Author Archives: Mary Hanlon

Bangladeshi garment workers denied rights, War on Want reports

War on Want has published a new report outlining current conditions for garment workers in Bangladesh—Stitched Up: Women workers in the Bangladeshi garment sector.

Of the many issues addressed in this report, the research outlines the true impact of short lead times, explaining how wages earned can depend on whether or not a worker meets production deadlines. It also showcases certain worker rights that have been denied as a result of an absent rule of law.

“The research conducted for this report reveals that women in the garment sector have been systematically denied their rights to maternity leave under Bangladeshi law.” (Stitched Up: pg 8 )

The report investigated 41 garment factories (there are an estimated 4,825 garment factories in Bangladesh) and interviewed nearly 1000 workers (there are an estimated 3 million garment workers in Bangladesh) (Stitched Up: pg 2). 86% of the mostly women interviewed (988/1000) were between the ages of 18-31 (Stitched Up: pg 2).

Head on over to War on Want to read the report and to learn more.

Autodesk streamlines responsible design education with innovative video lecture series

With a little help from Mr. Imagination, Dawn Danby, Sustainable Design Program Manager at Autodesk, and Jeremy Faludi, Sustainable Design Expert and Stanford University Lecturer,  deliver video tutorials on responsible design through Autodesk’s Education Series: Design for Product Lifetime Strategies.

“Introduction to Design for Product Lifetime” (embedded below) is just one of many lectures up and running, including “Design for Durability” and “Design for Disassembly and Recycling.”

Head on over to Autodesk’s Education Community to learn more, and check out the YouTube channel!

Designing values, Cradle to Cradle

No matter where we sit—consumer, designer, marketer, researcher, educator, etc.—on the global apparel supply chain, our understanding of responsibility stems from our values, individual or shared.

“By design, we start with values” (William McDonough)

We must constantly ask ourselves: “What are my values? What are my intentions? Do they align? How do they translate in practice?” Easier said than done? Not with Cradle to Cradle (C2C) design theory: C2C encapsulates values in design, by design.

 

Designers Accord – Sustainability in 7 – Bill McDonough from Core77 on Vimeo.

Image Source: “Am I happier now?” image by Carlotta Cataldi, of Slow Fashion Forward

Video Source: Core 77, Sustainability in 7 (via the Designers Accord)

 

Fashioning an Ethical Industry and London College of Fashion report // Steps Towards Sustainability: Snapshot Bangladesh

 

Earlier this year, Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI) and London College of Fashion joined forces to produce Steps Towards Sustainability: Snapshot Bangladesh — A resource for fashion students and educators.

“the seeds for creating a vibrant, more sustainable fashion industry in Bangladesh have started to be sown”

(Steps Towards Sustainability: Snapshot Bangladesh: pg. 4)

This must read report presents case studies as a snapshot that “[e]ducators and students can explore them from design, business and apparel management perspectives.” (Steps Towards Sustainability: Snapshot Bangladesh: pg. 6)

Case Study 1

People Tree: Designing differently

Case Study 2

New Look and Echotex: Addressing long hours, low pay and buying practices

Case Study 3

Aranya Crafts: Pioneers in natural dyes

 

Citation: Parker, E. (2011) Steps towards Sustainability in Fashion: Snapshot Bangladesh, edited by Hammond, L., Higginson, H. and Williams,D., London College of Fashion and Fashioning an Ethical Industry.

Ethical Fashion Forum inspires and rewards through INNOVATION

The 2011 Ethical Fashion Forum INNOVATION Award winners (UK) and shortlisted candidates (USA) have been announced!

With an expert judging panel, the INNOVATION award inspires and rewards, with winners showcased through widespread press coverage, an opportunity to show at Pure London (August) or Nolcha Fashion Week (September) and a professional photoshoot.

Head on over to EFF site to check out all the details:

EKO – Winner of Pure Award

Chichia for Made by Africa – Winner of Pure Award

Caipora – Winner of Accessories Award

A.L.A.S – Winner of PURE Spirit Award

Genuine Article – Winner of One to Watch Award

ULTRA – Winner of Innovation in Design and Sourcing Award

Shortlisted candidates for the Innovation USA Award have also been announced:

ADO Clothing

AFIA

The Andean Collection

Auralis Inc

AVNI

Carrie Parry

ETHOS

MADIT TUISK

MODAHNIK

SOHAM DAVE

Congratulations to EFF, INNOVATION Award winners and all shortlisted entries!

