Feb, 2007
Reports from the different
Clean Clothes Campaigns and projects
November
2006 - February 2007
Austria - Clean Clothes Kampagne
Public AwarenessCampaigns
The Austrian CCC supported the Disney
Campaign of SACOM. We organised a street action
in Vienna and sent out a press release based on
the information of the research SACOM did about
Disney supplies in China. We collected around
1000 signatures (via signatures lists and online
petitions) for better working condition in Disney
suppliers. Other activities
and Events We gave a presentation of the
Clean Clothes Campaign and the urgent actions
system. The target group consisted of 25 teachers.
The aim of the seminar was to give teachers an
idea about how they can include the theme "Clean
Clothes" in their lessons. All teachers want
to get further information about the work of the
CCC and will get the newsletter and requests for
the Urgent Actions in the future.
- In the course of the event "faire Kleider",
which was organised by a group of students called
"weltverrückt", the Clean Clothes
Campaign was invited to present the urgent actions
and the work of the campaign. 180 students of
Graz visited the event.
- In the course of a project of the school
HLZ Weiz a representative of the CCC was invited
to present the urgent actions and the work of
the campaign. 60 students, 3 teachers, a shop
owner and a politician of Weiz attended, and
the local press wrote about the event.
Solidarity WorkUrgent
Appeals Paxar
This appeal is ongoing.
North Sails The mediation process at the
National Contact Point has started. We are working
on the plan for the last battle.
Bangladesh This appeal is ongoing.
Hermosa This appeal is ongoing.
Public Authorities
Ethical Procurement
New Publications and Materials
We published a new edition of the Austrian CCC
Newsletter.
Belgium North - Schone
Kleren Campagne Public
Awareness
- Giants
- We gave 2 days of training for trade union
leaders of Lidl and Aldi in Belgium.
- One of the participants traced back where
an Aldi T-shirt was produced (Queentex- based
in Hong Kong; production in Guandong).
- China
Future plans
- Public event at the occasion of 'China Blue'
during film festivals (April, October).
- Workshop for schools based on 'China Blue'.
- T-shirts for organisations and events
- We are publishing a newsletter on T-shirts.
- We raise awareness among social organisations
and organisers of cultural events.
- We promote to buy T-shirts from Fair Wear
Foundation members.
- Olympics
- We sent a letter to the Belgian Olympic Committee
with update on reports and activities
- Chinese New Year 2007 in Antwerp: we are investigating
the feasibility for the launch of the campaign
in 2008.
- Future plans
- Preparing an awareness raising campaign: through
schools and through Chinese restaurants.
- Belgian Social Forum
- We have been participating in a workshop on
Decent Work.
Solidarity Work
- Urgent AppealsSpectrum - Bangladesh
- We are following up with trade union delegates
of Carrefour.
Companies
- Fair Wear Foundation (FWF)
- A Belgian trader of T-shirts, Sparkling Ideas,
has become a member of the FWF.
- FWF project
- We have had a second meeting with Creamoda,
employers' federation of Belgian garment producers.
- Clean Clothes at work
- This work is ongoing.
- Companies
Bioracer
With this producer of cycling sportswear (the
European market leader for cycling teams) we
have had the 3rd meeting to discuss FWF membership.
Carrefour International
We had a meeting in Paris, December 12th 2006.
Public Authorities
- Ethical Procurement
Clean Clothes Communities
Ongoing action, several workshops were organised
and will be organised.
Denmark
Organising Since
November 2006 we have been in touch with several
other NGO's, to work on setting up a Danish CCC-platform.
We started with Trade Union 3F, which is organising
among others all textile workers in Denmark.
Unfortunately they are at this moment not able
to formally join, due to internal changes.
We started instead to make contact with other
NGO's - so far we expect MS (Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke)
and Pay-Time ( young students working with textile
production in Central America and supporting a
textile cooperative in Nicaragua) to take part.
But we have to wait for final decisions in the
organisations.
Publications Our
latest newsletter informed about how the Clean
Clothes Campaign works, including a report from
the CCC Euromeeting in November 2006. We also
advertised for the CCC urgent appeal system.
