If you read my last entry and feel the same horror that I do, you may be interested in this.
http://www.peopletree.co.uk/content/humanity_in_fashion.php
"Ethical clothing retailer People Tree is among those campaigning for Humanity in Fashion to express the public's outrage at fashion companies' disregard for the basic human rights of garment factory workers and also strengthen and protect the principals of Fair Trade.
We believe the people who make our clothes should finally be given what they have been fighting towards for years;
Freedom of Association
Right to collective bargaining
No forced labour
No discrimination
Maximum hours of work
Health and safety
A living wage
Security of employment
On Monday 19th July 2010 The Daily Mail published a comprehensive report on the pleas of Bangladeshi garment workers to treble the minimum wage. Some of the high streets best known retailers claim they are seeking ethical sourcing but refuse to pay slightly higher prices.
The National Garment Workers Federation in Bangladesh has given the government until 27th July to treble the minimum wage. The government and big businesses need to hear how people are prepared to pay a little more to make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of people."
To sing the petition, visit:
http://humanity.epetitions.net/
Please. Do it now. And keep campaigning!
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Boy of 7 works 98-hour week
Just as you think there's a vague possibility the ethical message is getting through, something like this comes along to depress you:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3049651/Slumdog-7-works-98-hours-a-week-in-a-sweatshop.html
It concerns a boy of seven found working 98 hours a week to produce decorative Christmas goods for the British high street. The photos alone are horrific - the poor kid looks utterly exhausted, and at just seven years old. This is nothing short of child slavery.
The high street store claims they knew nothing about it and will now stop getting goods from this supplier. But that, of course, leaves me wondering about what will happen to the little boy in the story. It's unlikely there will be a happy ending, as he is so vulnerable to exploitation due to grinding poverty.
The sad reality is that, if we want bargains, others will pay. It may be many hundreds of miles away, rather than in the factories on our streets as it was in the times of Dickens, but the reality is no less horrific. Children deserve a childhood, an education and the right to be free from oppression and exploitation, no matter where they happen to live.
(p.s. I wouldn't normally link to something I read in The Sun, but it was in The Sunday Times as well, only I couldn't get to that without subscribing).
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3049651/Slumdog-7-works-98-hours-a-week-in-a-sweatshop.html
It concerns a boy of seven found working 98 hours a week to produce decorative Christmas goods for the British high street. The photos alone are horrific - the poor kid looks utterly exhausted, and at just seven years old. This is nothing short of child slavery.
The high street store claims they knew nothing about it and will now stop getting goods from this supplier. But that, of course, leaves me wondering about what will happen to the little boy in the story. It's unlikely there will be a happy ending, as he is so vulnerable to exploitation due to grinding poverty.
The sad reality is that, if we want bargains, others will pay. It may be many hundreds of miles away, rather than in the factories on our streets as it was in the times of Dickens, but the reality is no less horrific. Children deserve a childhood, an education and the right to be free from oppression and exploitation, no matter where they happen to live.
(p.s. I wouldn't normally link to something I read in The Sun, but it was in The Sunday Times as well, only I couldn't get to that without subscribing).
Thursday, 6 May 2010
So, I finally voted. I hope you did too. Whatever happens, it looks like being an historic election this time, with all three parties too close to call and the possibility of a hung parliament likely.
There's been a lot of talk about electoral reform, with many people, my friends included, saying they think a hung parliament would be the best result all round, giving all three parties a say and with less power held by one party exclusively. I've mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I do feel that our current First Past the Post system is unfairly biased in favour of one main party getting in. There's the cold, hard fact that if Labour (for instance) get in this time, two-thirds of the electorate will have voted against them (and that's discounting all those who haven't even bothered to vote). But, then again, I have issues with Proprtional Representation and all its many variants. Primarily, I feel the advantage of our current system is that we each have local representation through an MP we can go to, or write to, to get our views heard at Westminster. That is a precious right, which we should not fritter away.
Also, our current system is based on an adversarial system. Now, there are many disadvantages to that. If we're not careful, it leads to the kind of 'Punch and Judy' politics David Cameron has spoken out against (but still participates in), where whoever shouts the loudest and most convincingly wins the day, regardless of how well thought-out their views are. I don't know about you, but whenever I watch Today in Parliament or any of the parliamentary chanels I feel frankly embarrassed to be British. It's like watching a bunch of old school rivals having a bunfight. You shouldn't need to employ someone to stop grown men shouting at each other. That's pathetic.
