Index

NEWSLETTER 22, Oct 2006 News from the CCCs

Spain: Focus on El Corte Inglés / Induyco

At the end of May, Induyco, the principal clothing supplier to Spanish retailer El Corte Inglés, came under pressure from Clean Clothes Campaigners. Its clothing is known to be produced in Bulgaria, Morocco, India and China, but the company is unwilling to engage with rights activists about working conditions there.

Thirty Spanish CCC activists participated in Barcelona's annual street race in May this year to draw attention to working conditions in El Corte Ingles supply chains. El Corte Ingles, sponsor of the race, is one of Spain's largest nationwide store chains.

Therefore, Campaña Ropa Limpia (CCC Spain) is mobilising consumers to pressure Induyco through a postcard and e-mail campaign, with the slogan "¿Qué hay detrás de la ropa de Induyco?" or "What lies behind Induyco clothing?" They can also add their signatures at: http://www.ropalimpia.org/
accionesurg entes/
detail2.php?id_accion=4.

Induyco owns a number of brands that are well-known in Spain: Pilar Rueda, Mito, Sfera, Amitié, Tintoretto, Síntesis, Bus Stop and Cedosce. The campaign has been launched in communities across the country.

A briefing on Induyco, in Spanish, is available at:
http://www.ropalimpia.org/noticias/detail.php?id=52"

UK: Clean Up Fashion

In the UK, Labour Behind the Label (LBL, the UK CCC) is launching a new website (www.cleanupfashion.co.uk) about British supermarkets and fast fashion retailers and their impact on attempts to get a living wage and freedom of association for garment workers. Consumers will be able to look up information on their favourite shops, learn more about where and how garments are made, find out about specific urgent appeals, and take action. LBL is providing profiles of the main UK companies, but there will also be blog space for consumers, activists (and companies) to share what they know.

LBL's Fashion College project, which works to embed ethics into fashion education, is coming to the end of a successful first year. For more information see the project's "Fashioning an Ethical Industry" website at www.fashioninganethicalindustry.org.

Clean Clothes Communities

CCC groups in various countries have been pushing ahead with campaigns aimed at persuading government bodies to buy their work wear based on ethical principles. Election campaigns are providing good opportunities for activists to question candidates on this issue and raise public awareness. Campaigns in several countries have also produced technical guides for use by government officers and activists.

Sweden: It's my tax money!

On May 13, 2006 the campaign "Mina Skattepengar" (It's my tax money!) was formally launched in Sweden, with activities, street actions and a special campaign website at:
www.minaskattepengar.nu. The launch came after a series of meetings for activists across the country that has led to the formation of local campaign groups in seven cities.

It is intended that the campaign should be run at a local level, with citizens engaging their local politicians. To back this up, the Swedish CCC (Rena Kläder) has sent a questionnaire to all parties in parliament about their position on ethical questions in public procurement. They have also published a technical guide, aimed at government officers and politicians, to show that ethical procurement is possible and need not conflict with legal provisions covering public procurement.

The Youth Association of the Liberal Party has gotten involved, publishing a debate with the SKTF trade union body which is also a CCC platform member. During the annual "Politician Week" (a big politician/media event in Sweden) in July, representatives from both organisations joined the President of the LO union federation, as well as others from business (H&M) and a neo-liberal think-tank (Timbro) in a well-attended panel debate "Social Responsibility - what can the public learn from the private?" Thirty-five politicians from around the country parti-cipated in a Rena Kläder seminar on "Ethical Public Procure-ment for Beginners."

Belgium: More Municipalities Sign Up

After concerted lobbying and an action outside the city hall by CCC activists, Antwerp has now joined Brussels and about 70 other municipalities in Belgium North in passing a resolution to introduce ethical concerns into their purchasing practices. Meanwhile, in Belgium South, most candidates in the 20 municipalities where elections will be held in October now accept the principle of ethical sourcing.

A technical guide has been prepared for local government officials and civil servants, and the campaign is offering training. Local groups will be encouraged to help monitor progress according to a set of indicators suggested by the CCC.

Plus...

In Austria, the Enviromental Federation in the Vorarlberg region has agreed to include ILO Standards in their tender for fire-fighters' uniforms.

In Spain, the Spanish CCC, Campaña Ropa Limpia, is currently assessing the possibilities for ethical public procurement by the Catalonia Regional Government in the north-east of the country. Results are due in the first half of 2007. To help the process, they have produced a "Handbook for the introduction of social clauses in public workwear purchasing" in the region's language Catalan.

In Solidarity with Bangladesh Workers

Since April 2005, over 150 garment workers in Bangladesh died and hundreds more were injured in five factory disasters involving building collapses, fires and blocked exits. (See CCC Newsletter No.21, May 2006).

In central Amsterdam on April 11, 2006, Dutch CCC "safety inspectors" entered shops, looking for clothes from Bangladesh and questioning managers about the health and safety conditions of the workers who made them.

April 11, 2006 was the anniversary of the collapse of the Spectrum-Shahriyar factory in which 64 were killed, over 70 injured, and hundreds left jobless. To mark this day the CCC and partners participated in an International Action Day for Workers Health and Safety in Bangladesh to draw attention to the out-standing issues. In Bangladesh, there were demonstrations and a token hunger strike at the Central Shaheed Minar monument in Dhaka to demand "safe workplaces for the garment workers of Bangladesh". Over a thousand garment workers were joined by several of those seriously injured during the Spectrum disaster as well as family members of those who died. Around the world solidarity actions continued to put pressure on the Bangla-desh government and the global garment industry to bring an end to these tragedies.

In Europe, the one-year anniversary of the Spectrum disaster was marked by pressure on the Bangladesh government through its embassies. In Belgium, Italy, Sweden, France and Germany, CCC campaigners turned up in person or engaged in e-mail/fax/letter/postcard campaigns demanding improvements in workplace safety. Good national newspaper coverage was gained in some countries and in the global labour media.

In Brussels on April 11, 100 activists from various organisations, accompanied by a fire engine as a reminder of the year's tragedies, arrived outside the Bangladesh Embassy. A six-person delegation was received by Faizul Latif Chowdhury, minister for commerce at the Embassy.

Two weeks later, the CCC met with the Bangladesh Minister of Foreign Affairs during his visit to Belgium. The Minister said that solving safety issues in the garment sector has highest priority, especially in this election year. He reported that the Joint Compliance Audit Scheme is visiting "each and every factory" and claimed "we will close each factory that does not comply". He made no specific commitments, however, and within weeks the county was gripped by riots among garment workers.

The action day also focused on pushing brands and retailers sourcing in Bangladesh to take responsibility for improving health and safety at their suppliers. In Italy, the Campagna Abiti Puliti particularly investigated Italian companies Frabo and Titanus, who were found on Spectrum supplier lists but deny involvement with the factory and refuse to disclose their supplier lists. The CCC campaign, working with Italian unions, is also in communication with Teddy, a development aid project supplied by Titanus.

In Austria, a CCC action alert was aimed at KiK Europazentrale and NKD Deutschland, both sourcing from Sayem Fashions, a Bangladesh factory where three died on March 6, 2006. In Belgium, the campaign focus remained on the Cotton Group that sourced at Spectrum. Also in the spotlight were 14 brands/ retailers in Germany.

The French CCC (Ethique sur l'Etiquette) is running a solidarity campaign that now involves 7,500 individual members and 190 local groups. As well as the Bangladesh Embassy in France, they have been putting pressure on French parliamentarians who have special links with Bangladesh. They have produced a new 12-page dossier "Bangladesh: Arrêtons l'Hécatombe" (Bangla-desh: Let's Stop the Slaughter), available at
www.ethique-sur-etiquette.org/docs/DossierBangladesh.pdf.

In North America various CCC allies contacted brands, retailers, and industry associations sourcing in Bangladesh to push for follow-up on the numerous outstanding health and safety issues in the sector. On April 5, Sweatshop Watch held a demonstration outside Vida Enterprise in Los Angeles, California. Vida sources from KTS in Bangladesh, where 64 people died in a fire on February 23. An attempt to present flowers to Vida's owner in memory of the victims was unsuccessful, but there was good local press coverage. In Canada, the Maquila Solidarity Network has been focusing on the Retail Council of Canada, lingerie retailer La Senza, and RD International which reportedly sourced at Sayem Fashions at the time of that factory's disaster (see www.maquilasolidarity.org/alerts/bangladesh-1yearafter.htm).