Category Archives: Supply Chain

Oxfam Hong Kong launches new CSR report for the Garment Industry

Oxfam CSR Guidebook

Oxfam Hong Kong has just launched a new guidebook for the garment industry titled Good Fashion: A Guide to Being an Ethical Clothing Company.

Although they encourage the use of the guidebook for educational use, as well as for research, advocacy and campaign purposes, be sure to notify them if you are going to use the guidebook so that they may assess its impact.

 

“As an active promoter of corporate social responsibility (CSR), Oxfam Hong Kong launches the first corporate social responsibility guidebook: Good Fashion: A Guide to Being an Ethical Clothing Company today. Good Fashion targets to support the garment sector in Hong Kong to further develop and implement CSR policy. In producing Good Fashion, Oxfam aims to raise awareness within the business sector on the importance of CSR and to encourage them to put CSR principles into practice.

The 71-page Good Fashion, which is divided into four sections, is a comprehensive guidebook containing practical tips for implementing CSR throughout the production process, such as merchandising and manufacturing. Good Fashion also includes CSR insights from various stakeholders, including workers, community organisations, union representatives, and other groups. Online resources and a simple checklist are also included for companies’ reference.”

You can download the full report in English (PDF) here.

Also, be sure to check out Oxfam Hong Kong’s previous reports. In 2004 they published Turning the Garment Industry Inside Out – Purchasing Practices and Workers’ Lives. They have also published two transparency reports: Transparency Report – How Hong Kong Garment Companies Can Improve Public Reporting of their Labour Standards (2006) and Transparency Report II: Have Hong Kong Garment Companies Improved Their Reporting on Labour Standards (2009).

Source: CSR Asia

The University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative (UDSAI)

University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative offers ten policies for apparel brands and retailers to implement into their business practices. Click here to learn more about the policies and the initiative. Although all ten policies are crucial considerations for sustainable practices, “Policy 5: Consider and implement end-of-life strategies (recycle, renew, or reuse) when choosing materials, designing, and producing apparel”  pays particular attention to design through suggested best practices in both material and design assembly considerations. In the context of socially responsible fashion design education, how can these policies be integrated into your fashion curriculum? Early next week, Social Alterations will be opening a members based discussion forum for fashion and apparel educators to ask questions and share ideas on how to best approach social and environmental concerns within the industry in their design classrooms. I hope you will join in on the conversation and share your ideas with this community.

Press Release: UD publishes sustainable apparel business guidelines

What does it mean for a clothing or footwear company to be environmentally sustainable? Browsing some brands’ Web sites, you might think a company can lessen its impact on the environment just by using organic cotton in some of its clothing. But it’s not that simple.

The University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative (UDSAI) is demystifying the process of becoming more environmentally sustainable for brands and retailers. Companies seeking this information are invited to read and utilize UDSAI’s recently produced policy guide, “Creating a More Environmentally Sustainable Apparel Business: Policies for Apparel Brands and Retailers.”

“Sustainability is the ‘buzz’ throughout all industries. The problem is there is no clear definition of what this means,” said Rick Horwitch of Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services. Bureau Veritas is an international firm that helps clients comply with standards and regulations relating to quality, health and safety, environment and social responsibility.

“I applaud the University of Delaware for taking on this daunting task of trying to put some structure and context around this very important issue. UDSAI will help bring clarity and direction,” Horwitch said.

University of Delaware faculty and students collaborated with industry professionals involved with environmental sustainability to research best practices.

“The apparel industry is predicated on change and planned obsolescence, which often results in overconsumption and waste throughout the value chain,” said Huantian Cao, UD associate professor of fashion and apparel studies and co-director of UDSAI. “UDSAI attempts to provide some simple guidelines that, when followed, will result in a more sustainable company.”

