I thought this recent post from INDIGENOUS on labor issues in the apparel industry is worth running here. Well said!
INDIGENOUS has decided to speak out about the current labor issues in the apparel industry given the recent tragedy in Bangladesh. Back in 1994, INDIGENOUS CEO Scott Leonard traveled to South America in hopes of creating a small fashion company focused on products that captured the spirit of indigenous artisans. It did not take long to see the deplorable conditions and tragic life circumstances of so many in the knitting trade. It also did not take long to see the ravages of non-organic cotton farming on the land and on the health of farmers and their children. The traditional livelihoods of generations that have relied on knitting and farming were literally killing those they should be sustaining. There are just some things in life that you can’t turn your back on and, for Scott Leonard, this was one of them. This was the moment that INDIGENOUS Fair Trade + Organic fashion was born.
Over the course of the past two decades the INDIGENOUS team has worked tirelessly to help improve and elevate the lives of artisans and farmers and their communities, and the results are astounding. Fully 75% of artisan knitters in our network are now no longer at risk of poverty. All work in safe, healthy conditions with benefits and the opportunity to make a better life for their families. Many have grown to start their own fair trade workshops and to employ and help others. There are now 500 boutiques, multiple catalogs, a deep partnership with Eileen Fisher and tens of thousands of customers who support our safe, ethical and sustainable way of doing business. It takes work for a brand to make these changes, but the results are worth the effort.
That’s why we are issuing this industry wide challenge, and at the same time offering our support, to every fashion brand: “If we can do it, why can’t you?” We are asking everyone— manufacturers, retailers, and consumers—to share our commitment to fashion that honors people and planet, and to take and share a simple pledge: “No one should have to suffer and die to produce the clothes we wear.”
There are not many legitimate reasons that fashion brands can’t do as INDIGENOUS does. Some say consumers won’t pay the price for fair trade, organic and ethical fashion. We believe once consumers know where their clothes are made, who makes them, what they are made of, and the social impact of their purchase they will do the right thing. What INDIGENOUS is interested in doing is creating consumer awareness by providing full supply chain transparency. We believe that there is no one who wants a garment born of pain, suffering and inequity. We also believe that that most people will happily pay a little more when they know for a fact that the simple act of buying one blouse or sweater over the other has given someone else the opportunity for a better life. There is plenty of objective data to support this premise. This idea is not limited to the apparel industry, but includes any consumer product made in the developing world.
Many fashion industry executives claim full transparency is too hard to accomplish, too elusive, too big to get their arms around. At INDIGENOUS we believe they are not trying hard enough, and they are not using the right tools. This Fall every INDIGENOUS garment will include a QR code on its hang tag. This code launches our “Fair Trace Tool” application. The Fair Trace Tool shares the story of the artisans who make our clothing, information about our supply chain and social impact survey data. The social impact survey data is collected using a new SMS/cell phone based survey technology. Every six months we gather data from the artisan workforce on working conditions, economic well-being and other factors. We then share this information with our employees, investors and our customers. This and other technologies make it possible to survey workers privately, via confidential voice response, away from employers and managers. It is an entry point to deeper workforce engagement in shaping the work environment.
Last, we have said transparency takes effort, but it’s completely doable. Our objective is to make it even easier for other apparel brands. The Fair Trace Tool is a proprietary application, and could be a major competitive brand asset. INDIGENOUS will share our transparency practices and license our Trace Tool technology with ANY brand that publicly accepts the CHALLENGE that they will produce clothing in a way that is safe, ethical and honors people and planet.
Thankfully, we are not in this alone. Other brands in the fair trade and organic fashion space are doing their part. Boutiques and other retailers who are opening their doors to fair trade and organic fashion are doing theirs. There are a growing number of consumers who are insisting on consciously produced fashion.
Now is the time for a groundswell of consumer support. In all, we spend over a trillion dollars a year on clothes. Our spending on clothes truly has the power to change the world for good. We are asking you as consumers to take the PLEDGE: “I will find out where the garment I am about to purchase came from and who made it. I will not wear anything that people are suffering and dying to produce.” It’s that simple. When you take steps to learn about your clothes, and spend in a way that demonstrates your values you are changing the fashion industry.
In conclusion, we must move quickly and collaboratively so that no more lives are lost or family futures compromised in making the clothes we wear. The good news is INDIGENOUS has a way that works. Incidents like the tragedy in Bangladesh just don’t happen in our supply chain. From our inception we have embraced the following principles:
- We provide fair wages in the local context
- Support safe, healthy, and participatory workplaces
- Supply financial and technical support as well as shared community planning to build capacity
- Ensure environmental sustainability, (including using: Organic certified cotton, GOTS processing, and Oekotex 100 approved dyes)
- Respect and embrace cultural identity, of families and community
- Build direct and long-term relationships
- Educate and collaborate with partners on sustainability
INDIGENOUS is inviting every fashion brand to learn with us, and to join us in working for the day when no one suffers or dies to create the fashion we all wear. We are inviting the fashion industry to join us in fair trade practices and innovative production supply chain tools that enhance transparency.
We are asking those of you who are reading this as a fashion consumer, to stop and ask before your next clothing purchase, where did this garment come from, who made it and what am I supporting when I buy it? We also asking that you pass this letter along to as many friends as possible and ask them to make the same commitment.
Everyone at INDIGENOUS thanks you with all our heart for helping us to change the lives of millions of people around the world by simply being thoughtful about your choices as consumers.
