The Clean Clothes Campaign aims to improve working conditions and support the empowerment of workers in the global garment and sports shoe industries.

The Clean Clothes Campaign's work is founded upon the following principles:

• All workers-regardless of sex, age, country of origin, legal status, employment status or location, or any other basis-have a right to good and safe working conditions, where they can exercise their fundamental rights to associate freely and bargain collectively, and earn a living wage, which allows them to live in dignity.

• Minimum standards related to these rights are derived from the ILO conventions, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted in 1998, as well as on the Article 23 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and have been listed in the CCC model code of labour practices for the garment and sportswear industry. These rights apply to all workers, even if they or their workplaces are not formally recognised as such.

• Workers have a right to know about their rights (under national and international law and agreements, as well as under voluntary initiatives and agreements). They are entitled to education and training in relation to these rights.

• The public has a right to know where and how their garments and sports shoes are produced.

• Workers themselves can and should take the lead in their own organising and empowerment.

• Workers can best assess their needs and the risks they take when asserting their rights. Public campaigns and other initiatives to take action in cases of rights violations and the development of strategies to address these issues must be done in consultation with workers or their representatives.

• The public can and should take action to see that workers' rights are respected. However, the CCC does not generally endorse or promote boycotts as a tool for action.

• In order to achieve and maintain workers' rights, the gender issues underlying or facilitating rights violations must be addressed.

• National governments and international authorities have an obligation to implement legislation and sanction any failure to do so. Binding legislation should exist that meets the standards set out in ILO conventions;. They also should implement ethical procurement policies.

• The garment and sports shoe industries (including factory owners, agents, manufacturing companies, brand name garment corporations, retailers, and others) have a responsibility to ensure that good labour practices are the norm at all levels of the industry. Given the current structure of the industry, brand name garment companies and retailers must use their position of power to ensure good labour standards are met.

• Brand name garment companies and retailers should adopt a code of labour practice that follows the standards outlined in the CCC model code, commit to implement these standards throughout the garment production subcontracting chain, and participate in credible, transparent and participatory multi-stakeholder verification initiatives in order to develop, guide and oversee code implementation activities.

• Brand name garment companies and retailers should actively pursue social dialogue with trade union organizations, and sign international framework agreements to facilitate such dialogue.

• Companies must be transparent about conditions in, and the structure of, their supply networks and regarding actions undertaken to uphold good labour standards.

• Trade unions and NGOs should cooperate nationally, regionally and globally to improve conditions in the garment and sports shoe industries and facilitate worker empowerment, without resorting to protectionism. Such cooperation should be based on mutual respect for each others different roles and methods, open and active communication, participatory consensus building and constructive criticism.