On the other hand, an adversarial system has its advantages. Like our legal system, the giving of one opinion followed by the opposing one, followed by, hopeefully, some form of informed debate, tends to be the best way to take a considered view of an issue. It protects against just getting a one-slanted viewpoint or judging things purely based on an emotional response. This system is very much a part of our national politics, and the First Past the Post System, with its party wrangling, is central to that.
There are other issues I feel much more strongly about - I think, for instance, the whips system ought to be abloshed. What's the good of me voting for my local MP because he's a fine, upstanding, ethical citizen, only to later find that he votes against his conscience because he was forced to toe the party line?
But perhaps all the current to-ing and fro-ing and tinkering with the system is masking the real issue here - people deserve better politicians, as well as better politics.
The real reason we are likely facing a hung parliament is, quite simply, that there is no clear winner. None of the current candidates stands out above any other. Even their policies are not so very far removed from one another. So, really, we end up choosing according to who we think is the least inept/ least dangerous for the country. I think this is a sorry state of affairs.
People have become disillusioned with politics and not surprisingly. The MP's expenses scandal has revealed many (not all) of our politicans to be, frankly, in it for their own good. We have watched those we voted for come into power and break all the promises they gave us, we have been taken into an illegal war nobody wanted and thousands marched against. On issues like climate change, for instance, we have watched as the promises we had hoped for were watered down into vague intentions. Is it any wonder we are fed up?
So, whoever comes into power tomorrow, I'd simply like to say this: What we need is not a new political system, but a new outlook. Please do not spend thousands of your hours and our money devising something even more complex that may well be worse than the imperfect system we already have. What we need is for you to get back to the basics of being a politician. We deserve politicians who are at least as ethical as those who vote for them. We deserve people who care passionately about this country and will listen to the people they serve. We deserve people who will take a long-term view on issues like climate change and global poverty, and will leave this world a better place for our children. If you do all this, you won't need to deluge our homes with election leaflets, you won't need to call on us demanding our vote, you won't need to shell out thousands on designer suits and spin doctors to sharpen up your image. We'll vote for you because we believe in you. We'll vote for you because you care.
There's been a lot of talk about electoral reform, with many people, my friends included, saying they think a hung parliament would be the best result all round, giving all three parties a say and with less power held by one party exclusively. I've mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I do feel that our current First Past the Post system is unfairly biased in favour of one main party getting in. There's the cold, hard fact that if Labour (for instance) get in this time, two-thirds of the electorate will have voted against them (and that's discounting all those who haven't even bothered to vote). But, then again, I have issues with Proprtional Representation and all its many variants. Primarily, I feel the advantage of our current system is that we each have local representation through an MP we can go to, or write to, to get our views heard at Westminster. That is a precious right, which we should not fritter away.
Also, our current system is based on an adversarial system. Now, there are many disadvantages to that. If we're not careful, it leads to the kind of 'Punch and Judy' politics David Cameron has spoken out against (but still participates in), where whoever shouts the loudest and most convincingly wins the day, regardless of how well thought-out their views are. I don't know about you, but whenever I watch Today in Parliament or any of the parliamentary chanels I feel frankly embarrassed to be British. It's like watching a bunch of old school rivals having a bunfight. You shouldn't need to employ someone to stop grown men shouting at each other. That's pathetic.
On the other hand, an adversarial system has its advantages. Like our legal system, the giving of one opinion followed by the opposing one, followed by, hopeefully, some form of informed debate, tends to be the best way to take a considered view of an issue. It protects against just getting a one-slanted viewpoint or judging things purely based on an emotional response. This system is very much a part of our national politics, and the First Past the Post System, with its party wrangling, is central to that.
There are other issues I feel much more strongly about - I think, for instance, the whips system ought to be abloshed. What's the good of me voting for my local MP because he's a fine, upstanding, ethical citizen, only to later find that he votes against his conscience because he was forced to toe the party line?
But perhaps all the current to-ing and fro-ing and tinkering with the system is masking the real issue here - people deserve better politicians, as well as better politics.
The real reason we are likely facing a hung parliament is, quite simply, that there is no clear winner. None of the current candidates stands out above any other. Even their policies are not so very far removed from one another. So, really, we end up choosing according to who we think is the least inept/ least dangerous for the country. I think this is a sorry state of affairs.
People have become disillusioned with politics and not surprisingly. The MP's expenses scandal has revealed many (not all) of our politicans to be, frankly, in it for their own good. We have watched those we voted for come into power and break all the promises they gave us, we have been taken into an illegal war nobody wanted and thousands marched against. On issues like climate change, for instance, we have watched as the promises we had hoped for were watered down into vague intentions. Is it any wonder we are fed up?
