Category Archives: Social Conditions

A Message from the NLC

Yesterday we posted a link on our Facebook Fan Page on the tragic factory fire in Bangladesh on Feb. 25th that killed 21 workers (mostly women) and injured 31 more.

Below is a message today from the National Labor Committee (NLC):

Urgent Action Alert

Please help.  No more needless and tragic deaths!

On the night of February 25, a fire broke out at the Garib & Garib sweater factory in Bangladesh, leaving 25 to 30 workers trapped in the pitch darkness on the 6th floor.  The emergency exit was locked and the other staircase was cluttered with bales of yarn and boxes.  The workers, 16 of them women, died of smoke inhalation.  Thirty-one workers on the lower floors were also injured.

The factory produces for H&M, Mark’s Work Wearhouse (Canada) and, according to H&M, Terenora of Italy and Zemman of Spain.

The workers are asking us to support their demands to the companies (attached) in order to guarantee the health and safety standards and labor rights will finally be respected.

For more information and photos go to the NLC’s website
   
Please help!  Send a letter to the companies

Source: NLC

WATCH// Social Alterations @ FEI

Here are just two of the videos we took at the conference. We have more videos to come, so stay tuned for those.

The first video is of my Pecha Kucha talk. I’ll be posting the slides and my notes a little later on. Please contact us if you have any questions on the works cited in the presentation.

Social Alterations @ FEI from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) held the table next to ours during the Market Place on day two of the conference. We asked them what exactly responsible fashion meant to the EJF, and for their thoughts on why designers should care.

FEI Conference 006 from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) was also there, asking participants “what organic cotton means…..to me”. Pictured above is Nadira Lamrad (right) with her answer.

Social Alterations @ FEI

So here we are in London for the Fashioning an Ethical Industry Conference: Fast Forward. Today, Nadira and I will both be presenting at the conference, and with Katrine in attendance, this will mark the first time the SA team is all together in the same place at the same time!  

We will be doing lots of blogging and twitter (ing?) from the event, and will have our presentations uploaded later tonight for you to check out, so be sure to tune in.

Follow on twitter via @maryhanlon for that feed.

Wish us luck!

Take action on Philippines labour rights abuses‏

A message from Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN):

Last fall, a high-level International Labour Organization (ILO) mission went to the Philippines to investigate “serious allegations of the murder of trade unionists, death threats, arrests of trade union leaders in connection with their trade union activities, widespread impunity relating to violence against trade unionists and the militarization of workplaces in export processing zones (EPZs) and special economic zones”. Their report is due to be released next month.

Unfortunately, violence and judicial persecution of trade union leaders and activists is continuing. Below, we urge you to support workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining by taking part in two action campaigns by labour and human rights promoters that highlight the continuing pattern of abuse of worker rights in the Philippines.

Karnation Industries: Twenty workers at Karnation Industries were arrested during a 2007 strike against the illegal dismissal of union members, the non-payment of holiday pay and night bonuses, as well as a salary that was only half of the minimum wage at the time. They have spent two and a half years in prison, during which time two workers died from tuberculosis contracted since their incarceration. 14 workers were temporarily released on bail in November of 2009. Four of the workers remain in prison. All of the surviving workers are still facing charges, and the company has filed a motion to reverse the bail decision and return all of the workers to prison. Join the Asia Human Rights Committee in protesting the continuing judicial persecution of the Karnation 20 here.

Dole Food Company: Managers at a Dole pineapple plantation in the Philippines have worked with the military on an intimidation campaign against an independent workers’ union and their democratically elected union leaders for the past four years. Workers who met recently with an International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) representative have been fired or suspended. Join the ILRF in protecting the rights of Dole workers to freedom of association and collective bargaining here.

Join the Maquila Solidarity Network and support the continuing efforts of labour and human rights workers on the ground.

Source: MSN

Tracing Trash

Trash of Your Society (T.O.Y.S.), an art project of theSYNdicate, is on tour investigating the after-life-cycle of products, or artefacts (a.k.a. trash). Do you know what happens to your products once you’ve tossed them?

Here is part of ‘The Concept’:

The footsteps or traces that refuse leaves internationally, are the subject of the art project of theSYNdicate: how countries deal with refuse in different parts of the world; the global cycle of refuse; the dimensions of European refuse in Africa.

Transport routes of primary products as well as of finished consumer goods cover long distances, in this globalised world, with many stages, and with goods passing through many hands: sometimes transported goods describe a cycle, other times goods travel in a more one-dimensional perspective.

At the end of a cycle, for example, a number of high quality goods from the southern parts of the world land in Europe, to be sold at high prices, with a hefty profit margin – which drives turnover and stock exchange assets. African countries (and other continents and countries with similar social and economic conditions) are the destination, the recipients, of refuse: the results of agrarian over-production, electronic junk, garments (often second hand clothes), and many similar goods. In this cycle, the places that are the countries of origin (right at the start of the cycle), are left mainly with refuse and package material. Africa – the First World‘s testing ground or laboratory, and self-service shop.

You can buy stock in the project for 35Euro, and receive a piece of upcycled art.

Follow along their journey through the TOYS Blog. The images and stories may surprise you!

Source: psfk

Images via the TOYSTOUR

CSR Asia Summit 2010

In 2009, SA’s Katrine Karlsen reported on CSR Asia’s 7th summit “Sustainable Business as the Road to Recovery” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Click here to read Katrine’s synopsis of last year’s summit.

This year’s summit will take place September 14-15 in Hong Kong, and will offer cutting edge workshops on the following topics:

-Community investment and cross-cultural engagement
-Measuring and reporting your carbon emissions
-Business strategies for adapting to a changing climate
-Water risks down your supply chain
-Asian companies going transnational
-What investors are looking for: Environmental, social, governance (ESG) issues
-A new agenda for human rights: Engaging governments
-The role of business in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Asia
-ISO26000
-Disaster preparedness: The role of the private sector
-The 2010 Asian Sustainability Rating
-Measuring the impact of your community investment on business and the community
-Developing a sustainable development strategy in your organisation

Title: CSR Asia Summit 2010
Location: Hong Kong
Link out: Click here

Start Date: 2010-09-14
End Date: 2010-09-15

Bamboo// Continued Misconceptions

With the current spotlight on ‘green’ fashion over at Vogue U.K. via Livia Firth and the Green Carpet Challenge, we were surprised to see bamboo as designer Linda Loudermilk’s fibre of choice for Colin Firth’s suit at the premier of Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” in Paris.

Despite the comments out of Loudermilk’s office, we’re not quite convinced it was a responsible choice. Even if we were to believe that this bamboo was in fact not rayon, meaning that it was mechanically processed, not chemically processed, and that such mechanical processing was done without violating any human rights, we still think it’s an inappropriate fibre to showcase due to the global misconceptions on the use of bamboo as a responsible fibre both within and outside of the ecofashion movement.

Why not utilize the opportunity to showcase this design in linen, hemp or peace silk?

Here is a refresher on the potential social and environmental (not to mention cultural and economic) consequences of the use of Bamboo fibre, taken from our Fibre Analysis:

Still don’t believe us? Still not convinced? Read more on treehugger, the Competition Bureau of Canada, and Ecotextile News (re: FTC).

What do you think readers? When will the bamboo rayon train leave the ecofashion station?!?!

Source: treehugger and Vogue UK

Ethical Sourcing Forum North America 2010

The Ethical Sourcing Forum is a unique industry event that brings together members of the global sustainability community in order to address emerging sustainability and ethical supply chain challenges.

Here is the Agenda (subject to change):

Day 1: Thursday, March 18th, 2010.

7:45 AM  –  8:30 AM: Registration & Breakfast

8:30 AM  –  9:15 AM: Welcome Note and ESF Community Poll Findings

What are YOUR top sustainability issues and management challenges? (Kathrin Bohr, Director, ISS Advisory Services)

9:15 AM  –  10:30 AM: ‘VISUALIZE’ Panel Discussion

The Arc of Sustainability Progress: What have we achieved, where are we going and where do we need to be?

  • David Schilling, Program Director for Human Rights at Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (Moderator)
  • Matt Kistler, SVP Sustainability, Walmart
  • Linda Yanz, Director, Maquila Solidarity Network
  • Stephen Howard, CEO, Business in The Community
  • Amy Hall, Director of Social Consciousness, Eileen Fisher
  • International Labor Affairs Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor

10:30 AM  –  10:45 AM: Spotlight on Innovation: Walmart’s Sustainability Index

  • Matt Kistler, SVP Sustainability, Walmart

10:45 AM  –  11:00 AM: Coffee Break/ Networking

11:00 AM  –  1:00 PM: RE-THINK LABS

Mini-Lab 1: Social Networking for Effective Stakeholder Engagement
(Kevin Long, Co-Founder, JustMeans & Brian Walsh, Head of Global Social Engagement, Liquidnet for Good)


Mini Lab 2: Collaboration: Potential and Pitfalls
(Scot Sharland, Executive Director, Automotive Industry Action Group & Monique Oxender, Global Manager, Supply Chain Sustainability, Ford Motor Company)


Mini Lab 3: Role of investment in driving CSR progress
(Garry Bell, VP Global Marketing for Gildan Activewear & Curtis Ravenel, Analyst at Bloomberg)


Mini Lab 4: Measuring and Reporting Environmental & Social Impacts
(TBC)

1:00 PM  –  2:15 PM: Lunch

Joe Sibilia, Chief Visionary Officer of CSRWire and David Mager, President, Major Environmental Solutions  and Co-organizer of Earth Day preview their new book: Street Smart Sustainability – The Entrepreneurs Guide to Profitably Greening Your Organization’s DNA

2:15 PM  –  4:15 PM: RE-THINK LABS

Mini-Lab 5: New Models for Sustainable Purchasing and Factory Compliance (Amy Hall, Director of Social Consciousness, Eileen Fisher  & Julie Yan, Manager, Hudson Bay Company)

Mini Lab 6: New Approaches to Factory Compliance
(Marie David, Director, Corporate Strategy & Sustainability, Walmart)

Mini Lab 7: Transparency in Supply Chain (Chuck Goncalves, Director of Global Responsibility for the America’s Region, Gap)

Mini Lab 8: Managing Supply Chain Environmental Risk: ” Both Win” Tools and Approaches (Jia Liu, Intertek Sustainability Solutions with Supplier (TBC), moderated by The Home Depot)

4:15 PM  –  4:30 PM: Coffee Break/ Networking

4:30 PM  –  5:30 PM: Panel Disussion: What Combination of Strategy and Tactics Really Drives CSR Progress?

  • Moderator: NY Bureau Chief, major international magazine (To be confirmed)
  • Genevieve Taft, Global Workplace Rights, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Sherlyn Broderson, Ethical Sourcing and Sustainability Manager, Cadbury
  • Frank Rexach, VP and General Manager, Haworth
  • Judi Kovacs, VP EHS Programs, NBC Universal

5:30 PM  –  7:00 PM Cocktail Reception

Day 2: Friday, March 19th, 2010

8:00 AM  –  8:30 AM: Breakfast

8:30 AM  –  9:00 AM: Keynote Presentation
TBC

9:00 AM  –  10:00 AM: Presentation: Child/Forced Labor Preview of New Anti-Child/Forced Labor Supply Chain Management Criteria

CREA (Center for Reflection, Education and Action) will preview its work on developing ethical supply chain management criteria (contracted by the U.S. Dept. of Labor)

10:00 AM  –  10:15 AM: Coffee Break/ Networking

10:15 AM  –  12:15 PM: SOLUTION LAB – Backcasting: Developing Your Sustainable Roadmap

A hands-on collaborative sustainability decision-making / solution session involving the technique of reframing – a model for examining challenges from multiple stakeholder vantage points in order to uncover previously unseen perspectives and decision paths.

12:15 PM  –  1:45 PM: Lunch/ Closing Remarks


Source: Ethical Sourcing Forum Agenda

Title: Ethical Sourcing Forum North America 2010
Location: New York
Link out: Click here

Start Date: 2010-03-18
End Date: 2010-03-19

Update// Noko is a No Show!!

If you read our website regularly, you may have seen a post in December about Noko Jeans, a company manufacturing jeans in North Korea (DPRK).  At the end of that post I wrote:

“To tell you the truth, I don’t really know what to think about this so, I emailed Noko jeans earlier today asking about their Code of Conduct and also asking them for an interview.

If you have any questions that you would like me to ask, please let me know.  Stay tuned for an update to this fascinating story!!”

I thought it only fair to give you an update on this story.  Mary Hanlon and I worked on a set of questions (see below) that would cover both design and responsibility.  We wanted to ask questions that have not been asked before that would clearly match the focus of our website.  The design questions are very much focused on the influence of the design process and design choices.  The other questions were focused on the challenges and the impact of manufacturing in the DPRK and the way that the internal realities of the country influenced the manufacturing process and CSR.  We also asked questions that explored the relationship between brands, trade and ‘pariah states.’

I got in touch with Noko Jeans in December.  In particular, I had an email exchange with Jacob Åström and sent him 20 questions about their interesting project.  He promised to send us responses to these questions in a week.  We waited, the responses didn’t come so I sent them a reminder.  After that I received another promise that they will respond at the beginning of 2010.  So we waited and again, no response.  I have emailed Noko jeans repeatedly over the past 2 months requesting a response to the following questions:

  1. Why did you choose jeans?  It has been discussed in the media (BBC, Washington Post) that NoKo Jeans are available in black, and not blue, because blue jeans too closely signal ‘American’ culture. Why is colour more significant than the material (denim) itself?
  2. What design knowledge was disseminated and how?  What other information was shared?
  3. What were some of the challenges you encountered in the process of disseminating your design?
  4. What was the level of government involvement in this project?
  5. Could you take us through the Code of Conduct (CoC) step by step, from “Legal rights” (section 1) to “Inspections, questions, and demands for Pants Provided” (section 7), and explain some of the challenges you encountered along the way. For example, the CoC relies heavily on ‘national laws.’ How were such laws clearly outlined to both you and your workers?
  6. The CoC refers to North Korean laws, understandably, we don’t know much about these legal obligations, could you outline the labour laws and environmental laws your manufacturers are expected to meet?
  7. Did you develop the CoC yourself?  If so, did you seek consultation from any group or organization for help?  If not, how did you decide on the content?
  8. One of the signatories on the CoC signed with multicoloured pen. The other’s signature has been doctored for public viewing. Any thoughts as to why?
  9. What are the differences between manufacturing in China and manufacturing in North Korea?
  10. Was corruption ever an issue during this project?  How did you handle those situations?
  11. Knowing what you know today, is there anything in the CoC you would change or alter if you were to continue production in North Korea?  Is there anything you would have done differently?
  12. You were being monitored while you were monitoring production, how did that affect you, your work and the workers?
  13. Considering the reality of living in North Korea, did the workers understand the difference between your monitoring (protection) and government monitoring (watching)?
  14. What are the major challenges you faced during this process and what made this experience worth the time, energy and effort that you put in?
  15. How do you respond to claims that producing in North Korea is irresponsible?
  16. Will you continue to produce in North Korea?  Why?
  17. Do you think that larger brands should source from so-called ‘pariah states’ like North Korea in order to trigger positive changes in the countries?
  18. How do you think this “trade-plomacy” can trigger change?
  19. What are some of the key lessons coming out of this experience that you would like to share with this community?
  20. Any final comments?

We invite Noko jeans to respond to our questions.  There is no time limit on this interview.  We would love to learn more about your point of view.

As for our readers, we would also love to hear more from you!!  You can let us know what you think in the comments below, on the SA forum or on our facebook fan page.

Made in…where!?!

Friday, December 4, 2009

By nadiralamrad

4128602658_360644493e_b

Yesterday, just before going to bed, I was reading the BBC news website and came across an odd article announcing the release of premium jeans in Sweden.  Normally, something like this wouldn’t be big news but, the title of the article begins with the words “North Korean designer jeans…” !?!

The jeans, named Noko Jeans, are being released today in Sweden and will cost 1,500 Swedish kronor ($220; £132).  The whole adventure started with an email sent to North Korea in 2007 asking about the possibility of shifting some of their production from Southern China.  According to the BBC article:

“North Korea’s biggest garment company turned the idea down, but eventually they struck a deal with the state’s largest mining group, Trade 4, which runs a textile operation on its site.”

Interesting…

The email that started it all!

The email that started it all!

So the email started a relationship that resulted in an official diplomatic invitation to North Korea.

What spurred this?

“The reason we chose North Korea was, and is, because we had had an interest in the country for quite some time. North Korea is one of the few blank spots on the map, both figuratively and literally—Noko Jeans was a way to gain access to an otherwise isolated country. A way to learn more about it. There’s little to none infrastructure for producing JEANS since it’s a product they’ve never done before, but they DO have up-to-date factories in the Pyongyang-vicinity (where our factory is!).”

Maybe denim production is lacking in the Hermit Kingdom because the dress code forbids them.  In fact, Noko jeans are only available in black because blue denim is too ‘American.’

Naturally, after I recovered from the shock of this information, I wondered, how can they justify it?  We may not know much about North Korea but we have heard a few things here and there.

I did a quick search and found that a few others have asked the same question.  On their facebook page, Noko Jeans responded to a query about the money trail (where does it go?):

“Noko Jeans

You are completely right, North Korea is a country where many atrocities happen, almost on a daily basis. I, and we, do, however, believe that it is better to do something, than nothing at all.

As you’ve written, and we firmly believe, projects like this is a way to influence. Even though we work in a very “micro” context, we believe we bring something to to the table. Outer influences are only a good thing. Be it through detailed CSR/code of conducts agreement, or the fact that we’re physically present throughout ALL our production, our collaborators are – kindly, of course – forced to work in a different way than when, for example, Chinese or South Korean companies produce clothes there.

We worked more than 2,5 years (still without any salary for any of us) to realize this project so I really hope that you understand that this is much more than us going to North Korea for ten days and setting up a jeans factory….. We stayed at the factory for the whole time during the production to make sure that our code of conduct was followed to the point. I don’t know any other example of any other garment producer in the world who show that kind of dedication in making sure that the CSR-policy is more than a piece of paper….…

The price of the jeans is to cover our expenses, but since the interest for the jeans seems to be huge at the moment we might have some money left beginning of next year. And some of that money will of course be given back to the country and/or the factory somehow. We’re working on how to do this in a proper way, for example in reinvesting in the machinery of the factory — or in person give something back to the people who made the pants.

We WILL find a way to give something back in the right way, but at this point ANY input/suggestions is very much welcome…

Sorry for wall of text :—)

Love ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ , Noko Jeans”

They also have this video on their Vimeo account showing their factory.

This is Our Factory from Noko Jeans on Vimeo.

To tell you the truth, I don’t really know what to think about this so, I emailed Noko jeans earlier today asking about their Code of Conduct and also asking them for an interview.

If you have any questions that you would like me to ask, please let me know.  Stay tuned for an update to this fascinating story!!

Go Green Week, 2010 // The University of the Arts

Timo Rissanen offers a great post with his notes on ‘The Sustainability Equation: Ethics and Aesthetics in Contemporary Fashion’ and on the ‘Ethics and Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion’ exhibit at Pratt on his personal blog “Timo Rissanen: Fashion Creation Without Fabric Waste Creation.”

Not to be confused with the Pratt exhibit, that runs until the 20th of February, the graduate students of the MA in Fashion and the Environment over at the London College of Fashion will host “[a]n informal evening called Ethics+Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion, […] on Friday 12th February at the HUB” for Go Green Week 2010, along with other awareness campaigns such as a fashion swapshop and workshops.

Here is message from the MA Fashion and the Environment students via the Centre for Sustainable Fashion with all of the details:

“Fashion is saving the world this week at the University of the Arts! The first UAL Go Green Week of 2010 at The University of the Arts is fast approaching, held the week of the 8th until the 12th February, and the students from the LCF course MA Fashion and the Environment, who are advocates of an ethical and sustainable fashion industry; based at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, are raising awareness throughout the University of the exciting and innovative developments of sustainable design within the fashion and textile industries.

We have a couple of, what promise to be, exciting and informative events organised for Go Green week, in order to increase public consciousness of environmental issues that are becoming increasingly prominent of late in the industry. Over the course of the week, the Fashion and the Environment students are out to spread the word about what you and I can do to make our wardrobes greener, so to speak! Green is the new black, darling!

A Fashion Swapshop is organised for Thursday the 11th Feb, at the HUB, at the Davies Street between 6pm and 9pm. We are invited to search our wardrobes for garments we never wear, bring them along, and swap them for ones we will wear and love. The Swapshop is not the only focus of the evening, as it will also include speakers from textile recycling company TRAID who aim to protect the environment by diverting clothes from landfill, clothing customising workshops, and, for one night only in London, a vintage clothing stall all the way from Italy–Mercatino Michela.

An informal evening called Ethics+Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion, will be held on Friday 12th February at the HUB, at the Davies Street between 7pm and 9pm (the bar will be open) introducing and exploring the diverse and innovative areas of sustainability within the Fashion and Textile Industry. This event will be personally hosted by MA Fashion and the Environment students from LCF in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion. Open to all students from around the university , we are invited to come along to learn more and find out why this is such a vitally important area of contemporary design, ask questions and even get advice regarding sustainable design for our own projects. This evening promises a scintillating line up of from ethical clothing companies such as: People Tree, Ethical Fashion Forum and, Environmental Justice Foundation (also selling their t-shirts) who will be discussing the work they do to play an important role in a changing industry. The evening will also include a short film made by the MA Fashion and the Environment students, showcasing the variety of work and unique individual talents all working towards securing a more sustainable fashion future.”

More info at SU Arts University Student Union.

Source: CSF