New campaign in development
People & Planet’s trade campaign for 2007/08 will focus on exploitation in cotton and clothing production. This campaign is currently being developed, and a new website packed with information and action ideas will be made during the summer.
On this current page you can find information about what actions People & Planet have taken so far, as well as some interesting reports on cotton and clothing production.
Are you wearing dirty pants?
A child working in a cotton field in Uzbekistan
EJF
The cotton may have been picked by a seven year old child, forced out of school to handpick cotton for an industry causing an ecological disaster. The fabric may have been sewn together by workers earning a poverty wage for 80 hour weeks, refused the right to organise and fired if they protest.
In clothing production, exploitation is the norm, not an exception. UK High Street retailers exacerbate the problem, by demanding cheaper clothes delivered more quickly. Will you allow this to continue?
People & Planet demand clean clothes
An ironing board was used as a stall on Oxford’s high street
SLW/P&P
It is now possible to get clothes made from organic and Fairtrade certified cotton in a few high street shops, but this remains a small niche market. Also, there is no certification scheme guaranteeing basic workers’ rights in factories, as the FAIRTRADE Mark applies to conditions in cotton fields only.
This is why P&P groups accross the country used Fairtrade Fortnight 2007 to focus on the cotton and clothing industry, which is notorious for its environmental and human exploitation, and where information about production conditions is generally not accessible to consumers.
During Fairtrade Fortnight, P&P groups across the country ran events to raise awareness of the high human and environmental cost behind high street clothing. On 10 March, our National day of action, 14 groups took action outside Primark shops. The action got wide national media coverage, however Primark failed to respond. People & Planet activists kept up the pressure by persistently emailing Primark, with the result that P&P are now invited to a meeting to discuss Primark’s efforts to improve conditions in their factories. Regrettably, despite claiming that “huge amounts of action have been taken”, Primark has so far been unwilling to provide any detailed information about what they actually have done. We will keep you updated on further progress.
Interested in hearing what Primark had to say?
- Read our initial letter to Primark and Primark’s reply
- Read our second letter and Primark’s reply
- Read our most recent letter to Primark.
- To learn more and take action, download High Street - High Cost, People & Planet’s action guide for Fairtrade Fortnight. Please email tradejustice@peopleandplanet.org if you have any questions.
- Download other relevant reports on cotton and clothing production
- Read our demands to retailers
Want to find out more? Download these reports
EJF
Garment factory worker in Bangladesh.
LBL
White Gold - the true cost of cotton, a report that uncovers forced child labour, human rights abuses and environmental destruction in Uzbekistan. Produced by the Environmental Justice Foundation
The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton. A report exposing the human health and environmental cost of pesticide use in global cotton production, produced by the Environmental Justice Foundation.
Let’s Clean Up Fashion: the state of pay behind the UK high street. A report looking at what efforts UK high street retailers are making to improve conditions in their factories. Produced by Labour Behind the Label
Fashion Victims: The true cost of cheap clothes at Tesco, Asda and Primark. A report exposing exploitative practices at factories in Bangladesh, produced by War on Want and researched by Labour Behind the Label.
Who Pays For Cheap Clothes? 5 questions the low-cost retailers must answer. A report on the purchasing practices of retailers, and what effect these have on workers in garment factories. Produced by Labour Behind the Label
Who Pays? How British Supermarkets are Keeping Women Workers in Poverty. A report exploring the supply chains that link the products we buy in supermarkets to the people in developing countries who produce them. The report has some interesting sections on supermarket clothing, and is produced by Action Aid
Our demands to retailers
Retailers must work with their suppliers to ensure that:
- Workers and producers at every stage of production have their basic rights respected, including the right to a living wage.
- No forced child labour has been used at any stage of production.
- Producers, workers and surrounding communities are not put at risk through environmental destruction or the use of poisonous pesticides.
Retailers must also ensure:
- That their own purchasing practices do not undermine efforts to protect workers’ basic rights.
- That customers are able to access information about the production of their goods.