Category Archives: Labour

Winners Announced! Fashioning the Future

Miriam Rhida

I’ve got some exciting news to share with you! On November 25^th I won the “Systems for a Sustainable Future Award” in the Fashioning the Future international student competition. This competition is run through the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion. There were 5 winners in total, each representing five separate categories, with forty finalists over all. I’m excited to have had the opportunity to showcase and share my graduate research, and this website.

Emma Rigby

Zoe Fletcher won the Enterprise & Communication Initiative for a Future Fashion Industry Award (Highly Commended: Ruby Hoette and Julia Crew)

Varun Gambhir won the Role of Materials in a Sustainable Fashion Industry Award (Highly Commended: Karina Micheal)

Mary Hanlon won the Systems for a Sustainable Fashion Industry Award

Miriam Rhida won the Design for a Thriving Fashion Industry Award (Highly Commended: Eleanor Dorrien-Smith and On Ying Lai)

Emma Rigby won the Water – The Right for All Citizens of this Planet Award (Highly Commended: Anne Prahl).

International competitions such as the Fashioning the Future awards offer students the chance not only to showcase their work, but to benchmark themselves against other students in their field at the international level.

Please visit the Centre for Sustainable Fashion to check out the details of the competition, and the full list of finalists! For more images, check out this photo gallery from The Guardian.

On Ying

Also, if you are in London, be sure to stop by London’s City Hall and London College of Fashion to check out the highlights from the 2009 awards. Here are the details:

FASHIONING THE FUTURE AT CITY HALL, 19 November – 4 December 2009
Highlights of the 2009 awards to be showcased at London’s City Hall, with thanks to the London Sustainable Development Commission.
Open to the public, free of charge.
Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA

FASHIONING THE FUTURE AT FASHION SPACE GALLERY, 16 November – 11 December 2009
Highlights of the 2009 awards to be showcased at London College of Fashion.
Open to the public, free of charge.
London College of Fashion, 20 John Princes Street, London W1G 0BJ

Congratulations everyone! And thank you for your support!

Images via The Guardian

Update III: Uzbekistan’s Cotton Trail

Yet another update on forced and child labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector.

The Cotton Campaign continues to report on the flagrant abuse of human rights by the Uzbek government. There have been some unfortunate incidents linked to this year’s harvest (to read more about them click below) including:

Another post gives a quick overview of the findings in the Veritas preliminary report saying that:

The Cotton Campaign, through Ferghana.ru, has posted a list of representatives that were present at the Tashkent Cotton Fair. According to the Cotton Campaign, “contracts were signed for over 600,000 tons of this year’s crop alone, and the list of attendees was the largest ever.”

Take a look at the list and see if you recognize any names. Please let us know who they are and which companies they service. This is a big step in the ability to trace this harvest.

Finally, in case some are still wondering what the big deal is, here are some videos showing what life is like for the cotton labourers.

A Big Step for Russell Athletics, A Giant Leap for Best Practices

On November 17th, 2009, United Students Against Sweatshops announced its historic victory against Russell Athletics with an agreement to reinstate 1200 Honduran workers that had been laid off when Jerzees de Honduras factory shutdown shortly after unionization.

The Case:

As outlined in the previous post by Mary Hanlon: “Over a two-year period, Russell managers carried out a campaign of retaliation and intimidation in order to stop workers at two of the company’s Honduran factories from exercising their right to form a trade union and bargain collectively.”

Jerzees de Honduras which was directly owned and operated by Russell was one of the targeted factories. A report by the Worker Rights Consortium details that:

“Prior to the closure announcement, the WRC, as part of an ongoing inquiry into code compliance at Jerzees de Honduras, had identified persistent violations of workers’ associational rights, including multiple threats from management personnel that the factory would close because of the decision of workers to exercise their right to unionize. The WRC brought these violations to the attention of Russell’s senior management in the United States on multiple occasions, but the problems continued. Thus, at the time of the closure announcement, on October 8, 2008, the WRC already possessed substantial credible evidence that the decision to close the facility was, at least in significant part, a product of ongoing animus by the company toward workers’ exercise of their associational rights. The WRC reported this to universities on October 10, 2008.”

