Guest Blogger #2: Please Welcome Nadiah of Playing Fair

What are you wearing?

A guest post from Nadiah, owner of Australian Fair Trade kidswear store Playing Fair

I’d like to invite you to do a little interactive online experiment with me right now  I want you to look down at the clothes that you are wearing, and see if you can figure out where each of those items was made. Read the label on your shoes, check the label on your undies (don’t worry, I won’t peek) … so what did you find out?

Chances are that most of what you have on right now will be stamped ”Made in China”, “Made in Bangladesh” or similar. The reason for this is that there is a mass-scale outsourcing of production, and while it means cheaper clothing for us, it comes with a hidden price.

In the race to decrease costs and increase profits, companies routinely take advantage of garment workers in developing countries. For example, a recent ILRF survey of Chinese garment factories supplying the discount-supermarket Aldi found that workers — including under-16s — toiled from 7.45 am – 10.00 pm, 6 days per week, for about $100 Australian per month. This pay is inadequate even in local terms. Too often the exploitation of garment workers leads to injuries and death: the Bangladesh Institute for Labour Studies estimates 130 deaths and 480 injuries in 2005 alone.

As a Fair Trader, I know that it doesn’t have to be this way. International trade represents an opportunity for poorer countries to develop their economies, for workers to gain employment and sharpen their skills, and for a society’s knowledge and methods to be valued and harnessed for cultural exchange and mutual enrichment. But it will require a shift in the way consumers weigh-up the value of a product. In the same way that a conscious consumer will prefer a product with higher environmental credentials, people will need to consider the social-justice dimension of what they purchase as well. In Australia we have a number of ways in which we can choose garments with social justice in mind.

The first is the simplest: to choose second-hand. So-called “fast fashion” has created an enormous waste in the garment industry. So if a person can be fearless and creative with their style, vintage fashion and op-shops (particularly those that fund charitable
organisations) are the perfect ethical choice.

However many items of clothing are difficult if not impossible to obtain second-hand, which brings us to accreditation systems.

For Australian-made garments, many clothing workers (particularly home-based workers) are from non-English speaking backgrounds and are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Ethical Clothing Australia has accredited certain clothing businesses who are committing to keeping their supply chains transparent and to ensuring that they and any sub-contractors are compliant with the relevant Australian laws.

For overseas-made garments, the Fair Trade Association of Australian &

New Zealand have recently developed Fair Traders of Australia (FToA), which is an endorsement process for businesses who have Fair Trade at the core of their business. Similar to the Fair Trade Federation in the US or BAFTS in the UK, an FToA business must conform the World Fair Trade Organisation’s 10 Standards of Fair Trade in order to qualify for endorsement, which includes the guarantee of a fair price for work performed in decent
and humane conditions.

If we can make a conscious decision to choose Fair Trade whenever we
can, we can wear a label like “Made in Bangladesh” with pride.

As a final thought, I’d like to leave you with the words of Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhummad Yunus:

“The fact that the poor are alive is clear proof of their ability”.

In the same way that the eco-conscious consumer understands that natural resources are valuable and should not be wasted, we must also recognise that the life, creativity and labour of each unique individual is precious as well. There is a whole world full of amazing styles, materials, and techniques just begging for the opportunity to be worn and loved. I believe that they should be shared with a wider audience, and that the creators deserve the opportunity to create them in fair conditions.

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Nadiah, thank you so much for sharing!

Be sure to check out Nadiah’s website, Playing Fair.  Also, if you’re interested in places to purchase fair trade clothing in the U.S. or online, you might want to check out this page on the Fair Trade Federation’s website.