France - Collectif de l'Ethique
sur l'étiquette (ESE)
Solidarity Work
- Urgent Appeals
Bangladesh/Spectrum: We are following up on
Carrefour, CMT and Solo, about their participation
to the voluntary fund (together with the Belgian
CCCs).
New Publications and Material
ESE member Peuples Solidaires is working, together
with the Belgian CCC, on the translation and adaptation
of the "Made by Women" CCC publication.
Germany - Kampagne für
'Saubere' Kleidung Public
Awareness
- Other activities and Events
We organised the annual CCC activists meeting
at Hattingen on February 23/24, welcoming 50
participants.
The Youth Department of the IG Metall-union organised
a youth conference in Sprockhövel from 24-27
of January 2007 with 450 participants. CCC was
present with an information stall and we gave
a presentation on our work.
Solidarity Work
- Urgent Appeals
Hermosa/ El Salvador: A solidarity fund was
set up by the FLA around Christmas. Some FLA-brands
made contributions to the fund. The money was
transferred to the unionised workers by the
Salvadorian NGO FESPAD. It is the first time
in the history of the FLA that such a fund was
realised. The problem is that till today only
36.000 USD were paid to the fund. Another problem
is that all organised workers are blacklisted.
International secretariat
- Clean Clothes Campaign Coordination Organisation
Euromeeting
The IS, together with CCC Sweden, organised and
coordinated the European meeting, February 27th
and 28th, in Stockholm.
Internship Switzerland
A CCC staff person went on a packed internship
week at the CCC Switzerland. A platform meeting
and a Swiss Fair Trade Forum meeting were attended,
as well as the Public Eye on Davos and the Open
Forum of the WEF. Also, they shared time in the
Swiss CCC office, discussing CCC cooperation and
the ins and outs of CCC Switzerland.
Solidarity Work
- Urgent Appeals
Ongoing Urgent Appeals
Public appeals/updates were launched on the
3rd anniversary of the murder of Chea Vichea
in Cambodia, the continuous gagging of the Indian
labour organisations in the Fibres and Fabrics
International case, the insufficient Salvadorian
Hermosa fund, and the ongoing violence against
labour rights activists in the Philippines.
Successfully closed cases include Gina Form
in Thailand, and Paxar in Turkey
Partner Activities World
Social Forum
CCC organised, together with SOMO (NL), ILRF (US)
and KHRC (Kenya) a workshop during the WSF on the
social costs ( wages , retrenchments etc.) of mostly
Asian investment, in the garment industry in Africa.
Speakers included workers from Kenya's EPZ and a
representative of the TU of Uganda. About 80 persons
took part in the workshop.
Romania roundtable
CCC staff participated in a roundtable organised
by AUR in Romania on the occasion of the Romanian
translation of 'Looking for a quick fix' on December
14th 2006.
Companies
- Monitoring and Verification
JO-IN update
The JO-IN Steering Committee met on February
6 and 8, and had a meeting with the Local Working
Group on February 7. The SC discussed the findings
of the assessments, focusing on FoA, wages and
hours of work (completed in all 6 project factories)
and possible remediation strategies. Separate
research in subcontracting is undertaken by
a university.
CCC staff gave a presentation (jointly with
ETI, Switcher, Maggie's Organics and various
others) at the FLO workshop on November 9
and 10, which discussed the possibilities
for FLO labeled garments.
Company database update
The IS participated in a meeting (November)
with the International Consumer Research and
Testing (ICRT) to discuss possible cooperation
in research on garment companies.
Public Authorities
CCC IS spoke at a conference organised by the
Finish presidency of the EU on CSR and competitiveness
on November 22. We challenged the latest communication
of the EC Conference and raised centrality of
FoA as an enabling right, the need for improving
the work of MSIs (and the problem of industry
initiatives undercutting even the current slow
progress among more credible MSIs) and the issue
bad purchasing practices as central to any meaningful
discussion on competitiveness.
We participated in an expert meeting organised
by the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and the
ILO on the "Social Dimension of Globalization"
on December 13.