In a letter addressed to their collegiate partners, Russell emphatically denies these accusations stating that:

“The recent decision to close Jerzees de Honduras (JDH) had nothing to do with unions. In fact, we previously recognized that plant’s union status on October 3, 2007 — more than a year prior to the closing. As the Fair Labor Association (FLA) noted in its report: “If the primary motive of the company had been to frustrate the union, it could have closed JDH earlier and even switched production from Honduras to Mexico.”

We made the painful decision to close this plant due to deteriorating economic conditions that caused a severe global slowdown in the demand for fleece products. We are not alone in facing a decline in business. Approximately 25 different Honduran factories closed in the last year, including many apparel manufacturers. Furthermore, JDH was our only facility with a lease that permitted us to vacate immediately. The choice was that black and white, and an independent investigation commissioned by the FLA found that basing our decision on the lease saved the company $2 million, enabling us to protect jobs in our other plants. It’s also important to note the decline in the apparel market forced us to announce the closure of seven other company facilities in the U.S. and Central America, all of which were non-union.”

The Movement:

Following the shut down of the factory, USAS successfully lobbied around 100 universities to terminate or suspend their licensing contracts with Russell Athletics. According to the NYTimes, USAS used other pressure tactics and activist strategies:

“Going beyond their campuses, student activists picketed the N.B.A. finals in Orlando and Los Angeles this year to protest the league’s licensing agreement with Russell. They distributed fliers inside Sports Authority sporting goods stores and sent Twitter messages to customers of Dick’s Sporting Goods to urge them to boycott Russell products.

The students even sent activists to knock on Warren Buffett’s door in Omaha because his company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns Fruit of the Loom, Russell’s parent company.”

The students also worked with 65 members of Congress to draft a letter that expressed their “grave concern” and requested a response from the company to the allegations of misconduct. The letter can be found here.

While USAS was working hard to bring attention to the issue, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) decided to conduct a series of investigations into the allegations against Russell. In June, the FLA put Russell on a 90-day special review which “requires specific actions by Russell to address issues related to the closure of the Jerzees de Honduras factory and to be in good standing with the FLA.” The FLA then worked with Russell to create a remediation plan which the company must follow in order to be removed from special review status which was extended another 45 days. This status continues until the end of the current special review period which will be in mid-December.

The Conclusion:

On November 17th, after a series of talks and negotiations a statement was released that stated:

“Russell Athletic and the union of workers of Jerzees de Honduras S.A. de C.V. SITRAJERZEESH and the General Confederation of Workers are pleased to announce the completion of an agreement that is intended to foster workers rights in Honduras and establish a harmonious and cooperative labor-management relationship. This agreement represents a significant achievement in the history of the apparel sector in Honduras and in Central America.”

Highlights of the agreement are Russell’s promises to reopen the factory, reinstate 1200 former workers and recognize SITRAJERZEESH. Perhaps the most important promise is that of non-interference and union neutrality in all facilities owned by the company in Honduras.

Rod Palmquist, USAS International Campaign Co-ordinator, was quoted in the USAS press release describing the significance of this agreement:

“This is the first time we know of where a factory that was shut down to eliminate a union was later re-opened after a worker-activist campaign. This is also the first company-wide neutrality agreement in the history of the Central America apparel export industry – and it has been entered into by the largest private employer in Honduras, the largest exporter of t-shirts to the US market in the world.”

SA would like to congratulate everyone!!! Thank you for your hard work to make an unjust situation right again. This is an interesting example of work being done on multiple fronts to improve labour conditions. While this conclusion only affects workers in Russell and Fruit of the Loom factories in Honduras, it may become a big step in best practices in the Central American apparel industry.

Meet// Reyna Martinez: Stitched up in Honduras Speaker Tour

Over a two-year period, Russell managers carried out a campaign of retaliation and intimidation in order to stop workers at two of the company’s Honduran factories from exercising their right to organize and bargain collectively. (People & Planet)

Below is a message from Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI):

People and Planet and Labour behind the Label present Reyna Martinez – sharing her story of the mission to defend the human rights’ of factory workers supplying Fruit of the Loom in Honduras.