So, whoever comes into power tomorrow, I'd simply like to say this: What we need is not a new political system, but a new outlook. Please do not spend thousands of your hours and our money devising something even more complex that may well be worse than the imperfect system we already have. What we need is for you to get back to the basics of being a politician. We deserve politicians who are at least as ethical as those who vote for them. We deserve people who care passionately about this country and will listen to the people they serve. We deserve people who will take a long-term view on issues like climate change and global poverty, and will leave this world a better place for our children. If you do all this, you won't need to deluge our homes with election leaflets, you won't need to call on us demanding our vote, you won't need to shell out thousands on designer suits and spin doctors to sharpen up your image. We'll vote for you because we believe in you. We'll vote for you because you care.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Fairtrade Fashion
Lifting the label on the fashion industry
Mention fairtrade to most people and they immediately think of products such as tea, coffee and bananas. But now a growing range of fairtrade clothing is hitting the shops – and it’s catching on fast...
I am standing in a crowded hall for a Church service that is unlike any I have ever witnessed. Down the centre of the hall is a line of stage blocks covered with Indian cotton to form an impromptu runway. Someone flicks a switch and strains of ‘I’m too sexy for my shirt’ come blaring out from the speakers of a hi-fi, as a host of sarong-clad models sashay their way through the hall. Yes, fairly traded fashion has finally arrived in Swansea...
My interest in fair trade began by accident, really. I was interviewing Claire Gilfedder from Swansea’s Oxfam store for an article for the Evening Post, and she explained to me how the sale of fairly traded food is helping to transform the lives of many people in places like Africa and India. I’ve always felt passionately that everyone is entitled to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of where they happen to be living, what they believe, or how well-off they are. It suddenly struck me that, far from feeling hopeless about the rest of the world, as a consumer there were real things that I could do to make a difference. I decided, there and then, to do all that I could to promote fairtrade, both in my own community and further afield.
So, why fashion? Unlike fairly traded food and drinks products, which are already well known to most shoppers, the world of fairly traded clothes is something which still remains a mystery to many. It’s a pity, because there are some really fabulous clothes out there from organisations such as Traidcraft, People Tree and Bishopston Trading. I mean, where else could you buy a pair of hand-beaded red crepe Indian pyjamas or a pair of sterling silver Nazca line earrings?
The other reason for my concern is that the fashion industry is one of the notorious when it comes to exploiting workers through poor pay, long hours and inadequate working conditions. In the UK alone, we fork out some £30 billion a year on clothing – that’s around £500 per person. In recent years, the prices of clothes in UK shops has gone down, as the shops and supermarkets do battle to retain our custom. A pair of jeans which used to cost £40 now costs £20. Have you ever wondered how they manage this?
More than half of all the clothes sold in Great Britain are imported, many from developing nations such as China, India and Romania, where there is a large source of cheap labour readily available. In order to meet the demands of the western world for cheap clothes, an increasing number of clothes are made in these countries. Often, workers have few rights and typically companies move on to new countries when supplier factories become better organised and demand higher standards and better pay.
Globalisation of the clothes industry has led to frequent violations of workers rights, including payment of low or infrequent wages, often below the legal minimum. Long hours are common, especially when new orders have to be met, with overtime compulsory or unpaid. In a recent report from Oxfam, focusing on sportswear for the Olympics, workers in the supplier factories of sportswear manufacturers were being forced to work up to 45 hours of forced overtime in one week, to keep up with additional demand over the peak summer period.1
Sweatshops are not just found overseas, though. There are almost 1,500 registered clothing companies in London, and a similar number are thought to be unregistered. Many of these are thought to employ sweatshop labour, paying as little as £2.50 an hour.
Thanks to consumer pressure, a number of positive steps have been made in recent years.
But really, the only way that we are likely to see a lasting change is by voicing our concerns, as consumers, about the conditions in which our clothes are produced. The Christian relief and development agency, Tearfund, is encouraging people to do this, by running a postcard campaign. Postcards can be downloaded from their website (www.tearfund.org.uk/youth) and sent to leading clothes retailers in the UK. These ask them to sign up to the Ethical Trading Initiative – a voluntary code of conduct which guarantees better working conditions and protrects against the use of underage or enforced labour.
