84% of EU’s cotton-related water footprint lies outside the EU, with major impacts particularly in India and Uzbekistan.

Cotton production has a high impact on freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity through activities such as excessive water withdrawal for irrigation, runoff from fields, drainage, pesticide application, dam construction and land reclamation. The activities result in a range of impacts from salinisation, pollution to loss of soil and biodiversity.

The issue of bottled water is yet another side of the story. The Story of Stuff has launched a new campaign, and added a new video to the popular Story of Stuff series “The Story of Bottled Water: How “manufactured demand” pushes what we don’t need and destroys what we need most”. Click here for more information.

UN Water has a TON of interactive campaign materials available online, so be sure to check them out and help spread the word and get involved.

To learn more about the potential social and environmental impacts of cotton in this context, check out the SA Fibre Analysis.

The David Suzuki Foundation has launched a FREE downloadable toolkit to help businesses and organizations tread a little more lightly on the planet.

“Work life isn’t just about punching a clock with a bunch of strangers. Smart employers know that their people are happiest and most productive when workplace culture matches their personal values. Companies who are in it for the long run know that reducing waste and increasing efficiency makes them more profitable and competitive.” (David Suzuki)

Here’s the pitch:

Does this sound like you?

• You care about the environment and want to see more done at work to protect it.
• You spend as much or more time with your co-workers than anyone else in your life.
• You want to bring your heart to work and show leadership in your organization.
• Your work would be more fulfilling if it connected to your personal values.

Then David Suzuki at Work is for you!

This toolkit will help you build a cleaner, greener workplace and save your organization time and money. You’ll build stronger relationships with the people you work with, and help the planet and your organization in the process.

“I am encouraged by the many people I’ve met who tell me they want to find ways to reduce their impact where they spend most of their time – at work. This toolkit is for them. It’s good for employees. It’s good for business. And it’s good for the planet.” (David Suzuki)

Click here to download a copy for your organization today.