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.

“The intersection of fashion and politics in nineteenth-century Argentina

Following Argentina’s revolution in 1810, the dress of young patriots inspired a nation and distanced its politics from the relics of Spanish colonialism. Fashion writing often escaped the notice of authorities, allowing authors to masquerade political ideas under the guise of frivolity and entertainment. In Couture and Consensus, Regina A. Root maps this pivotal and overlooked facet of Argentine cultural history, showing how politics emerged from dress to disrupt authoritarian practices and stimulate creativity in a newly independent nation.

Drawing from genres as diverse as fiction, poetry, songs, and fashion magazines, Root offers a sartorial history that produces an original understanding of how Argentina forged its identity during the regime of Juan Manuel de Rosas (1829–1852), a critical historical time. Couture and Consensus closely analyzes military uniforms, women’s dress, and the novels of the era to reveal fashion’s role in advancing an agenda and disseminating political goals, notions Root connects to the contemporary moment.

An insightful presentation of the discourse of fashion, Couture and Consensus also paints a riveting portrait of Argentine society in the nineteenth century—its politics, people, and creative forces.”

                                                                  Source: University of Minnesota Press

YES!! Sounds like an amazing read!

“Wearing unclean clothes is a social taboo. Yet behind this everyday routine there are some major resource, pollution and social problems.” (Designer Emma Rigby, Energy Water Fashion)

Emma Rigby investigates the nature of behaviours and rituals surrounding fashion and clothing, allowing a cross-disciplinary approach to best practices in design to help mitigate the negative impact of excessive laundering, in her work Energy Water Fashion.

Rigby has used her transdisciplinary approach toward design to create a line of projects that reduce environmental impact: “[e]ach garment incorporates a unique design feature to encourage the wearer to wash the garment less often.” (Emma Rigby)

Brilliantly, Rigby has incorporated careful washing instructions into the very essence of each garment, noting that the user must wear the item for a minimum number of times (10-30 wears per wash, depending on the item) before it can be laundered. This is encouraged to optimize the nature of the garment itself.

I encourage you to visit Energy Water Fashion and explore Rigby’s methods for inspiration for your own designs and/or personal garment care.

A Bangladeshi policeman hits a child with a baton during clashes with a garment workers in Dhaka. Image via The Guardian, Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images.

Last week, Mary wrote about the large scale garment worker protests in Bangladesh. If you don’t know about this issue, I urge you to read more on Mary’s post as well as other sources such as The Guardian, Reuters, and The Daily Star. To view a powerful photo gallery click here. 

In February 2010, the Bangladesh Garments Workers Unity Council, a federation of Bangladeshi garment worker organizations, submitted a list of 5 demands to the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).  These demands are: 

1. increase the minimum wage to 5,000 Taka
2. removing labour (Amendment) act-2009
3. cease plans to form an ‘Industrial Police’
4. fixing production rates prior to production
5. ensure the freedom of association and to form unions as per ILO conventions

At the moment, workers are near the end of a “month-long peaceful agitation programme to press home their five-point demand”.  SA will continue the coverage on this situation including in-depth posts on the worker demands. 

SA founder Mary Hanlon shares her message.

Social Alterations has put together a visual message to the workers and others involved.  Bangladeshi garment workers need our support to increase their hourly wage. By uploading your photo and message, you are not only allowing these workers to see your face, but you are also empowering them with the simple statement that you can see them, and that they are not alone. 

 The United Nations defines extreme poverty as individuals living on less than a dollar a day…current minimum wages in Bangladesh sit at 11.5 cents/hour (that’s 25$ per month and less than a dollar a day). 

Upload your photo to flickr and tag the image “SABangladeshProject”: once you have done this, your photo will be added to the pool of public images under this same tag: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/sabangladeshproject/. Please be sure to tag the image #SABangladeshProject, or we won’t be able to find you! If flickr is not for you, you can upload to the SA facebook fan page, or thorugh twitter (@SA_FashionLab). You can also email us your photo and we will upload it for you.  

Don’t forget to tell us where you are sending your photo from! 

Not sure what to write on your sign? Here are a few suggestions to get you started: 

“Bangladesh needs a living wage now!”
“I support Bangladeshi garment workers!”
“ < 1.00 $/day = extreme poverty”
“In Solidarity”
“Less than 1$ a day is extreme poverty: Bangladeshi garment workers deserve better”

A fan from Kaohsiung, Taiwan with their message.

  ]]> http://socialalterations.com/2010/07/22/sa-visual-lab-the-bangladesh-project/feed/ 2 http://socialalterations.com/2010/07/15/voices-fairware-product-with-purpose/ http://socialalterations.com/2010/07/15/voices-fairware-product-with-purpose/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:26:37 +0000 maryhanlon http://socialalterations.com/?p=3174 This post was written by Leah Nielsen of Fairware and tells the story of product with purpose: promotional products for your conscious. VOICES // a feature space on SA where community members are invited to share their journey in responsible design. What’s your story? 

