What 'ethical' business trends can we see across the globe. In this double post, we look at what the trends in fair trade are, and what we can infer from them.
Part 1: What we probably know.
How expensive is fair labour really? What would need to change in the price to make this a reality at the consumer end of fast fashion? This article diggs through some research data that while answering these questions. In short: fair labour could be had for cheap.
On February 9th 2011, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation successfully launched the Fairtrade Gold Standard. The UK is the first market where FT gold is available.
n the course of the last 2 years, the Greenpeace Detox campaign has repeatedly made waves.
The latest such incident happened in the context of what is possibly the world’s most relevant trade fair for performance and outdoor wear ISPO in January 2014. At that point of time, Greenpeace released news that in the water repellent coatings of jackets by some renowned brands, traces of fluorin had been identified. And that said test results had been ‘hidden’ from the public.
Oeko-Tex is, by numbers of products availale, both B2B as well as B2C, the most widely-used eco-label for textiles globally.
What most people aren’t quite aware of is, that Oeko-Tex offers 2 fairly substantially different certifications
Minimum wage, living wage. Fair pay keeps being an issue in Europe & US. Whether illegal immigrants or recent graduates - increasingly even a humble life style is difficult to achieve.
Sahel 2010 is a déjà-vu of the year 1984: Again a food crisis is just around the corner. Sebastião Salgado pictures show the horror of this reality - hauntingly beautiful.
Minimum wage, living wage. Many are the approaches to guarantee fair remuneration for work. In 2010, Bangladesh textile workers have been rioting for fair pay. What's it all about?
Mid last year, an interesting campaign piece was delivered to my mailbox: London based Offset Warehouse launched a capsule collection of T-shirts retailing at £4.99 (app. Euro 6, plus P&P). Now, the point is, that even if these T-shirt were sold through a major retailer, they would hardly have retailed at more than £10 - and this at a vastly superior quality then is often case.
What of all that are buyers aware of, and how do they use it?
This is the second of the two questions for which the most insightful research with fairly hard data has been published by Prof. Doug Miller from Northumbria University in Newcastle. The two most relevant papers in this context are: 'What price a living wage' and 'Towards Sustainable Labour Costing in the Global Apparel Industry'
Parents complain about the prices of school uniforms. Yet - are they also considering that too cheap a price may actually ... get them school uniforms for their children, made by children of that same age?
'Clean clothes' is THE German eco fashion book, already published in 2009. It is pragmatic yet radical, with plenty of hands on tips and explanation you need to understand how and why to change your wardrobe.
Sustainability practitioners tend grow a fairly thick skin over time with regards to how their work is valued. Chances are that if you move in a field of expertise that marginally relates to CSR that you'll a surprising selection of comments, that display a lack of recognition.
What do we know about how garment cost is broken down across the supply chain? This is the first of the two questions for which the most insightful research with fairly hard data has been published by Prof. Doug Miller from Northumbria University in Newcastle.
How expensive is fair labour really? This article summarises research data to answer these questions. In short: fair labour could be had for cheap.
On November 8th, 8pm, UK's Channel4 emitted a documentary on sweatshop labour factories that work for fashion retailers such as TopShop and NewLook. What was it all about?
"People respond to incentives". Book review of an excellent introduction to the mechanisms and macro-economics behind development and global aid giving.
How expensive is fair labour really? This article summarises selected research data to answer these questions. In short: fair labour could be had for cheap.
Since the moment that Burma's opposition Leader, Aung San Suu Ky, was released from her decade of house arrest it was clear: Nothing would remain the same.
Let’s put the conclusion at the beginning: This book is a must read, for those that intend to ‘go into luxury’, fashion, or any other creative industry. But also for all those that are of the opinion that the ‘Gig Economy’ only came into being with companies like Uber, AirBnb, Just Eat and the like. In fact, luxury – and linked to it – the creative arts have been pioneering the Gig Business Model for many decades already.
