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).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
