This is the fourth year in which Labour behind the label has reported on the state of high street fashion, focusing on various issues within the industry such as the labourers behind the clothing lines and how or if at all, what fashion labels are doing to address an area of the industry which has come under increased public scrutiny and attention. There is a growing movement of accountability within fashion and this report highlights a major area of weakness in the industry, which is the labour.
Much has been said about size 0 models and now much needs to be said about how high street fashion labels source their textiles and labels. If for example when you are doing your food shopping and you want to know where your bananas have come from, it will be displayed. Hopefully they are fair-trade bananas and you are making an informed decision, because you know that the man or woman who picked those bananas is getting a paid fairly and works in a safe and fair environment.
Would it not be wonderful if you knew that all the people who made all your clothes are in the same situation? They are not being exploited; they are able to provide for the family giving them a better future and opportunities in life. For this to happen there would have to be a wholesale revolution for the fashion industry, something they would much rather avoid no doubt. However information today is widespread and hard to hide from, making information and knowledge in particular very powerful tools.
This blog series will look at the Labour behind the label – 2009 report findings and highlight various issues together with additional market information. The objective of all this is to generate awareness and allow shoppers to make informed decisions.
As the 2009 Labour behind the label report states “The scandalous truth is that the majority of workers in the global fashion industry rarely earn more than two dollars a day in an industry worth over £36 billion a year in the UK alone. Many have to work excessive hours just to get this meagre amount and have no possibility to earn wages needed to properly feed, clothe, house and educate their families.”
In recent years many big brands on the UK high street have publicly accepted that garment workers’ wages need increasing, and many of these brands will say that they have started to eliminate poverty wages. However few of these plans will ever make a tangible impact on wages and those people’s lives. Why is though? It is because most projects have ignored fundamental issues which make the biggest difference of all, such as freedom of association, price and distribution of profit, and have instead focused on making factories or workers more ‘productive’.
The report goes on to say “On Oct 7th 2009 a new and exciting initiative, the Asian Floor Wage, will be launched. This is an Asia-wide campaign with global resonance, which rejects the idea that governments, unions and workers in different countries should be forced to choose between unemployment or exploitation………It places workers right back at the centre of debate and it lays down the gauntlet to brands and retailers, governments and employers to make sure that the garment industry finally provides not just any work, but decent work to the millions of women and men producing the clothes we wear.”
Funky Eco Clothing from Credau, an Original Clothing label that produces and sells environmentally friendly clothes online, our environmentally friendly clothing is made from 100% natural cotton and all our designs and fits are made in-hous. We believe in integrity and longevity through quality work.
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