Clean Clothes from the Clean Clothes Campaign

Today I have begun to fill the gaps in my knowledge regarding the clothing industry, given my disquiet regarding Tshirts at my son’s nursery yesterday. To this end I have found the Clean Clothes Campaign‘s website very useful as a starting point, to bring me up to speed with some of the issues regarding manufacturing in the garments industry, principally in Bangladesh (this is currently where labour is cheapest), but also China, India, Sri Lanka and others. The main issues, as to be expected, are rates of pay, hours worked, working conditions, freedom of association, and the monitoring of conditions by the brands that have commissioned the orders.

Incidentally, a note regarding the Spanish address on all Primark goods. I’ve seen a number of people look at this and assume manufacture occurs within the EU and is therefore OK. A friend who lives at that address assured me today that it is just some offices on the second floor of that building, opposite the American Embassy in Madrid. I do wonder if it is there to be deliberately misleading as you would normally expect to see ‘Made in ..xx..’ in that position on the label. Primark source their manufacturing labour in the same way as the other cheap chic retailers.

Anyway, turning back to CCC: Each of the campaigns seems to have similar circumstances. Retailers have squeezed the factories for lower and lower prices, and shorter and shorter lead times, in some cases it must be said also stipulating at least the minimum wages for workers and maximum overtimes. Monitoring of conditions by the brands is however often unsatisfactory, sometimes with advance notice of a visit give in time for time sheets to be mocked up and workers to be primed in what they should say. Those workers who summon up enough courage to form a union are at best bullied, in some cases shot, imprisoned, or gagged by a court order. Factories with unions are frequently shut down and the work moved elsewhere. In order to meet the short deadlines required by the brands, long overtime hours are inevitable. And the monthly minimum wage in Bangladesh which was set 12 years ago does not now cover basic food requirements for one person, let alone accommodation and clothing costs, or the costs for many with dependants. Not a pretty picture is it?

It does seem though that increasing consumer pressure has been having a positive effect – some of these campaigns are progressing or have had successful solutions. The group has done a lot of donkey work for the consumer, particularly in terms of pinpointing the correct person within each organisation to contact with concerns and petitions, along with their contact details.

They don’t always get it right though, as mentioned in our Not Easy post on ResponsAble last week. I am disappointed to see the Pentland Group mentioned in one of the campaigns, and so I will be following this up specifically with them in the light of their comprehensive policies, and will post any response I get.

Besides the campaigns, there are some useful documents on the site, outlining for example discussions with some of the retailers and multiples and giving a picture of where they currently stand, and assessing some of the new companies who claim to trade ethically and reviewing their practices and policies. After having had a good long read I do feel a lot more informed now as I am walking down my High Street – I will outline some of these findings in the companies section of our blog.

This particular group however only focuses on the manufacturing section of this industry. The production of the fabrics themselves is another story and I would also like to know more in particular about cotton farming.