The dilemma of ethical clothing in Primark (go back »)

 Embroidery Material You may use a factory in downtown Saigon with impeccably observedworking regulations to make your “vintage” cottondress, but how can you be sure that the factory doesn't subcontractproduction of its buttons to another factory 600 miles away whereconditions are a living hell? And what, as a CEO once askedrhetorically, constitutes a child, anyway? In Europe it's anyoneunder the age of 16. But in India a family might depend on thewages of its 8, 10 and 12-year-olds - and if the 8, 10 and12-year-olds can't get jobs sewing on buttons or gluing gladiatorsandals, who knows what other kind of work they might be forcedinto. So it's complex, right? Well, yes, obviously it's complex. But complexity should not makean issue immune from constant, proper scrutiny. It may beunrealistic to expect EU working conditions in parts of thedeveloping world but, deep down, most of us know what is acceptableand what isn't. While child labour is probably the most emotive andwidely publicised abuse, it is just one of many issues with whichconsumers are increasingly confronted. What about the toxicpesticides in some cottons that, according to the World HealthOrganisation, kill 20,000 farmers a year, or the dyes pollutingwater supplies, or the animals skinned alive in China? Follow this line of thinking for more than five minutes and theentire transaction of shopping slides from therapy to guilt trip.Meanwhile, the mid-Noughties craze for bargain-hunting looksincreasingly less like harmless frugality and more like a grubbybrush with shopping bulimia. No wonder many of us settle for the“it's complex” argument - it's the retail equivalent ofa get-out-of-jail-free card . But it's one that is rapidly losingany validity. Surely we have all had a pretty good inkling, forsome time now, that buying something “ridiculously”cheap has hidden costs. Weirdly, fashion could actually lead us to a higher path. Becausewhile there used to be kudos in saying that you'd bought somethingin Primark for two quid when it was still a relatively unknownbrand, there isn't much any more. The opening of a“flagship” on Oxford Street last year, with the ensuingcash till “riots” and the unedifying sight of touristbuses stopping outside the store to disgorge yet more consumershungry to load up with bagfuls of clothes that they may or may notend up wearing, has seen to that. Of course we don't need all this stuff. It's not making us happieror better dressed. Weaning ourselves off super-cheap clothes - andit is an addiction - is a start, but it is only part of the answerbecause there are offenders at all levels of the market. Until weget full disclosure about how and where our clothes are made, wewill all be able to fall back on the “it's complex”mantra. We should all be campaigning for informative clothinglabels, similar to the ones on food. If Primark's claim about its “robust and very effectivesystem of audits” is accurate, then it probably was unluckywith these rogue factories. Keeping tabs on every stage involved inthe manufacturing of anything that requires more than two or threeprocedures inevitably gets complicated and murky. Until yesterday,I bet most of us accepted the “we're trying our hardest butit's tough out there” contrition that seems to be thestandard response of any business caught with its ethical pantsdown. I'm equally convinced that the whole remorseful line iswearing a little thin. If it's so damn difficult to establishaccountability, then how do BBC reporters keep managing to do so?And isn't that what these ethical teams are supposed to be doing?Or does the ethical team consist largely of an ethicalspokesperson, there to look contrite when trouble hits? Actually, that is unfair. When we tried to contact many of theseethical spokespeople yesterday, they didn't sound contrite. Theydidn't sound anything - because most were not available. Scrupulous stores: where it's safe to shop Marks & Spencer “As we are 100 per cent own-brand we have great control overour supply chain. We know and audit all the factories we sourcefrom. These audits check that our standards are being met, whichinclude: no child labour, no forced labour, no unauthorisedsubcontracting, workers must be paid at least the local minimumwage, and all overtime is paid and voluntary.” American Apparel “Clothing manufacturing is a very tough job, but we havealways tried to do things differently. It comes down to this: notblindly outsourcing, but knowing the faces of our workers andproviding them with the opportunity to make a fair wage. The average sewer with experience at American Apparel is makingabout $25,000 (￡12,740) a year - that is, $12 (￡6) anhour - well over twice the federal minimum. This can be higher insome cases. We guarantee job security and full-time employment;this is an anomaly in the garment industry, which historically hasbeen dominated by seasonal