What is Sweatshop Free Merchandise?

Is the Fair Trade movement doing better in Europe than in the United States?

The question came up during an interesting conversation I had recently with a representative from the UK-based "Bags of Ethics" fair trade tote bag company. She insisted that while it is still difficult to find sweatshop-free and fairly traded merchandise in the United States, the situation is very different in Western Europe, where a wide variety of fair trade certified products are available on the market.

The idea--that such a large region of the world is suddenly awash in fair trade goods--sounded amazing to me, but perhaps a bit too good to be true. So I decided to do some internet sleuthing about the state of ethically-produced goods in Europe.

I started by visiting Harrods.com, homepage of the most famous department store in London. (If fair trade merch really is taking hold in Western Europe, it would surely be sold at Harrods, right?) As it happens, though, the front page links to the latest Ralph Lauren collection. Yes, that's Polo Ralph Lauren, the American design company whose "responsible shopper profile" at GreenAmerica looks a lot like the other garment industry corporate giants...full of allegations and business decisions that speed up, rather than slow down, the global "race to the bottom." Certainly no mention of fair trade. Looks like business as usual at Harrod's.

My next step was to compare the websites of TransfairUSA (Transfair), with its global parent organization, the Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO). The list of fair trade certified products is the same on both sites, with one very interesting exception: cotton. The FLO website lists hundreds of traders and producers of fair trade certified "seed cotton," whereas TransfairUSA lists none. So, is it possible that consumers in other parts of the world are now easily able to purchase clothes made from fair trade cotton? 

To try and answer that question, I googled "fair trade clothing," in both Google and Google UK search engines. This excercise is complicated by the fact that it is the cotton that gets certified, not the process of cutting and sewing the cotton into finished garments. In other words, neither Transfair nor FLO certifies fair trade apparel. So, at this point in the evolution of fair trade, it's up to consumers to judge each "fair trade" claim on its own merits, based on the information provided by the company.

That said, it does definitely seem to me that the fair trade options in England are much more extensive than the American-based options, and also more likely to claim that their cotton, at least, is FLO certified. Take a look at a few of these UK-based websites with a "fair trade" claim.

Piccalilly Hot Cotton

People Tree

Nomads Originals

The fashions available on these sites seem pretty mainstream, which suggests to me that they're appealing to the mainstream consumer in the UK, rather than someone looking for something "ethnic." Of course, if fair trade merch is really going to take off, it will need to compete both in terms of price AND fashion. 

Stateside, Fair Indigo definitely holds its own. And, in what looks to be very exciting news, they say they are working with Transfair on a pilot project to certify some of their finished products, which would be a huge leap forward.

Personally, I can't wait until that starts to happen. As time goes on, please keep checking back with us as we expand our fair trade options and offer more information about how to distinguish fair trade superstars from fair trade pretenders. In the meantime, its important to remember that Union Made in USA merchandise is still the platinum standard for consumers in the United States. With the Union label, you're supporting local economies, helping maintain middle class manufacturing jobs, and helping to stop the race to the bottom on global labor conditions.

Why not order some Union Made T-shirts for your organization right now?

Biodegradable:

I think everyone has a basic understanding of what this once jargon-y term means by now. (Way to go, all you environmental crusaders!) The question is, though, how big a factor should it be in your eco-friendly purchasing decision?

Unfortunately, “biodegradable” is one of those terms that seems clear enough when you read about it in the dictionary, but becomes a real head-scratcher when it makes the leap to the free market. There don’t seem to be laws governing the commercial use of the term, so you can end up with biodegradable products on the market that biodegrade over a very, very long time or that only biodegrade under certain optimal conditions that may be unlikely to occur in practice.

Furthermore, even if something is genuinely biodegradable, that might not even be a good thing, depending on what it is that’s biodegrading! Toxins that are trapped inside a mug, for example, are probably better off staying put rather than leaching into the soil or the water table.

In a way, the term “biodegradable” is a relic from the early days of the environmental movement. At that time, many environmentalists were just trying to get people to be aware of how much trash was being put into landfills. Since landfills are smelly eyesores, why wouldn’t you want things to biodegrade? Now we know that the existence of landfills is the least of our worries. Because of global warming, the viability of life on earth (as we know it) is very much in question.

So when you’re shopping around for eco-friendly products, make sure to also consider what kinds of energy went into creating the product, what the product is actually made from, and whether or not the product is recyclable.

If you're looking for a product that goes beyond biodegradable, check out the new Vision USA Biomugs. They're biodegradable, recyclable, as well as BPA & Lead Free, not to mention Union Made in the USA. Click the image for details.

Next up on "Eco-Friendly Buzzwords," Bamboo: Better than Cotton or Just the Latest Advancement in Greenwashing? 
 

The world-wide gap between rich and poor is “vast and growing.” That’s according to a recent report by the International Labour Organization. Apparently, the ever-expanding reach of corporations and large companies hasn’t brought shared prosperity along with it.

