Ethix Launches Responsible Apparel Manufacturing & Puchasing Alliance

It's long past time I posted something about A-RAMP, the Alliance for Responsible Apparel Manufacturing and Purchasing.

At Ethix Merch, our mission has always been to identify the most ethical, worker-friendly factories and direct business their way. But our job has become increasingly challenging over the years, as union shops have continued to fold, outsource, or relocate to non-union states. Ethix ends up offering clients a lot of "Made in USA" products, despite the fact that "Made in USA" alone is a decidedly weak standard, compared to "Union Made in USA." (Shoutout to Unionwear!) Lots of wage theft and other forms of exploitation happen in the U.S., not just in garment producing nations in the Global South.

We're overjoyed to be working in solidarity with the Garment Worker Center, Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium, Labor 411 Foundation, UCLA Labor Center, and Ignatian Solidarity Network on A-RAMP, in order to put some real meat on the bones of "Made in USA."

Essentially, our project recruits large institutional buyers (like cities and states, universities, hospital networks, and NGOs) to commit to purchase from A-RAMP-approved factories. This committed business incentivizes participating factories to meet the project's high labor and environmental standards. Crucially, participation requires that factories provide the Garment Worker Center direct access to workers.

It is workers themselves -- not paid "compliance professionals" -- who verify that the standards are actually being met.

In addition to avoiding the well-documented flaws in social auditing, this system empowers workers and creates more jobs at the most ethical and sustainable factories.

Much more to come on my page about this project, as we work toward certifying the first A-RAMP factories.

Check out some of our community and merch partners here:
Garment Worker Center
SWEATFREE PURCHASING CONSORTIUM INC
UCLA Labor Center
Ignatian Solidarity Network
Labor 411
Unionwear.com

Daniel Cardozo

Daniel Cardozo, CEO of Ethix Merch, is a passionate advocate for ethical promotional products. With a mission to transform global supply chains, he serves on the Labor 411 Foundation and Advertising Specialty Institute's Promo for the Planet Advisory Board. Daniel is dedicated to empowering socially and environmentally-conscious consumers.