Oxfam International // Supporting garment workers through education and engagement

You know Oxfam as a leader in global humanitarian efforts—working toward poverty reduction, advocating and campaigning on behalf of human rights, leading the fight against unregulated international arms trade (all the way to the UN, with Arms Trade Treaty negotiations expected to close in 2012), promoting gender equality, health and education, responding to both chronic and acute social, environmental and economic crisis…the list goes on.

What you may not know is that Oxfam is also committed to supporting systemic change with respect to the labour rights of garment workers internationally through education and engagement.

Here are some of the exciting projects they’ve been working on—all excellent for use in the classroom:

While her name has been changed to protect her family and to ensure her job security (‘Sewani’ is an abbreviated word for ‘seorang wanita’ in Indonesian, meaning ‘woman’), her story is real: “I hope that by sharing this story people can have some image of the workers that are making their shoes. Some image of who we are and what our lives are like. I’m sure our conditions are really different with those who can afford to buy the shoes we make. Who knows, when they understand our conditions, they might speak out for us. We also want to live in better conditions.” (Sewani) Readers can send Sewani questions and leave comments on the blog.

By answering these FAQ’s, Oxfam has empowered educators, consumers, designers and proprietors alike to think critically about their role in the global apparel supply chain.

  • Oxfam Australia has run several successful campaigns in support of decent work, driving change through an online actions centre dedicated to worker’s rights.

Workshop //Sweatshops – 70 minutes

Lesson Plans:

No Sweat – Grade 9 Lesson Plan

No Sweat – Grade 10 Lesson Plan

No Sweat – OAC Geography Lesson Plan

No Sweat – OAC Poli Sci Lesson Plan

Oxfam GB has created a 25 minute assembly designed to educate students on the hidden narrative of labour taking place behind the brand, factory conditions and worker’s rights, cause and consequence of cheap labour and ways to take action. Materials include Assembly Slides, (in PowerPoint) and Supporting Notes (PDF).

Oxfam GB has also created a series of lessons that follow the cotton supply chain in India:

Background information about cotton, trade and India

Photo gallery of clothes production

Lesson 1: Placing India in the world

Lesson 2: Finding out about India

Lesson 3: Where does cotton grow?

Lesson 4: Tracking trade

Lesson 5: Questioning a photo

Lesson 6: Before and after

Lesson 7: Matching captions to photos

Lesson 8: Putting photos in sequence

Lesson 9: Oral presentation

Lesson 10: Ways of working

Lesson 11: Print making

Lesson 12: Fair Trade

Extra material to support your teaching

Moving beyond the classroom, Oxfam GB has partnered with Marks & Spencer to keep clothing out of landfills: “[s]ince 2009, they have diverted over 5 million tonnes of clothing from landfill, and raised £3 million for Oxfam.” (Trewin Restorick, for the Guardian Professional Network)

So, Oxfam is not only a leader in global humanitarian relief, but also in responsible knowledge sharing and cross-sector collaboration with respect to responsible apparel.

Advocates for child rights in India compromised — BBC apologises

You may recall the BBC One documentary “Panorama: Primark – On the Rack” (June 2008) that, allegedly, uncovered Primark subcontractors exploiting children in India for cheap labour.

Well, if you’ve been following the latest in the BBC/Panorama/Primark scandal, you’ve likely heard the news this month that footage from the BBC report is now said to have been fraudulent.

According to the BBC Trust, “Primark complained about the programme to the BBC Executive and then appealed to the Editorial Standards Committee of the BBC Trust (“the Committee”) against the decision of the BBC Executive’s Editorial Complaints Unit (“the ECU”).”

The Committee determined that Dan McDougall’s reporting was, essentially, staged; “the Committee concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, it was more likely than not that the Bangalore footage was not authentic.”

UK Guardian reporter James Robinson writes “[t]he decision by the trust is understood to have infuriated BBC News staff, who privately say that the Primark case has demonstrated that the corporation’s complaints procedure is flawed.”

What did McDougall have to say on the Committee’s findings? McDougall claims to “have rarely seen a finding so unjust in outcome, flawed in process, and deeply damaging to investigative journalism.”