Product with Purpose – in our experience, it’s an obscure concept in the promotional product industry. When you think of corporate give-aways (a.k.a SWAG – the stuff we all get), the idea of cheap, disposable, relatively useless items probably comes to mind first.

At Fairware we work with our clients to incorporate the concept of Product with Purpose into their purchasing of custom imprinted and branded products. At the most basic level, we do this by helping organizations source from suppliers that meet social and environmental standards. The Fairware Supplier Code of Conduct is modeled on the Fair Labor Association’s Code of Conduct and sets the standards we encourage our suppliers to meet. By keeping true to this supplier Code, we aim to source products that support our clients’ commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

This can be a real challenge (read about our co-founder’s recent trip to China to audit tote bag factories HERE). We’ve found that social and environmental responsibility standards haven’t been established in the promotional product industry to the same extent that they’ve been recognized in the apparel or footwear industry. When dealing with products that are less than $10, or even less than $1, implementing changes to the supply chain can be daunting.

But the work needs to be done. It’s a major brand risk to market your company as “green”, “socially conscious”, “sustainable” and generally “good” and then put your logo on a garment made in sweatshop conditions or a product that’s toxic to people’s health.

Beyond providing social and environmental assurances, we also aim to find high quality, stylish and useful products that break the mold of your typical SWAG. We market items that people won’t throw away a week after they receive them and encourage our clients to choose products that serve a purpose. Better yet, we supply clients with ideas that support broader behavioral change. Here are a few examples:

AVEDA: Each year Aveda salons support Earth Month by raising funds for grassroot organizations that support biodiversity and address environmental issues around the world. This year, the focus was on clean water and Fairware supplied salons across North America with stainless steel water bottles to sell as fundraisers. In addition to raising money for a great cause, the reusable bottles support a movement away from store-bought bottled water.

Seventh Genearation: We created zero-waste lunch kits for Seventh Generation’s broker sales force. Each kit featured an embroidered cotton carry bag, engraved stainless steel tiffin tin, reusable bamboo cutlery and messaging on the amount of take-out container waste generated annually.

Ben & Jerry’s:  The black and white cow of Ben & Jerry’s logo is well-recognized and loved. We sourced fully customized tote bags for Ben & Jerry’s gift stores that additionally featured a message of “reduce, reuse, recycle”.

It’s been established that custom branded products are an effective marketing and awareness-raising tool. At Fairware we add value by sourcing products with purpose, ensuring our clients’ promotional items align with their social and environmental values.

“The garment industry accounts for more than 80% of impoverished Bangladesh’s £10bn annual export earnings” (Jason Burke, The Guardian)

Millions of Bangladeshi workers took to the streets of Dhaka recently to protect their rights as workers only to find their basic human rights violated. Chilling images illustrate systemic violence and corruption, as workers went on strike to demand a better wage. Many of the images that emerged showcased children at the centre of the violent riots. Currently, the legal minimum wage for a garment worker in Bangladesh is 11½ ¢/ hour (an estimated $25/ month). The workers are asking for a 35¢/ hour minimum wage, as a result in a 100-200% increase in cost of living since 2006, when the current wage was set. It is estimated that the Bangladeshi garment industry is made up of more than 3 million workers.

[Image via The Guardian: A Bangladeshi policeman appears to be about to hit a child during clashes with garment workers in Dhaka. Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images]

According to Clothesource, the situation for workers will only worsen if buyers decide to pull out on account of the violence. As a result, they recommend buyers:

• To continue buying from Bangladesh
• To mistrust scare stories of imminent chaos
• To continue pressure for decent wages
• But to source from Bangladesh only garments that can survive extended production cycles.

Click here to learn the details on why.

Here is an excerpt of a testimony of a Bangladeshi Garment Worker, taken by the National Labour Committee:

“My name is Shana K–.  I am 18 years old and work as a sewing operator at the Meridian Garments factory.  I started working three years ago at several different sewing factories.

My duty at Meridian starts at 8:00 a.m. and regularly ends at 10:00 p.m. or 12:00 midnight.  There are also 14 to 15 all-night shifts [per month] to 3:00 a.m.  Management allows workers to leave at 8:00 p.m., to go home at eat supper and rest before starting the night shift at 10:00 p.m.  I don’t get any weekly day off.  On Saturdays, management allows us to leave work at 8:00 p.m.  On average, we can enjoy just one day off in two or three months.  I studied up to the 9^th grade, but unfortunately, could not continue my studies due to financial hardship […]” Click here to keep reading Shana’s story.

According to the NLC, workers’ minimum wage demands breakdown as follows:

$0.35 an hour

$2.77 a day (8 hours)

$16.60 a week (48 hours)

$71.84 a month

$863.31 a year

Meanwhile, the Jakarta Globe has reported that Uniqlo has launched a partnership with Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus to develop and implement a “Grameen Uniqlo” and establish a textiles company that will make clothing, as well as source local materials: “[i]t “plans to hire up to 2,000 local people within three years, drawn mainly from the eight million borrowers of Yunus’s microcredit Grameen Bank, and train them to become financially independent by selling clothes.”

Back to the case at hand, the government of Bangladesh has claimed it will raise the salaries of garments workers by the end of this month. Negotiations are set to continue sometime between/around July 20^th and July 27^th.  We will have more on this story as it develops. For now, consider this final quote, and consider taking action in solidarity with the garment workers:

“Intense violence has been part of how garments are made in Bangladesh for some years now. It’s unlikely to get better soon: workers are the world’s worst paid, the country’s government has made a foolish public commitment to a timetable for better pay it simply cannot deliver on, its factory owners simply refuse to make any serious wage concession, and there may well be a germ of truth in businesses’ constant claims of a conspiracy to destroy the country’s factories.” (Clothesource)

Click here to sign the NLC’s joint letter to Walmart CEO Mike Duke, to support the human rights of garment workers in Bangladesh.

For more information human rights and Bangladesh, click here to read “The State of Human Rights in Bangladesh 2009” by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

Blaise Springfield, President of the Student Ethical Fashion Organization 2010-11 (SEFO) at The College of William and Mary, has informed us that the college Provost has just asserted that “by the fall he will have enacted a committee to monitor the production of all apparel that bears the college’s logo.” (Blaise Springfield, SEFO)

This win is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of a small group of W&M students (KB Brower, Alex Leach, Ruoyan Sun, and Blaise Springfield), along with the support of key faculty and staff.

“We will now have committee of students, staff, and faculty that monitors reports from the WRC and ensures that the college’s code of conduct is followed by vendors.” (Blaise Springfield, SEFO)

Not only is this is an amazing accomplishment, we hope it is a story that will inspire other students to take action.  

Blaise has authorized us to post their research, A Report on the Status of Ethical Fashion At The College of William and Mary, with the hope it will serve as a template for action!

Congratulations SEFO!

If you’re looking for further information on this aspect of a garment’s lifecycle, I strongly suggest reading Pietra Rivoli‘s The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade.

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 are some details:

Progressive brands and retailers have been exploring sustainability initiatives since the middle half of the last decade: testing initiatives first internally and now considering roll-out through their global supply chains. R&D work on sustainability for some of the firms such as Nike and Adidas has been ongoing in their corporate responsibility groups and now is now being integrated into their core business. Similarly leading retailers like Walmart and Marks & Spencer have made this a centerpiece of their new strategy. Several other global players such as PvH and IndiTex are working at integrating sustainability into their EHS initiatives.

[…]

The report makes the case that the coming decade is going to be about sustainability and optimally using natural resources to generate value in the textile supply chain. The analogy offered is that of quality and the movement towards ISO 9000 in the early 1990s. The investments being made in sustainability allow companies to use fewer resources for greater output. Manufacturers that are early adopters on carbon efficiency, water conservation, energy savings, etc. will not only add to their bottom line but also have an opportunity to differentiate themselves with the buyers in the near term.

This report also touches upon initiatives that companies have already started to engage in to improve raw materials in the supply chain, such as the Better Cotton Initiative and the Organic Exchange. In addition, the report discusses other initiatives where buyers are coming together to form a unified voice, including the Outdoor Industry Association, and working groups assembled by the Business for Social Responsibility (BSR). While much of the current work being done to increase the sustainability of the global textile supply chain is still in its early stages or being applied regionally, in the next 24-36 months these initiatives are expected to significantly influence the mainstream business practices globally.

March to Sustainability 2010 makes some predictions:

1.  By the end of 2011 all major textile brands and retailers will have announced initiatives that involve working with a more sustainable supply chain. Most of the firms are already implementing measures within their own facilities and it is a matter of months before they look to their supply chain which is where the majority of the environmental footprint exists. The expectation is that the movement beyond early adopters and into the mainstream will happen between 2012 and 2015.

2. Textile brands will make supplier choices based on which suppliers are able to report and demonstrate sustainability measures.

3. Brands and retailers may struggle initially in mapping out their supply chain but that issue is expected to be overcome by 2011.

4. Some of the low-hanging opportunities from a retailer standpoint will be focused on generating savings on the logistics front through a variety of policy measures on use of transportation alternatives, packaging optimization etc. Several of these measures are expected to gain momentum within 2010 itself.

5.  From a supply perspective, vertically integrated firms are likely to be early adopters of sustainability reporting because they have easy visibility throughout their supply chain. They will also likely use this as a market advantage.

6. There will be buzz around carbon non-tariff barriers being raised by some textile exporting nations at the WTO. However the outlook is that market mechanics will soon trump these concerns.

7.  The buzz around organic cotton will continue to increase. However there is a growing realization that organic cotton is going to remain a small percentage of the overall raw material for the textile sector and hence the emphasis is expected to build towards other sustainable materials.

                                                                                                                  (Source: cKinetics)

The full report will set you back USD 150, and is available for purchase here.