Source: UD News Releases

“Defy them”

New short film out of Amnesty International this week. Whether we like to admit it or not, there is a direct correlation between the fashion industry and torture. Social issues facing the industry today include: forced labour, child labour, harassment or abuse, nondiscrimination, health and safety, freedom of association and collective bargaining, wages and benefits, hours of work, overtime compensation (Workplace Code of Conduct, FLA).

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09m798EcJxI]

Source: Amnesty UK

Women Exploiting Women

 

The National Labor Committee released a report last week citing sweatshop conditions in a Guatemalan factory manufacturing clothing for Briggs New York (80%) and Lane Bryant (remaining 20%) clothing.

 

If you don’t want to read the full article, here is the abstract:

 

“Young Mayan women sew Briggs New York and Lane Bryant clothing under abusive and illegal sweatshop conditions at the Nicotex factory outside Guatemala City.  Women in the U.S. are unknowingly purchasing clothing made by other women who are being exploited.

All overtime at the Nicotex factory is mandatory, and 14 2/3-hour shifts, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:40 p.m. including six hours of overtime, are uncommon.  The women are routinely at the factory up to 72 hours, forced to toil 20 to 25 hours of overtime.  Women unable to remain for overtime work, even if they have family emergencies, are fired.  The workers are allowed just 10.2 minutes to sew each Briggs New York blouse for which they are paid 19 ½ cents.  The women and their families are trapped in extreme poverty, earning just 76 cents to $1.15 an hour, which comes nowhere close to meeting even their most basic subsistence level needs.

Workers and their children are cheated of health and maternity care, including paid maternity leave, which they paid for and is supposed to be guaranteed under Guatemalan law.  Workers are also robbed of their vacation and severance pay and are shortchanged of their legal bonuses.

 

  • The Nicotex garment workers have no rights.  U.S. company audits are a sham, and the workers have never even heard of a “corporate code of conduct.”
  • At least some officials of the government-run Social Security Institute appear to be involved in a widespread corruption scam, along with factories such as Nicotex, to defraud the workers and their children of the healthcare they pay for.  This scam is an open secret in Guatemala, and it has devastating consequences for the workers.
  • The Nicotex sweatshop is just another example of how the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement has badly failed to enforce even Guatemala’s most minimal labor laws.   US-CAFTA has certainly not empowered workers through respect for their legal rights, nor has it helped raise them out of extreme poverty.”

                                                                                                                                    Source: NLC

For those of you who don’t know who Charles Kernaghan is, he is “The Man Who Made Kathy Lee Cry”. He also heads the National Labor Committee. He discusses what he calls ‘the science of exploitation’ and his work with the NLC from the film The Corporation. You can view the trailler for the documentary in the videos section of this site (on the left hand side).

Compostmodern09 tweet along

 

Below is my tweet along for Compostmodern09, which took place on Sat. Feb 21st 09. This event was greatly inspiring, and I will be writing a post soon on the over all themes of the conference and where the convergence into sustainable fashion design comes into play. Stay tuned for that post (and some images as well).

 

·  excited to be at #cm09 8:19 AM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 only 5000 days left. take it as fact. 9:55 AM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 Allan Chochinov ten rules applicable to fashion design. 10:23 AM Feb 21st

·  Michel Gelobler: design through the lens of soul and policy coming up, #cm09 10:26 AM Feb 21st

·  wonderment being made plain/plain being made wonderment cm#09 10:28 AM Feb 21st

·  Michel Gelobler certainty/worry/sorrow/hope #cm09 10:30 AM Feb 21st

·  need to bend the Al Gore curve #cm09 10:32 AM Feb 21st

·  Michel Gelobter: what we have, what we are using, need to establish equilibrium looking to connect product to solution. #cm09 10:40 AM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 we own the solution not the problem, Michel Gelobter 10:43 AM Feb 21st

·  Michel Gelobter #cm09 further mention of the design acccord http://tinyurl.com/b5yzl4 10:47 AM Feb 21st    