It’s important to remember that the reporting in question was the footage from Bangalore alone, and that there was other footage within the documentary depicting work done by children and homeworkers:

  • 23 February – In a refugee camp on the outskirts of Tirupur, the Journalist films two children working on the Complainant’s garments.
  • 24 February – In Pollachi, the Journalist finds the Complainant’s sequinned vest tops outsourced to home workers.

(Source: Finding of the Editorial Standards Committee of the BBC Trust:  Pg. 15)

And so, in the end, the BBC says it will apologize to Primark for claiming the company was guilty of using child labour in India….when the company is allegedly guilty of using child labour in India? Right.

Well, at least we know the Indian Government will be happy; a recent post by Clothesource Comments breaks down the true impact a scandal like this has in the Indian context quite poignantly, claiming the incident has crippled the tireless efforts of organizations working to eradicate child labour within the country.

Be sure to keep your eye on this story—only time will tell how it all will play out.

Kalpona Akter calls on Wal-Mart shareholders to stand-up for garment workers internationally

This past Friday, Kalpona Akter, of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), addressed Wal-Mart shareholders at their annual meeting to present the NYC Pension Funds’ shareholder proposal for Wal-Mart Supplier Human and Workers’ Rights Reporting, with the support of New York City Comptroller John C. Liu.

You can listen in on her empowered speech here (you’ll have to move ahead in the video—she addresses the shareholders from 2:14:30 – 2:19:22). You can also hear from Akter in a recent interview on Free Speech Radio News.

As we have reported, Akter is facing a potential life sentence, even possibly the death penalty, on what she says are fabricated charges from an alleged Wal-Mart subcontractor, among others.

Why is Wal-Mart such a big player to have on board in the struggle for decent work in Bangladesh? According to Akter, 12-15% of garments made in the country are produced for Wal-Mart. What’s more, of the 11 cases filed against labour activists as a result of the large-scale protests last year, 4 have allegedly come from a Wal-Mart subcontractor.

The New York Times reports that the Pension Funds’ shareholder “proposal states that there is a ‘significant gap between general policies against labor and human rights abuse and more detailed standards and enforcement mechanisms required to carry them out.’

It asks vendors to publish yearly reports that ‘include the supplier’s objective assessments and measurements of performance on workplace safety, and human and worker rights, using internationally recognized standards, indicators and measurement protocols.’ (New York Times)

Wal-Mart’s initial response claimed that such a policy would threaten access to certain products, acknowledging the difficulty in convincing their suppliers to get on board. “The company contends that even if it could enforce such a plan, to do so might threaten the availability of certain products from those who did not comply.” (New York Times)

United Nations celebrates World Environment Day

“To sustainably reduce poverty, guarantee food and nutrition security and provide decent employment for growing populations, we must make the most intelligent use of our natural capital.” (UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon)

Achim Steiner UNEP Executive Director from UNEP on Vimeo.

WED Challenge behind the scene from UNEP on Vimeo.

Happy World Environment Day! Environmental security is a human right!

What can you do? Get involved and register your activity or pledge an action here.

One of the best ways to take action is to spread the word! Educators, there are a ton of resources over on the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) site to assist you in your classroom—like the Forest Facts page, for example.

Interactive lesson plans educate learners on responsible fashion

The Creative Commons is embedded into our responsible education ethos; we have researched and aggregated content to create educational resources because we believe that accessibility leads to accountability. Of course knowledge is power, but without access to knowledge we will not move forward.

In 2009 we brought you “[Lesson 1] Sifting through the ‘Ecofashion’ Lexicon” and our “Fibre Analysis”. In 2010 we worked further to bringing you lessons on the social, cultural, economic and environmental interdisciplinary challenges facing the value system that is the global apparel supply chain.

Social Alterations 2010 //

[Lesson 4] Corporate Social Responsibility

[Lesson 3] Global Governance and the Corporation

[Lesson 2] Connect // Key Players

[Fashion High] Understanding the Impact of your Clothing (pre-16 learners)

Social Alterations 2009 //

 

[Lesson 1] Sifting through the ‘Ecofashion’ Lexicon

Fibre Analysis

Check out this how to on navigating our site:

Social Alterations 2010 // Program Guide from Social Alterations on Vimeo.