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Stop Sweatshop Fashion

By Carla Bevan on Wednesday 3 September 2008

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Marie Claire Fashion news: sweatshop fashion

Join marie claire's campaign to stop sweatshop fashion

As a marie claire reader, we know you care about fashion, but that you also care about where that fashion came from.

But what can you actually do to help?

Well, to start with, you can join our Stop Sweatshop Fashion Campaign. Use the comments box below to pledge support for Fairtrade fashion, and to help us lobby the high street to clean up its act.

'We don't want you to stop buying clothes,' says Labour Behind The Label's Martin Hearson, 'but if you buy them cheaply on the high street, you are buying clothes made by workers whose rights are not respected. You are a stakeholder in the companies you buy from, and you should challenge them to do more to protect workers' rights.'

For downloadable letters and emails you can send to companies using third world labour, visit Cleanupfashion.co.uk

For ethical fashion and beauty buys, click here.

Words by Carla Bevan, Wednesday 3 September 2008

Have your say ...

Add your own comment

Whenever I can, I buy a Fairtrade alternative, which means internet orders (and the inevitable problems when you can't 'try on') or travelling miles. Most people don't have the luxury of clothes buying being this much effort. We should be able to buy stuff on the high street with a clear conscience. I would expect that most consumers, if they thought more about what their clothes cost the people who stitched them together, they would not buy them. Let's expose the worst offenders and give the companies a reason to tighten up the rules and protect the rights of the workers.
Comment by Ruth Clark on September 05 19:37

LOVE Marie Claire & wish I could do more to help. I pledge to try & clean up fashion. Please let me know how I can help.
Comment by Monica Sheaf on September 05 22:31

I am pleased to see that you're running this campaign, and you're genuinely not treating it as a one-off fashion band wagon like so many other magazines and shops have been guilty of doing.
I think one of the easiest things that shops could start with, is being obliged to put the country of origin next to the price on the tag (as opposed to tucked inside the garment on the label). We already have clear packaging with our food, why not with our clothes too? Secondly, I'd like to see MC using the "shop of the month" feature to promote high street shops who have stepped up their pro-active ethical sourcing; and on that page ONLY feature clothes made by suppliers with positive working conditions.
Comment by Anne Tyler on September 06 16:46

i am also pleased you are running this campaign. i have recentley bought items from adili in their sale as the clothing can be quite expensive ,not everyone can afford to be ethical even if they want to. la redoute have a small range of fairtrade clothing as well.lots of mothers like myself buy childrens clothing from the large supermarket stores and i think pressure should be put on companies to express the fact that we do want nice affordable clothes but not if it means workers are being totally exploited
Comment by k. wilson on September 19 10:18

I pledge my support! I wish all clothes were fairtrade! But maybe if enough people put pressure on commpanies, it will happen!
Comment by Hannah on September 19 14:06

I am British & have lived in England all of my life until 8 weeks ago when we moved to China for my husbands work. We are now living in Shanghai & last week a new Marks & Spencer store opened here. The jeans they are selling are all 3-4 hundred Yuan I didn't see a famous name & are all made in China. Down the road near where I live you can buy jeans with Levi labels for 150 Yuan. What I would like to know is are the Levi ones from sweat shops are the M & S ones from sweat shops or are they all from sweat shops!? I am really confused & don't know what to buy.
Comment by Sally Clifford-Smith on October 08 14:34

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