Dressing ethically

Clothes can be absurdly cheap these days, admittedly the silly cheap ones aren't usually the nicest, but for everyday wear, they're fine, sometimes more than fine.  However, there's always a nagging voice at the back of the head that's going "why is it so cheap, huh, children sewed it, you know they did, do you really want to wear it?"

To which the answer is "erm". Being skint v being ethically minded??? " I recycle bottles. In fact the trousers I am wearing right now are made from recycled bottles. How good am I? Yes, nagging voice. I hear you. I do care where my £2 t-shirt came from.

So I thought I'd investigate what the companies themselves have to say rather than what the media like to say on their behalf.

(Yes, it's been done before, better, I LIKE to look for myself. Ok?)

An Independent report in 2005 put Marks and Spencer second bottom on their list of ethical traders and Primark bottom, adding that all 27 High Street retailers were appalling and anyone with a social conscience should not buy clothes from the High Street, ever. But I'm not interested in what they said, especially not 5 years ago.

In the last few years companies appear to have taken steps to rectify their unethical practices, and there's little point in pretending that (almost) everyone isn't as unethical as they can get away with until it becomes suicidally wrong to do so.

Marks and Spencer's Plan A makes for impressive reading, you can read it here.

They state that:

"As an own brand with influence over a quarter of million workers worldwide, we are in a unique position to set new trading standards that improve the lives and communities of those who work for and with us."

Next like what they have to say, they are definitely convinced that they sound like they're doing their bit. I'm not entirely convinced, but as they generally have less than ideal quality these days and aren't that cheap, I could quite believe they manage ethical practices. They say their piece on Corporate Responsibility here; as it's only January it would be unfair to assume they didn't achieve anything in 2009 and that they just haven't finished making last year's update sound good yet.

They claim that:

"Our Suppliers - we will work for positive social, ethical and environmental improvements in our supply chain"

Good, good. Most of my wardrobe is from Next. I like their clothes. 

Primark provide astonishingly cheap clothing, that isn't too rubbish. One presumes that their entire stock is made from entirely unethical means and to have a conscience would mean saying "NO!!!" to £6 jeans. But a read here does reassure that they are doing as much as they can. Or at least, they care about what they're doing.

 They tell us:

"Primark is committed to providing the best possible value for our customers, but not at the expense of the people who make our products".

I feel reassured.

Tesco sound well impressive, which makes me less and less convinced by these statements. Read and be impressed/cynical here.

They brag:

"We have high expectations of our suppliers on both a local and global scale. By working in partnership with them we deliver the quality, value and ethics our customers expect."

Yes, we know what we expect of Tesco. Hmmm. Next?

Uh. Asda. Don't appear to have a policy. They are bigging themselves up on other issues here, (click on the side banners, you can't miss them) but they don't mention the people who make things for them. Or maybe they do and I'm a bit tired. Enlighten me. They are expanding their range of Fairtrade products so fast that they may even be available in your local store.

So they do say this:

"The Fairtrade mark guarantees products are produced by workers in safe, decent conditions"

which is a nice woolly statement and doesn't apply to most of their products. Helpful.

Monsoon make beautiful clothes and they charge quite a lot of money for them. I don't mind, I just can't afford to shop there. Sigh along with them here then wish along with me to afford their clothes and to have the lifestyle that suits them.

They say (beautifully, in a swirly pink font):

"We know our responsibility extends beyond your wardrobe, so we've been trying our hardest to live by these values since 1973."

I love Monsoon.

So, they all seem to think they're doing well. I'm not sure how scrutinized Tesco and Asda are when looking at "High Street Retailers"  being, as they are, supermarkets, but I figure I now have to go back to what other people have said. Dammit.

The Ethical Corporation say rather a lot here, but tend to be rather more specific than my brain can process. They do inform me that Gap, New Look, Next and (hallelujah!) Monsoon Accessorize scored highest on a survey on Living Wages, with Marks and Spencer close behind. The ones who did not respond to this survey by Labour Behind the Label (read about them here,  their campaign here and the results of that survey here. Feel humbled.) were Alexon, BHS, Ethel Austin, House of Fraser and the Peacock Group.

Wow. Labour Behind the Label say it all really. And are doing something about it.

Visit their website as linked above, or specifically go to their Better Bargain campaign and stop reading the waffle of the uninformed. You can also go to Clean Up Fashion and they will tell you all about the individual shops. But wasn't it nice to find out what the companies themselves had to say...