Meanwhile, a number of fair trade organisations, including Tearfund, Traidcraft and Chandni Chowk are adding clothing to their existing lines of jewellery, homseware and craft products. There are even plans, in the future, to introduce a fairtrade mark for clothes.
“Currently, the fairtrade mark is not available on clothes,” explains Liz Gardner of the Fairtrade Foundation. One of the reasons for this is that the clothing industry is notoriously difficult to regulate.
“It’s a much more complex process than food and drinks products, because you have to ensure that fair trade criteria are met throughout every stage of the production process,” says Liz. “That includes monitoring everything from picking the cotton to ensuring good factory conditions, and making sure the clothing is dyed without adverse impacts of the environment.”
The Fairtrade Foundation is currently researching the possibility of introducing new lines of ethically-produced organic cotton clothing. Until then, it’s up to people like you and me to speak out on behalf of the rights of those who make our clothes and to let the shops know that those who make our clothes deserve to be treated with respect, honour and dignity.
USEFUL RESOURCES:
www.tearfund.org/youth and click on Lift The Label
www.ethicalconsumer.org
www.cleanclothes.org
www.oxfam.co.uk
www.labourbehindthelabel.org
FAIRTRADE CLOTHING AND JEWELLERY SUPPLIERS:
Bishopston Trading. Tel. 01225 867 485. www.bishopstontrading.co.uk.
Chandni Chowk. Tel. 01823 327 377. www.chandnichowk.co.uk
Traidcraft. Tel. 0191 491 1001. www. Traidcraft.co.uk
Siesta. Tel. 01227 464 614. www.siestacrafts.co.uk
Hug. www.hug.co.uk
People Tree. Tel. 020 7739 0660. www.peopletree.co.uk
Tearcraft. www.tearcraft.org.uk
Get Ethical www.getethical.com
Ethically Me www.ethicallyme.com
Mention fairtrade to most people and they immediately think of products such as tea, coffee and bananas. But now a growing range of fairtrade clothing is hitting the shops – and it’s catching on fast...
I am standing in a crowded hall for a Church service that is unlike any I have ever witnessed. Down the centre of the hall is a line of stage blocks covered with Indian cotton to form an impromptu runway. Someone flicks a switch and strains of ‘I’m too sexy for my shirt’ come blaring out from the speakers of a hi-fi, as a host of sarong-clad models sashay their way through the hall. Yes, fairly traded fashion has finally arrived in Swansea...
My interest in fair trade began by accident, really. I was interviewing Claire Gilfedder from Swansea’s Oxfam store for an article for the Evening Post, and she explained to me how the sale of fairly traded food is helping to transform the lives of many people in places like Africa and India. I’ve always felt passionately that everyone is entitled to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of where they happen to be living, what they believe, or how well-off they are. It suddenly struck me that, far from feeling hopeless about the rest of the world, as a consumer there were real things that I could do to make a difference. I decided, there and then, to do all that I could to promote fairtrade, both in my own community and further afield.
So, why fashion? Unlike fairly traded food and drinks products, which are already well known to most shoppers, the world of fairly traded clothes is something which still remains a mystery to many. It’s a pity, because there are some really fabulous clothes out there from organisations such as Traidcraft, People Tree and Bishopston Trading. I mean, where else could you buy a pair of hand-beaded red crepe Indian pyjamas or a pair of sterling silver Nazca line earrings?
The other reason for my concern is that the fashion industry is one of the notorious when it comes to exploiting workers through poor pay, long hours and inadequate working conditions. In the UK alone, we fork out some £30 billion a year on clothing – that’s around £500 per person. In recent years, the prices of clothes in UK shops has gone down, as the shops and supermarkets do battle to retain our custom. A pair of jeans which used to cost £40 now costs £20. Have you ever wondered how they manage this?
More than half of all the clothes sold in Great Britain are imported, many from developing nations such as China, India and Romania, where there is a large source of cheap labour readily available. In order to meet the demands of the western world for cheap clothes, an increasing number of clothes are made in these countries. Often, workers have few rights and typically companies move on to new countries when supplier factories become better organised and demand higher standards and better pay.
Globalisation of the clothes industry has led to frequent violations of workers rights, including payment of low or infrequent wages, often below the legal minimum. Long hours are common, especially when new orders have to be met, with overtime compulsory or unpaid. In a recent report from Oxfam, focusing on sportswear for the Olympics, workers in the supplier factories of sportswear manufacturers were being forced to work up to 45 hours of forced overtime in one week, to keep up with additional demand over the peak summer period.1
Sweatshops are not just found overseas, though. There are almost 1,500 registered clothing companies in London, and a similar number are thought to be unregistered. Many of these are thought to employ sweatshop labour, paying as little as £2.50 an hour.
