Index
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NEWSLETTER 24,
Oct 2007
Frequently Asked
Questions
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Volunteers from
the Maquila Solidarity Network, a CCC
ally in Canada, protesting in front
of a La Senza store in Vancouver, to
draw attention to problems at a supplier
in Thailand |
Is
the Clean Clothes Campaign the only organisation
campaigning to improve working conditions
in the garment industry?
No, we are certainly not the
only ones. We cooperate with a wide variety
of organisations and networks worldwide
who share similar concerns and aims.
In the United States, for
example, Sweatshop Watch (www.
sweatshopwatch.org) focuses on eliminating
exploitation around the world and particularly
in California's garment industry. United
Students Against Sweatshops (www.
studentsagainstsweatshops.org) is a
US-campus based student movement fighting
for sweatshop-free labour conditions.
In Canada, the Maquila Solidarity
Network (http://en.maquilasolidarity.org/)
is a labour and women's rights advocacy
organisation, promoting solidarity with
grassroots groups in Mexico, Central America,
and Asia to improve conditions in garment
factories and export processing zones. Australian
Fair Wear (www.fairwear.org.au)
works to eliminate the exploitation of homeworkers
in the Australian clothing industry, while
the NikeWatch campaign (www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/labour/index.html)
is coordinated by Oxfam Australia to persuade
sportswear brands to respect workers' rights.
In Europe, the CCC works with
NGOs that focus on garment workers' rights
and may establish a new CCC campaign in
their country. The Portuguese environmental
NGO Gaia (gaia.org.pt/?q=node/1673)
includes consumerism in its portfolio and
is currently looking at whether other organisations
might be interested in forming a CCC coalition.
In Ireland, NGO Cultivate is doing the same.
In Denmark too, the NGOs Mellemfolkeligt
Samvirke (www.ms.
dk/sw72893.asp) and BAV are collaborating
with the 3F union.
The international trade unions
are very important for the CCC's work. Together
with the International Trade Union Confederation
(ITUC) and the International Textile, Garment
and Leather Worker's Federation (ITGLWF)
we are organising the "Play Fair 2008"
campaign (www.playfair2008
.org) in the lead up to the 2008 Olympic
Games (see pages 10-12). Its predecessor,
the "Play Fair at the Olympics"
campaign in 2004, was one of the biggest
mobilisations against abusive labour conditions
the world has seen.
At the heart of our work lies
the information on working conditions, workers'
demands and industry trends that we receive
from the organisations in our grassroots
network in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.
They stand up for workers' rights in their
own countries, often at great risk. We have
been building alliances with these workers'
groups and unions, women's groups, legal
groups, cooperatives, activists and organisers
for over 15 years. We work with them on
international campaigns, but also on urgent
appeals against specific workplace violations
(see for example www.cleanclothes.org/appeals.htm).
All these organisations are
just a few examples of the huge amount of
important and inspiring work that takes
place all over the world. And not just by
organisations; millions of individuals take
part too.
For more FAQs about the CCC,
please visit: www.cleanclothes.org/faq/index.htm
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