The anti-sweatshop movement has been one of the most visible national campaigns of the last decade, particularly on college campuses. Beginning with the Kathie Lee Gifford expos?? by the National Labor Committee, organizations, students and workers launched prominent public awareness initiatives to inform the consuming public about what was really going into their name brand clothing. Largely due to their efforts, many people now have some understanding of the awful conditions under which the people (mostly women) who make our clothes work. However, there is still a significant gap between public awareness and public action.
For many people on the consumption end of the process, the first reaction to reading or learning about sweatshops is, \Well where do I shop then? What company is good?"" There is no easy answer. Close to 90 percent of garments are not made in ideal conditions and a large percentage of them are made in abysmal conditions. It is very difficult to know the difference.
The situation extends far beyond garments. Most of the inexpensive goods we purchase are cheap for a reason-the company, fear not, is still profiting, but it keeps items cheap by exploiting labor.
The major strategies of the movement have so far been public pressure on image-sensitive brands (negative advertising) and the development of independent monitoring systems to uncover corporate abuses. But these tactics can only go so far because both ultimately depend on corporations to make the needed changes.
Fortunately, there has been a positive strategy developing-the fair-trade movement. In the past the answer to the question ""Where do I shop?"" has been thrift stores. The fair-trade movement is providing new and sustainable alternatives to sweatshop goods.
Fair trade means workers have an active voice in the workplace, receive good wages and suitable benefits, and ensures land and resources are used in environmentally sound ways. It also tries to subvert the traditional worker-owner hierarchy through cooperatives and other structures. Historically, one of the drawbacks of fair trade is it has been limited to only a few products, and there are few fair trade apparel alternatives.
One of the most exciting developments in the anti-sweatshop/fair-trade movements has been the creation of worker-owned factories and cooperatives producing garments. Recent initiatives in Central America are offering new choices for those who want to support workers.
Just Garments is the first unionized U.S.-owned factory in El Salvador and its founders endured many hardships to create it. Just Garments was formerly part of Tainan Enterprises, a company with factories in Asia and Latin America. In 2001, workers organized in response to abuses occurring in the factory. Tainan attempted to quell their efforts by firing workers. The workers who remained were undeterred and eventually were able to form a union. In response, Tainan closed the factory and had all the workers blacklisted. STIT, the textile union, along with many organizations in the United States and across the world, launched a campaign to support the employees who were fired. The public pressure brought about negotiations and the parties reached an innovative agreement: the workers would reopen the factory, run it themselves and slowly buy out Tainan.
Just Garments represents a revolutionary change in the textile industry. The workers are paid a living wage and have a voice in decision-making. The company goes beyond employment and tries to improve the quality of life for workers through optional trainings on topics like physical health. Just Garments and fair trade represent a new model of economic development and a new mode of doing business. It is imperative that we support Just Garments and make the statement that this is the way forward.
It is not only individual consumers who need to start supporting fair trade; institutions also need to make the switch if fair trade is ever to become more than a niche market. UW-Madison has been at the forefront of the collegiate anti-sweatshop movement. UW-Madison student activists, in conjunction with activists at University of Michigan and across the nation, helped create the first monitoring board for the apparel industry, the Worker Rights Consortium, and forced universities to take responsibility for how their goods are produced. Now it is time for UW to take the lead again by putting support behind sustainable and equitable development. One of the leaders from Just Garments is in Madison today to meet with administrators and students. Students should come forward and tell the UW to support Just Garments and give us a real reason to have pride in our Wisconsin wear.
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