Thanks to consumer pressure, a number of positive steps have been made in recent years.
But really, the only way that we are likely to see a lasting change is by voicing our concerns, as consumers, about the conditions in which our clothes are produced. The Christian relief and development agency, Tearfund, is encouraging people to do this, by running a postcard campaign. Postcards can be downloaded from their website (www.tearfund.org.uk/youth) and sent to leading clothes retailers in the UK. These ask them to sign up to the Ethical Trading Initiative – a voluntary code of conduct which guarantees better working conditions and protrects against the use of underage or enforced labour.
Meanwhile, a number of fair trade organisations, including Tearfund, Traidcraft and Chandni Chowk are adding clothing to their existing lines of jewellery, homseware and craft products. There are even plans, in the future, to introduce a fairtrade mark for clothes.
“Currently, the fairtrade mark is not available on clothes,” explains Liz Gardner of the Fairtrade Foundation. One of the reasons for this is that the clothing industry is notoriously difficult to regulate.
“It’s a much more complex process than food and drinks products, because you have to ensure that fair trade criteria are met throughout every stage of the production process,” says Liz. “That includes monitoring everything from picking the cotton to ensuring good factory conditions, and making sure the clothing is dyed without adverse impacts of the environment.”
The Fairtrade Foundation is currently researching the possibility of introducing new lines of ethically-produced organic cotton clothing. Until then, it’s up to people like you and me to speak out on behalf of the rights of those who make our clothes and to let the shops know that those who make our clothes deserve to be treated with respect, honour and dignity.
USEFUL RESOURCES:
www.tearfund.org/youth and click on Lift The Label
www.ethicalconsumer.org
www.cleanclothes.org
www.oxfam.co.uk
www.labourbehindthelabel.org
FAIRTRADE CLOTHING AND JEWELLERY SUPPLIERS:
Bishopston Trading. Tel. 01225 867 485. www.bishopstontrading.co.uk.
Chandni Chowk. Tel. 01823 327 377. www.chandnichowk.co.uk
Traidcraft. Tel. 0191 491 1001. www. Traidcraft.co.uk
Siesta. Tel. 01227 464 614. www.siestacrafts.co.uk
Hug. www.hug.co.uk
People Tree. Tel. 020 7739 0660. www.peopletree.co.uk
Tearcraft. www.tearcraft.org.uk
Get Ethical www.getethical.com
Ethically Me www.ethicallyme.com
Treat for the eyes (and fairly easy on the wallet!)
Stop Press - Further to yesterday's article...Emma Watson (Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films) has collaborated with fairtrade clothes retailer People Tree to create a collection of wearable, stylish and slightly more affordable Fairtrade clothes for young people. Good news for weeny beanpoles like me as sizes go down to a size 6/8. Good news, also, for the workers who produce them, who will benefit from a fair wage, plus a chance to pass on traditional skills such as hand-weaving and embroidery. The collection is simply lovely. Go drool:
http://www.peopletreeyouth.co.uk/
Welcome to Ethics Girl!
Hi all!
This is my new blog! I have decided to set this up for several reasons:
1. To explore ethical issues, both from a spiritual and non-spiritual perspective, hopefully tackling some key issues of the day in a way that is both interesting and entertaining.
2. To showcase some of my writing to date on issues that I care passionately about, and perhaps stimulate some interesting debate along the way.
My name is Rebecca and I am a freelance professional writer/editor, as well as a full-time mum. I have previously worked in the publishing industry and as a sub-editor and columnist for my local newspaper, writing on topical ethical issues. I am a Christian and occasional Quaker attender and volunteer as a media rep for the relief and development agency Tearfund.
I hope you will enjoy reading my blog!
This is my new blog! I have decided to set this up for several reasons:
1. To explore ethical issues, both from a spiritual and non-spiritual perspective, hopefully tackling some key issues of the day in a way that is both interesting and entertaining.
2. To showcase some of my writing to date on issues that I care passionately about, and perhaps stimulate some interesting debate along the way.
My name is Rebecca and I am a freelance professional writer/editor, as well as a full-time mum. I have previously worked in the publishing industry and as a sub-editor and columnist for my local newspaper, writing on topical ethical issues. I am a Christian and occasional Quaker attender and volunteer as a media rep for the relief and development agency Tearfund.
I hope you will enjoy reading my blog!
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