CCC staff also participated in an informal hearing
organised by UK MEP Richard Howitt to get input
on his draft resolution on CSR, and gave a presentation
at the official hearing on CSR and the role of
TNC's of the sub-commission on Human Rights on
January 23. We spoke about the options for the
European organisations to increase the impact
of codes of conduct and voluntary initiatives
by incorporating them in a regulatory framework,
and highlighted specifically what the Commission
and parliament could do in relation to Bangladesh.
New Publications and Materials
Success publication
This twelve-page brochure entitled "CCC Solidarity
Action: Making a Difference for Workers"
was printed in December. The brochure presents
information on the direct solidarity action work
done by the CCC and can be downloaded from the
CCC International website (http://www.cleanclothes.org/ftp/07-01-cccpub.pdf).
Hard copies can be ordered from the IS (please
send requests to info@cleanclothes.org).
SOMO publications
SOMO published a manual on the codes and practices
of five garment buyers in South Africa, with information
on their codes, and - indeed - the practices as
well as contact information with the companies.
The manual can be downloaded from SOMO's website:
http://www.somo.nl/html/paginas/pdf/manual_garment_dec_2006_NL.pdf
SOMO also published Stitching for South Africa,
about the responsibility of South Africa retailers
for their supply chain.
Italy - Campagna Abiti
Puliti Public Awareness
- Other activities and Events
- We have held trainings and public meetings
to raise awareness on the issues in the garment
sector, corporate crimes and the work of the
CCC, in several cities: Parma, Urbino, Fidenza,
Cagliari, Roma, Napoli, Lodi, Milano and Varese.
- A big article and interview with the CCC appeared
in the newspaper, Il Salvagente.
Solidarity Work
- Urgent Appeals
FFI
Pressure put on Armani and RaRe; launch of the
public appeal and media work, ongoing..
- Partner Activities
- New organisations become part of the CCC:
at the beginning of 2007 fair trade organisations
ASSOBOTTEGHE and LIBEROMONDO decided to adhere
to the campaign.
- We are strengthening the partnership with
the national unions, through collaboration on
training programs and UA activities.
Companies
Public Authorities
- Legal Action
We are collaborating with the Italian CSR coalition
to lobby for a positive outcome of the European
Parliament's hearing on the new CSR report half
March - we are preparing joint letters (CCC/CSR
Coalition) to be sent to the Italian MPs including
all strategic points. For the outcome, see http://www.cleanclothes.org/publications/07-03-15.htm
New Publications and Materials
- Monthly newsletter - it has been developed and
now has become a very important information tool
which reach some 3.000 people every month - http://www.abitipuliti.org:8080/abitipuliti/news/
- Critical guide on textile and garment sector
- we continue to promote the book through meetings
and public initiatives. The book is about to be
translated in Spanish, and contains profiles of
some 90 companies.
- Promotion of the video realised by RAI 3 (national
TV) thanks to the collaboration with the CCC on
the A-One case, used in training meetings.
Netherlands - Schone Kleren
Kampagne
Public Awareness
- Groen Licht voor Schone Kleding
The launch of this campaign took place in December
2006 at the central train station in Utrecht.
Aim of this campaign:
- raise awareness of workers working in the
public transport sector and create a need for
clean clothes within this sector
- commitment of public transport companies to
purchase clean representative clothes
- move garment companies to the FWF
Material will be distributed through union channels.
An interactive web portal will be set up for
buyers (possibly translation into French and
English). Activities include: presentations
at worker council meetings, meetings with public
transport companies, their buyers and garment
companies.
- Fashioning an Ethical Industry
This project aims at fashion students in order
to make them aware of the problems in the garment
industry so that, they when they are about to
enter the fashion industry, will contribute
to change CSR policies/ corporate attitudes.
- Play Fair 2008
CCC contributed to two workshops at the Made
in China seminar organised by FNV (Dutch trade
union federation) on March 3rd: one about the
Olympics, and one in cooperation with the FWF.
Solidarity Work
- Urgent Appeals
Fibre & Fabrics International - India
SKK and ICN (India Committee of the Netherlands)
are publicly campaigning on G-Star sourcing
from Fibre & Fabrics International and its
subsidiary Jeans Knit Pvt Ltd (Bangalore, India).
Other brands involved are Mexx (Dutch, FWF member),
Ann Taylor, GAP, Armani, Ra-Re, and Guess. See
http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent/07-01-10.htm
for the latest information.
Companies
- Project on Transparency
SKK was one of the speakers at a debate on transparency
organised by SOMO in December. SKK looked at
three companies about their transparency (availability
and reliability of information concerning labour
conditions under which their products are made)
from a consumers´ point of view: AGU,
Falcon (FWF member) and M`Braze (Made By label).
- New members FWF
FWF has new members including Mexx (Dutch) and
Switcher (Swiss). FWF has now 29 members in
total in the Netherlands, Belgium (Sparkling
Ideas), Switzerland (Switcher), Germany (Hess
Natur), UK (Continental Clothing).
New publications and materials
- Dutch translation of Made By Women
- ´Groen Licht´ material (leaflet,
card and poster)
- Monitoring brochure (updated version)
Norway - Kampanjen Rene
Klær We are in the process of establishing
a CCC network in Norway.
Public Awareness
Other activities and Events
We have had several meetings with organisations
within Norway to inspire them and get them to
join us in the Norwegian CCC. So far Framtiden
i våre hender (The Future in Our Hands)
is joined by Changemaker (Norwegian Church Aid
youth organisation) and Handel og Kontor (Norwegian
Union of Commercial and Office Employees).
Public Authorities
Ethical Procurement
Kampanjen Rene Klær has started a small
project asking our politicians in Parliament whether
or not they support ethical guidelines as a condition
for public procurement. Based on their replies
we will publish a report.
New Publications and Materials
We have translated the Swedish brochure "Om
Rena Kläder" ("About Clean Clothes")
into Norwegian, which will be printed in March,
and we are working on our website www.reneklaer.no.
Spain - Campaña
Ropa Limpia (CRL) Public
Awareness
- Campaigns
We are campaigning on the company INDUYCO, the
main garment supplier of El Corte Inglés
(the biggest department store of Spain), which
has its own shops and produces uniforms for
many European cities. "What's lies behind
INDUYCO's clothing":.
- Other activities and Events
Press Events
Press releases
December: PR in connexion with the Bread &
Butter Festival in Barcelona.
January 8: Final act / Closing of INDUYCO's
campaign. Very good media coverage: prime time
in the news on 2 nationals TV channels (TV2
-state channel- and Tele 5 -private channel-)
February 15: in the frame of the International
Fashion Week in Madrid, CRL participated in
a panel with the Spanish Federation of garment
companies, FEDECON, a consumer organisation
(CECU), trade unions (UGT and CC.OO) and Intermón
Oxfam.
- Interviews
January 2: CRL in Catalonia interviewed by radio
4 about responsible consumption during Christmas
time.
January 8: CRL interviewed by national media
connected to the street action planned to end
the campaign "What's lies behind INDUYCO's
clothing" in Madrid (see below).
February 14: CRL Catalonia interviewed by Radio
Mataró on Public Procurement
February 16: CRL Catalonia interviewed by Catalunya
Ràdio on Public Procurement
February 16: CRL interviewed by the national
newspaper El País, an economy magazine
(Economista) and an e-agency of solidarity news
(CanalSolidario). An article was published in
México about the panel organized during
the International Fashion Week.
- Travel with media
CRL, together with a Basque designer and the
Basque TV channel made a trip to Romania to
easier contacts to shoot a documentary on garment
production.
- Street events
November 4 and January 7: signature collection
in front of El Corte Inglés for the campaign
"What's lies behind INDUYCO's clothing"
and to add members to the list of e-mail activists.
December 15 to January 5: signature collection
at the fair trade stand in the city of Pamplona.
December, 16 and 17: street action on responsible
consumption during Christmas time in Barcelona,
with participation of 50 activists.
January: during the sales period, activists
wearing work uniforms went on the streets of
Vitoria (Basque Country) to collect signatures
for the campaign towards INDUYCO with the slogan
"labour rights not for sale".