On November 7, 2008, a 36-page report documented serious violations of workers rights by the Russell Corporation, a company wholly owned by Fruit of the Loom. Over a two-year period, Russell managers carried out a campaign of retaliation and intimidation in order to stop workers at two of the company’s Honduran factories from exercising their right to form a trade union and bargain collectively.

The courage of workers in Honduras and a university boycott has forced Fruit of the Loom to listen to the pleas of their employees, and they are now negotiating with the union in Washington DC, which they previously refused to do.

Hear Reyna Martinez’s story:

24th November: Edinburgh University David Hume Tower, Conference Room
25th November: Birmingham University, Guild Council Chambers
26th November: Oxford University
27thNovember: Bristol Kino Cafe, Nice Tree Hill
30th November: London UCL University

For further information on the speaker tour please see the People and Planet website

Source: People and Planet, via FEI

THEKEY. T(W)O

THEKEY T(W)O

Be part of the {Shift}Title: THEKEY. T(W)O
Location: Germany
Link out: Click here

THEKEY.TO was successfully launched in July 2009. Its start leads back to the visionary idea of an international team of interdisciplinary professionals who decided to give birth to the first international event for green fashion, sustainable lifestyle and culture in Berlin.

THEKEY.TO is the ideal event to spot new trends and visions in the fashion industry. It aims at showcasing a strong selection of future minded brands that stand out for their style and for their green approach. Through the labels’ selection and the intense cultural program THEKEY.TO aims at spreading the signal that the shift towards an era where coolness and a strong sense for quality and responsibility are naturally interlinked, is already possible. It’s now!

THEKEY.TO is a forum of sustainability providing a platform for the interchange of information, culture and spontaneous networking, with an intense event program including expert workshops and forums with international guest speakers.

According to their website, THEKEY. T(W)O’s full program will not be up until Dec. 14^th. We’ll be sure to keep you updated when the info is available-stay tuned!

Start Date: 2010-01-20
End Date: 2010-01-23

Source: THEKEY. T(W)O and Ecotextile News

[Lesson 1] Sifting through the ‘Ecofashion Lexicon’

Lesson1 This lesson introduces the following concepts: consumer choice, designer choice, the ‘Ecofashion Lexicon,’ greenwashing, unintelligent design, and cradle to cradle design theory. For more information on these issues, please visit the ‘Works Cited’ page at the end of the lesson.

* If you are planning to use this lesson, please let us know so that we may keep track of our progress.

Introduction

Both consumers and designers alike have been left to fend for themselves when it comes to understanding the social issues and environmental concerns increasingly associated with the fashion industry. Signals of deception, such as greenwashing, as well as unintelligent designs that have created products with hidden ingredients, known as products plus, have seemingly hijacked the potential for any real choice to exist at all.

Click here to download this lesson: Lesson 1: Sifting through the ‘Ecofashion Lexicon’

Curb Your Consumption

MA Design Studies (MADS) student, Katie Hart has recently launched an initiative set to investigate the relationship between consumer behavior and over-consumption. Through the online lab, Curb Your Consumption, Hart shares her research and ideas, bringing together resources, news, events, and links on the subject.

Her final project explores patterns of consumption within the UK. Along the way, Hart hopes to “work with a diverse range of consumers to:

Educate and communicate the problems with over-consumption of fashion products in the UK
Understand what consumers need in order to actually change their behaviour (i.e. labelling, information pack, seminars etc)
Contribute to a grassroots movement of positive change in consumer behaviour” (Hart, About Me)

Here are some of the exciting things happening over on her site:

Hart has created a large visual artifact that illustrates “the problem with fashion overconsumption, and the global torment we are creating with this excessive spending” (Hart, About My Project). She will also be conducting a series of workshops. If you are interested in participating, be sure to contact her. Her book, titled Buy Now. Pay Later – today’s treasure is tomorrow’s trash, will soon be available on her site, and she is currently working on what she calls “bite-size learning materials” on the following topics:

Fibres and Fabrics – taking the microscope to our clothes
The hands that touch our fashion – a journey into the histories of our garments
Fast Fashion – the issues
Recycling/Reuse – what to do with your clothes when they are worn out

If you would like to learn more, be sure to follow Hart on her journey toward solutions for sustainable consumption and learn how you can ‘curb’ your consumption habits.

