“If you’re someone who cares about people and about justice, it’s not so much an option but it’s something that we have to do.” Jasmin Mawson, Baptist World Aid
Download the Ethical Fashion Guide
I enjoy fashion. I love wearing well-made clothes and good quality fabric if I can afford it. Over the last couple of years, I have grown slightly in my understanding of the fashion industry and the bad treatment workers within its supply chains so often suffer. I find it really helpful learning more about the reality behind what it takes to make my clothes.
Knowing more about the industry hasn’t changed my buying habits though, except that perhaps I haven’t been buying clothes as often as before. That, and I feel guilty sometimes. I’ve also felt like there isn’t much I can do to make a change. It’s been little more than turning a blind eye and I haven’t been satisified with my decision to simply distance myself from a hard situation.
The truth of the matter is that as a consumer, I am inevitably part of the production process. In fact, I am the reason for the process. That means that I am responsible for my part. I value the equal worth of each person. I want to be known as someone who acts justly, with compassion and kindness. It’s easy to turn a blind eye, or feel bad but not change my habits. But deep down, I don’t want any part of the mistreatment of the people making my clothes. It doesn’t align with what I belive.
I’ve decided it is important to continue learning about the fashion processes of my favourite brands. I want to buy clothing from brands that care about treating all the workers in their supply chain with dignity and respect.
The problem I have been facing is how to find out reliable information and how to make my action effective, so it causes change. I don’t want to base my actions on hear-say and I can do better than to be guided by the vague thought that so long as my clothes aren’t made in Bangladesh, I am doing better than before. Honestly, my decisions to date have been based in large part on ignorance, so I am starting to look for better ways to be informed. I’m looking forward to sharing these ways with you over the coming months.
Friday 24 April 2015 marked the second anniversary of the collapse of the Rana Plaza clothing factory in Bangladesh, killing over 1,100 people. In line with this anniversary, Baptist World Aid (BWA), an Australian international aid organisation, fighting for poverty alleviation, released the free Ethical Fashion Guide with the aim of helping concerned shoppers make a more informed choice about who they buy their clothes from.
I was very excited about this new information and I know so many of you will benefit from it too. I spoke with Jasmine Mawson from BWA to find out more about the Ethical Fashion Guide. From our conversation, I’ve put together a Q&A about what the Guide actually is and the difference it’s already helping every-day shoppers make. Enjoy!
Coming Soon: Listen to the podcast of our full conversation, to hear more detail about the research and results behind the guide.
“The truth of the matter is that as a consumer, I am inevitably part of the production process. In fact, I am the reason for the process. That means that I am responsible for my part.”
1. To set the scene, why should we do fashion differently? What’s at stake?
People’s lives are at stake. Issues including forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation are epidemic in the fashion industry. If you’re someone who cares about people and about justice, it’s not so much an option but it’s something that we have to do.
2. What is the Ethical Fashion Guide and how will it help make a difference?
The guide is a comsumer friendly shopping tool. It lists 219 brands and it gives each brand an overall grade which represents their ethical practices.
The guide was created to empower consumers to make decisions for themselves and to be the voice for change. We’re seeing that when consumers speak out and speak up against injustices, companies actually listen.
You can get a soft copy of the guide via email or you can request a hardcopy to be sent to you.
3. What is meant by paying workers a ‘living wage’ and why is this important information for the average shopper?
A living wage is a wage large enough to meet a worker’s basic needs and allows them to support their family. The fact is that legal minimum wages in many developing countries where our clothes are made are not enough to meet basic needs. The minimum wages actually keep workers and their families trapped in poverty, or force them to work excessive overtime to make ends meet.
Paying a living wage frees people from this kind of bondage in the workforce and allows them to be self-sufficient enough to support themselves.
4. So by scoring companies on whether they’re paying – or working towards paying – a living wage to their workers, we can keep them accountable?
Exactly. Not enough companies are investing in paying a living wage. Only two companies [in the guide] get full credit for this. Only eight percent of all the companies that were graded were investing in any way in this area. This number has actually doubled in the last two years, which shows that this issue of paying a living wage is increasingly on the agenda. However, it’s still not good enough.
5. If we notice in the Fashion Guide, that our favourite brands score low, what kind of action can we take and will it actually make a difference?
Purchasing power plays a massive difference in what we’re trying to achive. If your favourite brand doesn’t score well, you can decide to stop purchasing from them. But most importantly, let them know that you’re not happy. Many people have taken the initiative to contact brands that they’re not happy with. For example, the Just Group: we’ve recently seen their Facebook page inundated with people’s comments saying that their practices aren’t good enough.
BWA initially approached each company listed in the Fashion Guide, for their input. Some companies were unresponsive to this request. Since the Guide’s release, five of the initially unresponsive comapnies have got back into contact with BWA, to talk further about their practices. This is because consumers have kicked up a fuss about it.
This guide empowers people to make everyday choices that actually make a significant difference.
No Comments