work.” H&M “We say no to child labour. As a business we have aresponsibility to the employees of our suppliers. H&M does notown any of the factories that manufacture our products. We workwith around 800 suppliers, mainly in Asia and Europe.” Arcadia Group (includes Topshop, Burton, Miss Selfridge, Wallis,Dorothy Perkins) “We make it clear at the beginning of our relationship with asupplier that we will not work with any factory that employschildren. To work with us, suppliers must agree to employ workerswho meet the minimum legal age requirement in that country or theminimum age in our code, whichever is higher. We support theprinciple of a living wage. In 2007 we established the FashionFootprint Group to align our social responsibilities with those ofour business activities.” Gap “We do not own any of the factories that we buy from. If afactory chooses to subcontract or outsource any production, weinsist that it also adheres to our code of conduct, which includesthe prohibition of child labour, adherence to local labour laws,assurance of workers' freedom of association and no forcedlabour.” Adili.com “All the products Adili stocks tackle at least one of theenvironmental and social issues involved in making, transportingand selling clothes. We assess the brand and the product againstethical frameworks covering environmental impact, workingconditions and fair trade. These cover the whole supply chain for aproduct.” People Tree “We are a very active member of IFAT, the International FairTrade Association. We support 50 Fair Trade producer groups in 15developing countries.” Research: Carolyn Asome, Nicola Copping and Alice Olins Ethical clothes shopping: how to buy responsibly Ask if the store has signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative(ethicaltrade.org). If not, why not? The shopfloor staff may not have this information,but don't be embarrassed to ask if they could find out from themanager. It is this kind of pestering - even if fellow shopperssmirk - that will send the message that consumers want retailers totake responsibility for the way that clothes are made. To armyourself with appropriate info and questions, read Labour Behindthe Label's 2007 report Let's Clean Up Fashion (go tolabourbehindthelabel.org/resources). Don't assume that expensive means ethical. Unless you are prepared to blow your monthly budget on hand-craftedgoods that cost thousands of pounds, there is not always aconnection between prices and labour conditions, says MartinHearson, Labour Behind the Label's campaigns co-ordinator. Garmentsat the high and low end of the high street could have been made inthe same factory in China. This doesn't mean that price is no indication of low quality. A ￡5 outfit that is shoddily put together will not haveticked ethical boxes during the production process. Somewhere downthe line - probably all the way along it - those producing it willhave been paid a poor wage, and possibly treated badly. Keep abreast of the latest fashion scandals. Then you'll know to avoid Uzbek cotton, and leather fromBangladesh. The latter is the focus of a report in this month'sedition of The Ecologist magazine, which looks at ill-healthresulting from chemicals used in the tanning process. Cottonproduction in Uzbekistan was revealed last year to involve childrenbeing forced to work in the fields, enabling the country to be thesecond largest cotton exporter in the world (the largest is China). The more information given about a garment, either on the label orin the shop, the be tter. If your favourite high street store can't tell you where its rawmaterials come from - often it will state the country where thegarment was assembled but not the source of the raw material - thisis a sign that it may be washing its hands of the early stages ofthe sourcing process. Buy less but better. Aim for a slim, manageable wardrobe containing good-quality itemsthat will last, rather than an overflowing dressing-up box ofpoor-quality clothes. By doing this, you will reduce yourcontribution to the 900,000 tonnes of textile waste that we createin the UK every year, and limit your role in the energy needed tomake textiles. Become an active consumer rather than a passive one. Just as we have become better-informed consumers of food, so weshould follow a similar path with fashion, demanding to know whereour clothes come from and the methods used to get them to us. Thismeans asking questions, doing your homework, supporting shops thatimpress you and, sometimes, holding back for the sake of yourprinciples. Check out ethical alternatives. You may be surprised at the improvement in styles since you lastlooked, and the increasing affordability of organic and fair-tradefashion. Try Adili.com, which showcases the best of ethicalfashion; browse the gorgeous summer dresses made by LaLesso(lalesso.com) and, if you live in the capital, pop into Equa,London's only eco boutique (equaclothing.com).