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

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!