The Union Label Crossroads: Life or Death?

We are at a crossroads. For over 100 years, the union label has been stitched into clothing to indicate that the workers who made the product are ensured good working conditions and fair wages. Today, it is possible the platinum standard of union labels may disappear if we do not act quickly.

Why would this happen? As the popularity of ethical consumerism has increased, the race to create labels that compete with the union label has also grown. Corporations and corporate-friendly entities are capitalizing on the desire for ethically produced merchandise by creating various symbols to stick on tags. More often than not, the symbols lack union representation for the workers.

Ethix Merch believes the highest labor standard for apparel production includes independent worker organizations or worker ownership. We see the rise in ethical labeling as a severe threat to the integrity of the standards provided by authentically union made goods.

The Slow Chokehold on Union Clothing

At Ethix Merch we constantly consult groups and organizations looking to spend their money wisely on ethically manufactured goods. We have seen an alarming spike in the past 18 months of uneducated buyers reaching out with requests for "fair trade clothing and T-shirts". What is particularly troublesome about this is that when pressed to express what they mean by "fair trade" they most often describe union label standards.

At Ethix Merch are concerned about the direction ofcurrent Fair Trade apparel certifications, as we explained in the recent blog post titled "Fair Trade Clothing is Dead- Can We Save the Union Label?"

We are very clear about where we stand in the efforts toward a sweatshop-free world and the involvement of Fair Trade USA. However, we still appreciate the values behind fair trade.

Is there an innovative solution that combines our respect for independent worker representation with the fair trade movement?

To find this answer we looked no further than the labor rights organization International Brotherhood of Teamsters. With an extensive history of human rights activism, Teamsters developed a model for fair trade that includes the proven labor union standards for worker empowerment.

You can download a .pdf of this proposed structure, or check out the reproduction below. Then, tell us what you think of the ideas here?

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Giving Away Charity vs. Skillbuilding

Have you ever heard this quote?

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”  — Author unknown

Ethix Merch thinks this is a great argument for moving beyond popular charity models- like when Tom's Shoes dumps shoes on communities, potentially wrecking the local shoe manufacturer's livelihood, (among other things).

Environmental Justice and Labor Rights

Ethix Merch is also passionate about the concept of environmental justice. After all, who wants to fish in a dirty river?

One way to understand environmental justice is to look at where landfills, toxic waste, and pesticide-laden fields end up (hint: it's not usually near predominantly white, wealthy neighborhoods.)

Environmental justice offers another model for nonprofits and businesses that want to go beyond charity. What if we decided we can only take an economic action when both people and the earth are respected?

What would that look like? 

It would look like organizing! Check out this beautiful rephrasing of the above quote, which takes the idea way beyond charity and into community empowerment through organizing around environmental justice: 

Who can we trust to certify, verify, or otherwise check on the legitimacy of our ethical products? As we reported last month, fair-washing is here. Like our example showed, anyone can call an apparel product "fair trade," even if it isn't.

Lying Labels Aren't New

Untrue labeling has been a problem for years in the food industry. Most grocery stores still have items labeled "natural" or "organic" that simply are not. Consumer confusion about labeling has led some shoppers to give up trying to purchase safer and healthier food. Since organic agriculture is safer and healthier for the farmworkers, too, this has repercussions beyond just hurting legitimate organic food businesses.

Apparel is new to this conundrum, but I hypothesize we are going down the exact same road. The resources to monitor ethical clothing claims are limited. And consumers who do care may not know where to find neutral opinions on this stuff. (Hint: our blog is a good place to start!)

In the Next Level example we blogged about, the brand that purchased Next Level shirts misrepresented a very low standard by using the language of a somewhat higher ideal. The brand, Sevenly, called their shirts "fair trade" even though WRAP certification is no where near a fair trade vision. (Read the post if you're not following this- the visual makes it clear).

Most people looking to purchase a charity T-shirt are not going to know any better- they simply trust Sevenly because the brand has a "good" mission.

Is a good mission enough to justify possible worker mistreatment when manufacturing Sevenly's shirts? I think not. But it's wicked difficult to know whether or not mistreatment would be happening given what we know about WRAP certification.

So Who is Going to Fix This?

Here's where we stand: 

Apparel fair-washing is here.

We stumbled across this example of fair-washing for T-shirts, and we are compelled to share as a sort of public service announcement to fellow fair traders.

The basic point is this: a tee shirt company that clearly wants to do good in the world is claiming their shirts are "fair trade." The shirts are in no way actually "fair trade" as anyone in any part of the movement would define the term, (yes, even Fair Trade USA).

Here's a brief timeline: 

1. In 2000, Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production, (WRAP) is established after "several prominent apparel producers approached the American Apparel Manufacturers Association."

2. Contraversy follows WRAP because of this close industry connection, resulting in this quote from Making Global Self-Regulation Effective in Developing Countries. This Oxford University Press published book states:

WRAP has been criticized by a range of stakeholders for it's perceived industry bias and low level of public transparency.

3. Next Level Apparel's 2010 catalog states their factories are sweatshop-free, child-labor free, socially responsibly, and respecting the environment. They say this is because they are "WRAP certified" and "Wal-Mart approved."

4. Sevenly charity T-shirt brand says on their FAQ page, live in 2012, that they use "fair trade" T-shirts from Next Level Apparel.

What this mess looks like in print: 

Without much fanfare, in cities and states across the country, real change is coming. It's not the sort of change that generates headlines. It doesn't involve a paradigm-shifting election or a sweeping Supreme Court decision. But it is the sort of change that will change lives, both in the United States and across the world. And it could well be the beginning of something much bigger.

Bringing Sweatfree Values Home

I'm talking about the thrilling recent advances in the work of the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium (SPC), an alliance of fourteen U.S. cities and states now working together to enforce laws (already on the books in their jurisdictions) that prevent them from using taxdollars to buy from sweatshops.

The consortium has been years in the works, and here's the big news: it is operational, and gathering steam on two major fronts.

First, the member governments have begun forcing their vendors to disclose the names and locations of their supplier factories.

We are enjoying cookies and feeling thankful for the different celebrations we have the privilege to enjoy this holiday season. As you spend time with loved ones, we hope you'll remember our appreciation for your friendship and support.

You are probably already convinced by the Ethix reason to buy local, or simply the evidence of Walmart using sweatshops, but maybe this infographic will help you definitely maintain distance from Wal-mart for last minute shopping for the holidays.

Thanks to Frugal Dad for developing this visual! Those of us in the 99% don't have the same budget as the "ethics of Walmart" marketing department, but it's through sharing information that we can change the low standard Wal-mart adheres to.

Why buy local and support local manufacturing? To help Walmart become a little healthier - it's too heavy!

The Weight of Walmart Infographic from Frugal Dad:

I was a child laborer.

My dad has a small organic garden, and when I was growing up he would ask for my help planting, weeding, and harvesting.

I didn't get paid. These were chores. Sometimes it was hot and I was tired, and he needed my help. But, I could stop if I wanted and go read a book or ride bikes with my friends.

Can you remember the first time you heard an argument for child labor?

I can. I had a friend who also grew up working on a farm. He said:

1. Children are supposed to work, otherwise how do they learn useful skills?

2. How can a family get ahead if the kids just consume resources and don't contribute anything? 

3. Culturally, it's normal all around the world for youth to pitch in with work.

4. Just because we force kids in the U.S. to attend school doesn't mean that we should force kids elsewhere to sit around if they don't have access to a school.