·  Saul Griffith howtoons http://www.howtoons.com/ #cm09 10:52 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: 2008, the year of ‘peak waste’ #cm09 11:03 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: need to re-design everything. make it small, fish shaped,slow. need a new soundtrack, font, aesthetic. need a bob dylan.#cm09 11:14 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: we need an heirloom culture #cm09 11:17 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: I’m an earth fucker and so are you, #cm09 11:19 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: http://www.wattzon.com/ #cm09 11:20 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: soon to be born child going to kick ninja ass #cm09 11:23 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: the planet is the new design client. #cm09 11:25 AM Feb 21st

·  HR + PR does not equal CSR 11:55 AM Feb 21st    

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 1. what>how (sustainability=human+environment) 1:59 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 2. the other 90% is next door (local+global) 2:00 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 3. always bring pom-poms (and a picket signs) 2:00 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 4. scalable systems, not stuff (take the product out of product design) 2:01 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 5. 2 (thousand) heads are better than one (the more the merrier) 2:02 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 6. more cattle, less hat (stop talking and just do it) 2:03 PM Feb 21st

·  whats the opportunity for graphic design, asks Makower..needs to play a bigger role. 2:05 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 started project H with 400$ in her bank 2:08 PM Feb 21st

·  take the poll http://tinyurl.com/coebq5 2:10 PM Feb 21st

·  Watching Pam Dorr short film “Housing Hope” 2:15 PM Feb 21st

·  John Bielenberg and Pam Dorr #cm09 spoke on Project M, and some amazing housing projects. 2:17 PM Feb 21st        

·  John Bielenberg wants you to think “wrong” so you can find solutions. Inspired by Sambo rural studios and a beautiful mind. 2:19 PM Feb 21st

·  John Bielenberg #cm09, breakthroughs happen in your late 20’s-he is inspired by grad/students. 2:22 PM Feb 21st     

·  #cm09 project M: think wrong http://www.projectmlab.com/ 2:23 PM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 project H http://www.projecthdesign.com/ 2:25 PM Feb 21st

·  all speakers at #cm09 stress the importance of serendipity in the process 2:30 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 takes an interdisciplinary perspective on responsible design 2:38 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 concerned with the small size of sustainable design social network 2:41 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 asks “are we not educating our designers correctly?” this is my research question (fashion designers) 2:45 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 “1. be cool w/ paradox 2. learn the local language 3. reconsider work worth doing 4. YOUR CLIENT IS THE PLANET” 2:46 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 talking: sustainability is not a communist plot…semantics are crucial here. **YES!** 2:54 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 designers are looking for direction-but they still need to understand the numbers in product lifecycle analysis 3:01 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby-if your client is the planet…then it’s on you to figure out how to solve the problems that weve got and how to pay for it 3:03 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 “we need to get rid of our specialness” and open it up to others, interdisciplinary partnerships 3:04 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 is about to tell us what we can do Monday morning, when we wake up at work with all of this. 3:08 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 conservative = conservation start the ‘conservative’ movement with the actual definition 3:15 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 don’t use green… use blue… it comes off more effective in business (without being too ‘environmental’) 3:17 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 OH… and use the work capital *this business advice is awesome* 3:18 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 use some sustainable frameworks: 1. lifecycle analysis 3:19 PM Feb 21st

·  2. natural capitalism (eco- efficiency).. 3:20 PM Feb 21st

·  3. cradle to cradle 3:20 PM Feb 21st    

·  4. “natural step” (trademarked) 3:21 PM Feb 21st

·  5. biomimicry 3:21 PM Feb 21st

·  (the point here is that these frameworks are all incomplete…they do not cover social, financial and environmental) 3:22 PM Feb 21st

·  6. Datschefski’s “Total Beauty” 3:23 PM Feb 21st

·  7. social return on investment (SROI)*very difficult to quantify* 3:24 PM Feb 21st

