FIRST AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL FASHION REPORT LAUNCHED TODAY - IN THE NATION’S FASHION CAPITAL

christianreview | 입력 : 2013/08/20 [11:40]

The first Australian Fashion Report was launched today in Sydney by international development organisation, Baptist World Aid. The report assesses the ethical practices of 128 clothing brands and aims to empower consumers with the knowledge needed to purchase fashion ethically.

The report found that only 12% of companies received an A rating for their labour rights management systems, and disturbingly, only 5% of companies had a fully implemented policy to ensure workers received a living wage (a wage sufficient to cover a family’s basic costs of living).

The Australian Fashion Report is the culmination of two years of research by Baptist World Aid Australia, an aid and development organisation with a strong advocacy program. The Report summarises the ethical standards of the fashion industry, and provides a detailed grading of the systems fashion brands have in place to protect the workers in their supply chain from exploitation, forced labour and child labour.

The Report has been condensed into the Ethical Fashion Guide, providing consumers with easy to read information about brands whilst they shop. The pocket guide focuses on three key areas:

1.      The overall grades companies receive in The Australian Fashion Report

2.      Whether the brand guarantees that workers receive a living wage, and

3.      Whether the brand has committed to boycott the use of Uzbekistani cotton, picked using the forced child labour of tens of thousands of the nation’s children.

The launch of the Report and accompanying Ethical Fashion Guide is timely after the recent collapse of a Bangladeshi clothing factory. Consumers responded by becoming far more conscious of how the people who make their clothes are treated.

Baptist World Aid is already working with individuals, community groups and churches around Australia to lobby fashion brands to be transparent about their supply chains and workers’ rights. The Ethical Fashion Guide will further aid individuals and churches to consume fashion ethically and put pressure on brands with lower grades.

Gershon Nimbalker, Advocacy Manager at Baptist World Aid said, “One of the most troubling facts revealed by the research was that few companies actually knew all the suppliers responsible for producing the clothes they sold. While 39% of companies knew all, or almost all, of the suppliers involved at the factory level, that number dropped dramatically to 7% at the raw materials stage of production.

“If companies don’t know, or don’t care, who is producing their clothes, it’s much harder to know whether workers are exploited or even enslaved”.

Baptist World Aid commends fair-trade brands Etiko and 3Fish that are graded with the highest rating – A+.

 “Fair-trade brands Etiko and 3Fish ratings reflected their outstanding practices as they’re aware of their supply chain from farm to factory. We encourage consumers to contact their favourite companies who’ve received lower grades to urge them to adopt ethical sourcing practices too”, Mr Nimbalker said.

The Report and Guide also seek to improve labour conditions and standards for people in developing countries, like Bangladesh, where Baptist World Aid already works to transform and empower whole communities.

“We’ve been working with thousands of Australians to put pressure on fashion brands to adopt ethical sourcing practices. We’re excited that this guide will empower Australians to use their collective voice as consumers,” he said.

“If consumers purchase ethically and call for change, we have the power to transform companies’ practices, and through them the communities they work with. So we’re excited about the impact that our report will have.”

Individuals can order a digital copy of the Ethical Fashion Guide to help them shop ethically by visiting Baptist World Aid’s website www.behindthebarcode.org.au A download of the full Australian Fashion Report is also available at this website. 
 
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