January 8: closure of the campaign "What's
lies behind INDUYCO's clothing" in Madrid:
Continuing in the holiday spirit, we organised
an action around the Reyes Magos (The Three
Wise Men: on the night before the 6th of January
children in Spain go to bed expecting Los Reyes
Magos to bring them presents, but, the Three
Wise Men can also bring coal to the children
if they have behave badly during the year. Three
activists, dressed as los Reyes Magos, delivered
three gifts at INDUYCO's headquarters: a big
postcard symbolising the number of signatures
collected (more than 5.500), the CCC code of
conduct and a big bag of coal. We invited the
press the morning of the event to come to CRL's
office and from there, the Wise Men, staff and
activists of the CRL together with the press
boarded a customised bus with images of the
CRL. We made a stop in front of the Tintoretto
y Sintesis (INDUYCO's brands) to allow the press
to link these stores with INDUYCO and for the
Wise Men to make an appearance. For the CRL
it was the moment to distribute leaflets and
speak to the customers at the stores. Then we
made our way to Induyco´s headquarters.
Unfortunately, we were not able to hand-deliver
these gifts, given that no Induyco representative
received us at the door. However, the trade
union representative of Induyco did participate
in the activity and was interviewed on site.
The CRL gave a short press conference and afterwards,
the bus returned back to CRL offices with all
the participants.
- Educational activities
November 4: screening of China Blue and new
exposition of CRL "Nuestra moda trae tela"
in Zaragoza in the frame a fair trade fair.
November 29: Screening of China Blue in the
city of Badalona. Panel with the CRIC (center
for research and responsible consumption), Observatori
del Deute en la Globalització (Globalisation
Debt Watch) and CRL.
November 30: presentation of the CRL in the
city of Manresa within the course "Globalterapia".
December 19: screening of China Blue in a cinema
in Barcelona in collaboration with Intermón
Oxfam.
18 to 26 of December: "Week of clean fashion"
in the city of San Sebatián: a week meant
to present the CRL to the citizens of San Sebastián
(Basque Country). Activities: exhibition "Nuestra
moda trae tela", panel with 2 Basque companies
and Fair Fashion Association (Cambodia), screening
of China Blue in the frame of a film festival
on labour rights with the collaboration of the
city hall of San Sebastian and debate, ateliers
to recycle garments and teddy bears, alternative
fashion parade wearing the recycled garments
(re)made in the ateliers, jazz concert, fair
trade lunch. We reach a public non-traditionally
attracted by NGOs activities (in total 800 participants).
The regional media coverage was very good.
Contacts made with the Fair Wear Foundation
to visit the FWF within the framework of the
"Clean Fashion Week in San Sebastian".
The winners of the competition on alternative
design will visit the FWF in the Netherlands.
February 1: Launch and screening of the documentary
"Lo último en moda": 80 viewers.
February 3: screening of China Blue on the Catalan
TV "channel 33": 120.000 viewers.
February 7: screening of China Blue in a cinema
of Barcelona (fourth time): 110 viewers.
Presentation of the CRL in schools in the city
of Zaragoza.
Screening of China Blue in a school in Pamplona
and a debate about China.
February 28: Seminar about CRL in the Master
for Sustainable Development in the "Escuela
de Organización Industrial"
Courses in a school in Galicia about CRL and
conferences on CRL in the frame of two masters
of the University of A Coruña (Galicia).
Solidarity Work
- Urgent Appeals
1. Cases taken up:
Spectrum (Bangladesh): follow up with Inditex
CSR person and with social organisations and
media that are following the case.
2 Cyber activists:
We' ve increased the number of cyber activists
through the signature collection for the campaign
"What lies behind INDUYCO's garment":
the people who signed to demand transparency
of INDUYCO generally also signed to become cyber
activists of the CRL. We collected 5500 signatures
for this campaign.
Companies
- Monitoring and Verification
Mid- December: We have had a meeting with GMIES:
centre for independent monitoring and verification
from El Salvador (they have been working on
social audits for GAP).
Public Authorities
- Ethical Procurement
Ethical public procurement in Catalonia
November 20: Workshop on Ethical Public Procurement
January 2: the City Hall of Girona joined the
Public Procurement Network, the "Xarxa
per la Compra Pública Ética"
February 16: meeting about Public Procurement.
28 Catalan Public Administrations attended the
meeting.
Ethical public procurement in Basque Country:
We have begun the work on public procurement
in the Basque Country as a long term activity
of awareness raising via a grassroots approach.
Ethical public procurement in Galicia:
We are lobbying the regional government to include
CRL criteria in the forthcoming CSR declaration
and to include labour rights compliance all
along the suppy chain in the production countries.
New Publications and Materials
New audiovisual materials:
"Lo último en moda": 30 mins.
documentary about the relation between the destruction
of farmers' way of life and the maquilas in México.
Includes an interview with Martín Barrios.
A team of the Basque TV channel (ETB) travelled
to Romania to record testimonies of workers in
the garment industry.
New materials: Guide on Responsible Consumption
in the Basque Country and a new CRL exhibition
which can be used for awareness raising.
Switzerland - Clean Clothes
Campaign Public Awareness
Clean Clothes Events
- Lausanne: over 100 signatures were collected
for Bangladesh during an Action Day for Sustainable
Development.
- Street actions in Zurich and Zug from an independent
action group (Glore) in the Autumn of 2006.
- Publication of a new CCC-Leaflet in French on
garments with the price of the product and the
share of the wages for CMT. During 2006 more than
100.000 CCC leaflets have been distributed over
street actions, schools or individual activists.
- Fairtrade week with a public panel in Wolfurt
(Austria closed to Swiss border) on the CCC
- CCC-Workshop in Basel (November 8th) and in
Emmenbrucke (Nov. 7th).
- CCC lecture at the University of Luzerne, November
7th.
- Participation in a CSR workshop at the University
of Lausanne (December 8/9).
Publication on CSR (January 2007)
Berne Declaration released a publication on CSR
in German and French with an analysis of Migros´
sustainability report and an interview with Stefan
Seidel from Puma on their code implementation.
Solidarity Work
- Urgent Appeals
Spectrum / Bangladesh
We have done media work and a homepage update
on the French CCC-Homepage, as well as an action
in Geneva.
Hermosa / El Salvador
We put an update on the homepage and did media
work.
Companies
- Monitoring and Verification
ISCOM
The Swiss trade union UNIA has signed a declaration
that they support the verification organisation
ISCOM / Fair Wear Foundation and that they will
be part of the governing body.
Sweden - Rena Kläder
Public Awareness
- Campaigns
Public Procurement - Mina Skattepengar - My
Tax Money
During the autumn this campaign has continued
on a local level. In seven cities local campaign
groups have been formed and they now work towards
their local politicians in the municipality
and the county council. In November we arranged
an education course on how to influence politicians
and communicate our demands better. In January,
the activists in Gothenburg arranged a "Community
Night" where they invited local politicians
from the community and the county council, journalists,
Rena Kläder and the public to talk about
ethical public procurement. During the night
they gave the politicians over 1000 signed action
cards. So far no formal decisions in favour
of ethical demands have been taken, but several
municipalities and county councils are working
on the issue.
We have also been working on a report about
surgical tools and hospital/patient clothing
together with Fair Trade Center (FTC) and
SwedWatch. SwedWatch is a non-governmental
organisation that writes reports on Swedish
business relations with developing countries.
The aim is to highlight the violations of
human rights in this industries to put further
pressure on the county council and to create
a public opinion. SwedWatch has done the research
in Pakistan and India and Rena Kläder
and FTC are writing the recommendations to
the buying companies and to the county councils
that buy from these companies. The report
will be released at the end of March.
-
Play Fair
The Swedish Play Fair-campaign put focus on
two Swedish sportswear retailers, Stadium
and Team Sportia and the Swedish Olympic Committee
(SOC). In November, we had a meeting with
SOC and gave them the nearly 3000 postcards
we collected during the summer and autumn.
Since the meeting they have chosen a new supplier
on clothing but so far they have not communicated
any changes in their buying strategies or
policies.
We have also sent the collected action cards
to Stadium and Team Sportia together with
a letter with our demands and Stadium recently
responded to the letter positively and we
will have further contact soon. Team Sportia
has not responded yet.
In January we had a planning day with the
Swedish platform members where we discussed
Play Fair 2008 among other things. Many of
the members want to have an active role in
the campaign and we decided to continue to
have focus on the Swedish retailers. Next
steps are to make a Swedish campaign plan
and to form a working group to further plan
Play Fair 2008.