***Will you be in London the first week of December? Her work will be on display at the MA Design Studies Final Exhibition, Applied Imagination – Bringing Method to the Madness at T2 Truman Brewery – from 4th – 8th December 2009.

Here are some images of her work via the online lab:

For more images, visit Curb Your Consumption.

MADS is a graduate program offered through Central Saint Martins. For more information on the program, click here.

A New Approach to the Issue of Living Wages

One of the root causes of poverty wages in the industry is the power of global buyers to constantly relocate production in search of ever lower prices and better terms of trade. This power is used to exert a downward pressure on wages and conditions – labour being one of the few ‘production costs’ or ‘inputs’ that can be squeezed.

The solution

The basic idea of the Asia Floor Wage is to put a ‘floor’ under this, thereby preventing this competition from forcing wages below poverty levels and making sure gains are more equitably shared along the supply chain. The Asia Floor Wage alliance have formulated a unified, regional demand for a minimum living wage which is decent and fair and which can be standardised and compared between countries. This regional collective bargaining strategy will unite workers and their allies from different Asian countries behind one wage demand.

The goal is to attain this standardised minimum living wage for workers across Asia through negotiations between garment industry employers and workers’ representative organisations, and with the mediation and support of governments, inter-governmental organisations and social movements.

The report constructed by the Asia Floor Wage organisation is available here.

Source: Asian Floor Wage

Let`s Clean Up Fashion: 2009 Report

Let’s Clean up Fashion 2009: The State of Pay Behind the UK High Street reports a disconnect between the what’s happening in the boardrooms, the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and procedures, and what is actually happening on the ground.

“Wages are low because they are kept that way through a global competition that engages workers, factories and whole countries in a race to the bottom – A race where the winners are those that can produce as quickly, cheaply and flexibly as possible” (LCUF, 2009 Report: 2)

According to Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI), this year’s guide is not only relevant to high street retailers, but should also be of interest to both fashion design students and tutors, “with indepth company case studies that can be incorporated into university projects or teaching.” (FEI)

“The scandalous truth is that the majority of workers in the global fashion industry rarely earn more than two dollars a day, in an industry worth over 36 billion a year in the UK alone.” (LCUF, 2009 Report: 2)

In this year’s report, Let’s Clean Up Fashion (LCUF) has claimed that “[n]o brand or retailer is paying its workers a living wage, or has yet put together a systematic programme of work that is likely to raise wages to acceptable levels in the near future.” (LCUF, 2009 Report: 3) In 2008, LCUF argued there are “four pillars that underlie a meaningful living wage initiative: using a collaborative approach by working with other companies, trade unions and labour rights groups; supporting worker organising and participation; addressing commercial factors throughout the supply chain and creating a clear road map to implementing the living wage for all workers.” (LCUF, 2009 Report: 4)

The 2009 report lists high street companies who have lost the plot when it comes to basic human rights in the workforce, and presents in depth case studies of each, citing where and why they have fallen short, with comments on what they need to improve. Here is the list of companies included in the report:

Alexon, BHS, Ethel Austin, House of Fraser, Peacock Group, Asda/George, Clarks, Debenhams, French Connection, John Lewis, Laura Ashley, Levi Strauss & Co, Matalan, River Island, Sainsbury’s, Arcadia Group, Aurora Fashions, Burberry, Tesco, Gap, Marks & Spencer (M&S), Monsoon Accessorize, New Look, Next, and Primark.

Click here to read the report online, and here to download the full report in PDF.

Labour Behind the Label has been reporting on these issues since 2006. Click here for previous reports.

Labour Behind the Label. (2006 – 9) Lets clean up fashion: The state of pay behind the UK high street, Bristol: Labour Behind the Label.

Source: FEI and LCUP

Social Alterations

An education lab for responsible fashion