Yet, if you ask the companies themselves, they will tell you that their companies are doing all the right things: offering good jobs and a route out of poverty for factory workers, investing in the local communities in which they operate, and helping protect and sustain the environment.

There is even a movement in place known as Corporate Social Responsibility by which companies communicate to consumers all the amazing things they are doing.

All of which is great, honestly. Companies should feel the need to do good things for the world, to give something back for all the profit they rake in, and to ensure that those profits aren’t earned by keeping other people down or by exploiting the environment.

The trouble is that there are very few ways for the consumer to identify genuinely responsible corporate behavior versus marketing schemes that emphasize relatively small “good works” as a smokescreen for fundamental irresponsibility.
Through the Ethix Merch “CSR Scorecard” we’ll be digging into some of the claims that companies make about their impact on people and the planet, with the goal of helping our readers separate the wheat from the chaff. This time around we’re looking at Econscious and Unionwear.
 

Econscious

As you can see, Econscious has a beautiful, user-friendly website, much of which is dedicated to their corporate social responsibility efforts. Among their laudable claims are an entire line of organic cotton products. They also claim that "social equity" is central to their business practices, which they define as, "paying employees a decent wage, offering a safe and healthy work environment, and encouraging employees to grow in their work and their lives."

So, if you take their word for it, Econscious is taking giant strides to protect the environment and to ensure that employees share in the prosperity resulting from globalized manufacturing.

It all looks extremely impressive, and some of it surely is. But when you dig underneath the surface of the site, despite all of the bells and whistles, there is very little in the way of verifiable assurances that any of the claims about labor practices are accurate. Without such assurances, it is reasonable to assume that their operations may very well be contributing to the “vast and growing” inequality identified by the ILO.

When it comes to certifying their products as organic, Econcious is above board. The reason we can be assured of the veracity of Econscious's claim on this front is their certification by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, backed by the force of law.

With regard to its labor claims, however, Econscious is on much shakier ground. One one of their factories (the one that makes organic caps) is independently certified, in this case by the Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production certification program. However, the problems with WRAP are many, including:
• There’s a large percentage of garment industry executives on the board
• Factory audits are not made available to the public
• Even if you assume that certified factories are legitimately compliant, certification standards don’t require wages above the legal minimum, which in many countries keeps workers in perpetual and abject poverty.

Econscious is also certified by Green America which, like WRAP, does not make specific information about compliance available to the public.
 

Unionwear

 
Like Econcscious, Unionwear offers a wide selection of certified organic products.Also like Econscious, Unionwear makes laudable claims about its labor practices.

There is much less information about Corporate Social Responsibility at Unionwear than you’ll find at Econscious, and no affiliation with common CSR projects like "1% for the Planet."

However, Unionwear's claims about labor conditions are backed by much more powerful assurances.

First, Unionwear's factories are all located within the United States. The “Made in USA” tag reminds us that Unionwear is not a subcontractor. If you want to see the plant where the products are made, just hop on a bus or a plane. If you don’t like what you see, you can make your own educated choice about whether or not to support the company.

Secondly, and most importantly, Unionwear's workers are represented by a trade union (UNITE)

The union label tells us that: 

1.  Experts in the apparel field have researched and collectively bargained for a fair and living wage for the workers,
 
2.  All of the workers have medical insurance and retirement plans provided by their contract, and
 
3.  If workers experience exploitative or dangerous conditions in the factory, they have bargaining power and a powerful megaphone (provided by the union international) through which they can shout these abuses or use a democratic civil legal system to have their claims adjudicated.

Union representation takes labor conditions out of the back rooms, out of the shadows.

Look out for more editions of our "CSR scorecard" soon.

Some things just aren’t done, and when they are, you just have to cringe. Like putting ketchup on a Chicago hot dog, or wearing socks with sandals. Fortunately, most of our fair fellow citizens have figured these out by now, and violators are quickly shamed into compliance by the aforementioned cringing.

Other things should be faux pas, but for some reason haven’t yet become so, and people get away with them all the time. One example of such a “future faux pas” is taking a call on your cell phone, thus leaving your lunch partner to play with coffee creamers while pretending not to listen to one side of your boring conversation.

Another overlooked faux pas is when quintessential American institutions get besmirched through an association with imported, unethically made merchandise. When I walk into a gift shop at Yellowstone National Park, I want to buy a t-shirt. (No, I don’t care that it looks like this. I want it anyway.) But I want my Yellowstone shirt to be made in America, dammit! I’m sorry but a shirt with a cowboy, an American bison, and a Native American in full headdress on it just can’t be made in China.