·  8. (last one) sustainability helix 3:24 PM Feb 21st     

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to bring the frameworks together for a good place to start..overlap them to cover all ground 3:25 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to design for use be the ‘apple’ and lead the way the challenge is on your compeditor will do it if you dont 3:27 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to design for dematerialization (all the way back) the whole lifecycle 3:29 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to think about material substitution. **in the context of fibre (textiles) diversify and substitute** 3:31 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to think local, to decrease transport. not always a good idea though. 3:32 PM Feb 21st

·  transmaterialization, Nathan Shedroff #cm09, and informationalization, are more sustainable (still have impact) 3:33 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09: next, design for durability (did i miss one? oops) 3:35 PM Feb 21st

·  design with multifuction in mind, design for reuse: Nathan Shedroff #cm09 3:36 PM Feb 21st

·  design for disassembly (Rickshaw zero bag example) http://www.rickshawbags.com/# 3:38 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09: redesign the system (Curitiba, Brazil, example) 3:39 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants us to find new models, economic models suck (ex. GDP and GPI measurements) 3:41 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 said DONT USE PVC!!!!!! YES!!!! http://tinyurl.com/bftk4d *thank you!!* 3:42 PM Feb 21st

·  How is this a debate, again? why are these shoes being sold as “sustainable” http://tinyurl.com/b4tnaf I wish i new more about PVC 3:46 PM Feb 21st

·  Joel Makower asks about green marketing #cm09 3:47 PM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 Joel Makower wants gree to equal better. work around the dogma. remember the business case, here. 3:51 PM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 question asked “the planet is your client” is an internal conversation? Ans. sometimes. sometimes we have to talk around the subject. 3:55 PM Feb 21st

·  Joel Makower #cm09 stories through design can/should/will integrate head and heart in the discussion 4:02 PM Feb 21st

·  AIGA #cm09 http://sustainability.aiga…. 4:04 PM Feb 21st

FIBERcast tweet along

 

The first FIBERcast, featuring Dr. Marsha Dickson and Mr. Doug Cahn, took place today, February 23, 2008. The broadcast was hosted by Dr. Hye-Shin Kim, of the University of Delaware, and focused on “Social Responsibility in the Apparel Industry”.

 

For those not following on Twitter, here are my live tweets of the event: searchable under #fibercast, #csr and #sr

 

·  Dr. Marsha Dickson # fibercast: monitoring become the standard, but often does not provide solutions. new book http://tinyurl.com/aqb85w about 2 hours ago

·  #fibercast problems are complex and widespread/freedom of association/forced labour/discrimination/child labour about 2 hours ago

·  Environmental responsibility does not just have to do with fiber choice. remember the whole life cycle analysis/ #fibercast about 2 hours ago

·  CSR to Mr. Doug Cahn# fibercast is about looking at the impact, to mitigate the negative, and augment the possitive about 2 hours ago

·  Doug Cahn #fibercast http://thecahngroup.com/ about 2 hours ago

·  #csr is not an add-on, its a core issue, supplychain for an apparel company..pay your workers the legal limit, at least make up short fall about 2 hours ago

·  disctinction between compliant and non-compliant/the industry is aflling short. yes there is cost, but also have a business case (save$)#csr about 2 hours ago

·  #csr #fibercast Dr. Marsha Dickson Answers Q. on WRAP factory certification is important but not the answer http://tinyurl.com/bjckwu about 1 hour ago

·  limitations of factory monitoring asks “what?” not “why?” and quality of auditing can be lacking…provides only ‘snapshop’ #csr #fibercast about 1 hour ago

·  # fibercast #csr #recession: Cahn finds opportunity in downturn for better integration/restructuring interdepartmental thinking opportunity about 1 hour ago

·  #csr #fibercast Dickson: consumer difference perceptions from behaviour. no real ‘no sweat’ label, cannot ensure compliance about 1 hour ago

·  #csr #fibercast Dickson believes to look for honest companies working toward real change #nike #adidas (ex) about 1 hour ago

·  # fibercast #csr Cahn: government can play a voluntary role, also use trade agreement..ensure internationally approved standards on imports about 1 hour ago

·  # fibercast #csr Cahn check out fairlabor.org for opperations and http://www.sa-intl.org/ about 1 hour ago

·  # fibercast #csr Cahn, small/med. company: ask questions again and again, collaboration fairfactories.org about 1 hour ago

·  #csr #fibercast Dickson stresses importance of multi-stakeholder initiatives and also ngo’s light the fire under companies about 1 hour ago

·  #csr #fibercast Dickson to students: we need to educate students on #sr in graduate program, but also integrated into undergrad class about 1 hour ago

·  #csr #fibercast #sr Dickson http://tinyurl.com/b3ep9u about 1 hour ago

 

Sweated Labour, Dell, Transparency and this Blog

 

The issue of transparency is an important one. So, here’s a little blogging transparency … I write Social Alterations on my ‘Made in China’ Espresso Brown Dell Inspiron 1525.

 

The National Labour Committee released a report today titled “High Tech Misery in China: The Dehumanization of Young Workers Producing Our Computer Keyboards” Sure enough, Dell is one of the companies manufacturing products in the Meitai Plastics & Electronics factory highlighted in the report in Dongguan City, Guangdong China.

 

According to the report, the base salary at the factory is 64 cents/hour. Minus room and board, workers take home 41cents/hour. Tax all in, my ‘made to order’ laptop set me back $620.48.

 

Other companies producing in the factory include Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Microsoft and IBM.

 

You can view the NLC report here

FEI Conference

 

Clean Clothes Campaign via FEI

A home worker's work bench in Belgrade, Credit: Clean Clothes Campaign via FEI

Fashioning an Ethical Industry: Putting Ethics into Practice March 11th, 2009

 

This is a one day conference that will bring together experts in ethical fashion, as well as students and tutors, to discuss the current state of the ethical fashion industry, and ways to put ethics into practice. There is no question this will be an excellent conference.

 

You can read more about this year’s conference and speakers here.

To read a report on last year’s event click here, or to listen to a podcast, click here.

Source: FEI

ZARA and the right to freedom of association

 

A recent campaign from UNITE HERE Canada claims that the right to freedom of association is at stake for employees at ZARA, in Montréal, Quebec. According to a recent press release, “ZARA has engaged in conduct which may have violated the Québec Labour Code. This has included demoting two employees who led a union drive at ZARA’s downtown Montreal store, firing four employees who supported the union at ZARA’s Rockland Mall store, and holding anti-union meetings at three Montreal stores, in one case telling employees that joining a union is ‘treason’ against the company.”

 

Click here to view the press release.

Message from the Asian Human Rights Commission on the 60th Anniversary of UDHR

Many textile and apparel companies boast a commitment to operating within the legal frameworks of the countries in which they manufacture. It would seem only reasonable to expect as much (Congratulations! You didn’t break the law!). Considering the standard of human rights within such countries, should this fact be celebrated?

December 10th marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this video, Basil Fernando, CEO of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), highlights the issue of “non-rule of law”. According to Fernando, the last 60 years of Human Rights has only worked to establish the conversation of rights. He hopes the next 60 years will see the realization and achievement of Human Rights. On this 60th anniversary, I hope that consumers will consider the standard of the law within the countries their garments are produced, and support companies that promote international labour standards rather than those that hide behind frameworks of corrupt legal systems.

The AHRC has released their annual report on the state of human rights in 11 countries (Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand). You can download country reports here

The AHRC also works to document the countless human rights violations taking place in Asia. To receive notification of the AHRC Urgent Requests, just subscribe to their mailing list. Once you receive an urgent request, it only takes a few seconds to follow the link and send the letter of complaint they have already written for you to the appropriate individuals. You can subscribe here.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkWWWulqanQ]