Ethical fashion: what is 'ethical' clothing?
Tuesday, 10 April 2007 07:32
‘Ethical’ means many different things to many different people, and therefore the answer depends on what you mean by ethical. For some people it means that the product is environmentally friendly or made from organic or recycled materials. For others it means clothes made by artisans or small producers. Some people may understand it to mean buying second-hand or locally sourced goods. All of these are important issues.
Labour Behind the Label focuses on working conditions within the mainstream garment industry. For us a company would need to ensure that workers throughout their supply chain are able to exercise their internationally-agreed labour rights before they can be called 'ethical.'
Internationally agreed labour rights include
- employment is freely chosen
- payment of a living wage,
- secure employment
- safe and healthy working conditions,
- working hours are not excessive and overtime is voluntary
- freedom from sexual harassment, discrimination or verbal and/or physical abuse and most importantly,
- workers are able to speak out and defend and improve their own labour rights through freedom of association to join a trade join and bargain collectively.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