Other activities and Events
Course on Swedish School of Textiles
The Swedish School of Textiles is the biggest
college of textile education in Sweden. Rena Kläder
has given lectures at the school before but now
our collaboration with the school was extended.
In November we got the opportunity to give a one
week course to educate textile students in ethical
and social aspects in the garment industry. Together
with Fair Trade Center we will continue to give
courses this year as well, on different levels.
China Blue
China Blue had its Swedish premiere in the middle
of November. One week before, November 7, we arranged
a movie night to show the film in advance. After
the film we had a panel discussion with Weekday,
a smaller fashion company. 100 people came to
see the film and it was much appreciated. During
the later premiere, the director Micha X Peled
visited Sweden and he was interviewed in Swedish
media. Later in November, national television
broadcasted China Blue.
Christmas campaign
When China Blue was highlighted in media just
before Christmas, many people wanted to have concrete
tools to put pressure on companies while shopping
Christmas gifts. We decided to start a smaller
Christmas campaign. The campaign had the slogan
"Hard working conditions behind soft Christmas
gifts". The weeks before Christmas we stood
outside shopping centres and distributed action
cards. We also had a web action on our website.
Companies
- Brand related work
Indiska Report
H&M took part in the Swedish pilot that
was conducted a couple of years ago. Indiska
is a another company that participated in the
same pilot. Now when the H&M report is finished
Rena Kläder have started to prepare a similar
report about Indiska. The report was released
on December 28 and got a great media coverage.
All national newspapers and television stations
did something on it and we got good response.
Follow up on fashion companies
The last month we have attended meetings with
fashion companies that were a part of the
fashion report from last year and some other
similar companies. So far we have met Filippa
K, Björn Borg, Nudie, Acne and Velour.
Some of them haven't improved since last time
and we also met a lack of knowledge. Others
have taken small steps to improve working
conditions in their supply chain. Later this
spring we will arrange a round table meeting
with some of this companies to discuss further.
Public Authorities
- Ethical Procurement
Mina Skattepengar
See "Campaigns".
New Publications and Material
Indiska Report
A critical report on how the Swedish retailer
Indiska is working to improve the working conditions
in their supply chain. In Swedish.
Action card
For the Christmas campaign, in Christmas style,
urging people to put pressure on companies during
Christmas-shopping. In Swedish.
United Kingdom - Labour
Behind the Label
Awareness-raising
High street fashion campaign
- We are working with a student campaign network
called People on Planet who have previously
worked on Fairtrade.
- We helped The Ecologist magazine made a booklet
about ethical fashion to distribute at London
Fashion Week and in their magazine.
- We were in the Draper's magazine (the UK fashion
industry journal) "Movers and Shakers of
2007".
- We have now met with several investment fund
managers as a result of Clean Up Fashion/Fashion
Victims. We have been invited to give a seminar
for the UK Social Investment Forum.
Bargain retailers/Tescopoly campaign
- The War on Want Fashion Victims report gained
huge publicity
- We did a postcard action on Asda - 14,000
postcards were distributed.
- We helped the Tescopoly campaign to write
a webpage on 'Tesco round the world'.
Sportswear
- We sent a new proposal to LOCOG (2012 Olympics).
- The local Fairtrade groups and local authorities
in East London (site of the 2012 games) are
interested in being involved in the campaign,
and we will speak at their next meeting in March.
- We will have the first meeting of our Play
Fair 08 platform in March.
Urgent appeals FFI,
India
Ï Update posted on LBL website.
Philippines
Ï Appeal now on Labourstart website, updated
on LBL website.
Hermosa, El Salvador
Ï The update and new appeal is posted on our
website.
Companies Levi's
- Levi's were suspended from ETI and then resigned.
We placed an article in The Times, and are going
to "downgrade" their scores on the
Clean Up Fashion website and send a press release.
Other companies
- We had a lot of meetings with companies, about
things that we or War on Want have published:
Sainsbury's, Primark, M&S, Asda, Arcadia.
Publications ·
Fashion Victims (War on Want): <www.waronwant.org/fashionvictims>