In virtually every case you can imagine, logo gear for our beloved American institutions is manufactured overseas, using foreign components and foreign labor. How about Major League Baseball? You think they support solid, American middle class manufacturing jobs? Think again. Apparently our garment workers don't get to participate in our national pasttime. What about the Samuel Adams E-store? Mount Rushmore? The St. Louis Arch? Nope. (Although I was told by the people at the Mount Rushmore store that they have one Made in USA apparel item - out of 25 total options - but it is not yet available on their website.) 

What gives?

Look, I don’t have blinders on, and I understand that the vast majority of merchandise is now made outside this country. And, of course, imports are not inherently bad. But there are certain times and certain places to make a statement…and logo gear that literally promotes America is the place, if there ever was one, to proudly show that we – the workers of America - can make t-shirts, mugs, and tote bags right here, and furthermore that we can do so while paying a living wage and respecting the right of our workers to organize into a union.

That statement would show that we are serious about protecting workers and the American dream. Eventually, no product made under sweatshop conditions should be sold within our borders. That day is a long way off, but long journeys are nothing more than a bunch of little steps.

Please contact the above locations (or any others you know of), point out their fashion faux pas, and encourage them to source from guaranteed sweatshop-free sources like those that are available at Ethix Merch.

Note: In my perusal of various e-stores selling Americana, I did come across one garment that was proudly labeled "Made in USA" (though most likely not union made). Here it is: 

Central Park Ladies Tee

There’s really no point in trying to hide it. The difference is just too stark. On any given t-shirt order, you’ll pay anywhere from 15 to 200 percent more (depending on how sophisticated your design is) for a union made shirt.

This hurts, and there’s no getting around it. It is no wonder that the majority of orders for custom-printed union made t-shirts are from unions themselves. Even within the union world, many won’t bite the bullet, and end up going with imports or (only slightly less expensive) USA made, non-union T's.

We find ourselves in a situation where a win-win lies just around the bend, yet we can’t quite catch up to it. If all the vocal supporters of unions made a commitment to purchasing union made merchandise for their organizations, the cost difference between union goods and imports would shrink, and shrink dramatically.

Foreign t-shirt factories overcome their inherent disadvantage (i.e. being really far away from the customer) by shipping hundreds of thousands of shirts at a time, to be stored in regional warehouses. So when you call up and ask your merchandiser for a royal blue union-made t-shirt, they might have to make a few calls and get back to you. But if you want a royal blue t-shirt from China, you can rest assured that there’s an impressive pile of them sitting around somewhere close by. Ironic? Decidedly.

We need better paying jobs in this country. We need to reduce the absurd gap between rich and poor in order to thrive. The current economic crisis, born from unchecked greed, should have driven this point home for everyday Americans, many of whom lost their jobs, their homes, and/or their savings.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Doing the right thing may be difficult at first, but in the long run makes everything easier. Investing in solar technology may increase our deficit at first, but the long term dividends of energy independence and a cleaner environment make the choice a no-brainer. It’s the same with investing in good jobs. Good jobs mean more people are creating wealth rather than depending on the government for handouts and services. The resulting growth in GDP will lead to greater spending, and the opportunity for our dollars to support thriving manufacturing sectors here AND in foreign countries, where such jobs are also sorely needed.

Progressives understand this on a theoretical level. It is time to start walking the walk. Ethix Ventures and our allies in the anti-sweatshop movement are here to start the dialog, and apply the gentle pressure needed to move our economy toward justice (and prosperity) for all. Please help us spread the word.
 

Even in our fast-paced modern world, one thing always remains the same: hard work pays off, in the long run. That attitude is exemplified by two organizations that Ethix Merch was proud to bring together for the first time…The Green Party of the United States and Garyline Promotional Products.

Even though Democrats and Republicans have traded control of the White House and Congress for the past 150 years or so, smaller political parties still play an essential role in our democracy. And few parties have shown as much grit and gumption as the Green Party, which has become a household name by successfully pushing to move environmental issues into the forefront of our political discourse. The party has also been a staunch ally of labor, serving as one of the highest-profile advocates for the marriage of green and blue, or “teamsters and turtles.” Little by little—winning local and sometimes even statewide elections and influencing the debate at every turn—they are making a big difference.

Garyline, meanwhile, has also been a pioneer in bridging the green/blue divide, within the world of ethical merchandising. It is still an unfortunate truth that products made with respect for the environment and for workers cost a little bit more than the typical junk that poisons our air and water and hangs workers out to dry. Garyline shrugs its shoulders at these extra costs, offering the widest selection of environmentally-friendly AND Union Made products in the business.

We couldn’t be happier to be bringing these two workhorses together in the Green Party Online Store. Please take this opportunity to visit the store and pick up a Union Made tote bag or BPA-free water bottle emblazoned with the Green Party logo. How often can you support unions, the environment, and democracy all at the same time?
 

One of the most frustrating parts of helping to clean up the global supply chain is the lack of consensus about what it means to be “sweatshop free.”
 

A couple of examples: