Make it a Yes vote for ethical fashion

 

by Andrea Shufflebotham

What do the European elections and fashion have in common?

In the shadow of the MPs’ expenses scandal along with Jordan and Peter André’s break-up, the European elections are drawing nearer. Who are the candidates? Why vote? And more importantly what’s this all got to do with fashion?

For those of us who love great fashion and beautiful design combined with a healthy dose of eco and ethical sourcing, we have been aware for quite a while of the social and environmental injustices that exist in the UK’s mainstream fashion industry.

Programmes like Blood Sweat and T-shirts have shown us how the mainstream British fashion industry has sold and often continues to sell clothes that are made by underpaid workers, sometimes even children, using fabrics which rely on vast amounts of pesticide for their growth, harming both the environment and the workers in contact with them.

Like EcoChic, companies such as People Tree, Beyond Skin and Fifi Bijoux among others are dedicated to selling fashion that does not compromise on either style or ethics. More and more, we,the consumers have been voting with our money and choosing to shop more ethically, putting people, the environment and of course style before profits. This has had some impact on the mainstream fashion industry, and in turn the farmers and workers involved all along the supply chain, but we can do more.

The EU has elections coming up and through choosing a candidate who is committed to an approach to trade that prioritises development, environmental sustainability and human right we can make a real impact on the world’s poorest people.

This is because the EU sets ‘trade deals’ with the rest of the world. This is the way the EU negotiates with different countries of the world to set rules on trade. Within these negotiations the EU will work out how much different countries will have to pay to sell products within the EU. These tariffs (a type of tax) are set at very high levels. So when a cotton grower in Ghana tries to sell its cotton to EU fashion brands, it is unlikely they will manage to pay the tariffs and be able to sell their cotton at a competitive price. The high tariffs make it just too expensive. Without the opportunity to trade, another avenue to lift farmers, communities and countries out of poverty is closed.

At the other end the EU is putting pressure on some of the world’s poorest nations to ‘open their markets’. This means the EU is negotiating hard for very low tariffs on EU exports to these countries. This is what has happened in Ghana, where sales of tomato puree, produced by subsidised European farmers, have squeezed out local production as the amount of Ghanaian grown tomatoes sold shrunk from 92 to 57 per cent between 1998 and 20041.

Another implication is in terms of industry and services. The EU would like many different poorer nations to allow European companies to have free access to sell in their countries. An example of this is in India, where the EU is insisting that India open up its market to the EU’s major retail corporations, such as supermarkets like Tesco and Carrefour. The government of India has so far said it will not allow these large multinationals to be in India, but if it is pressured into doing so, these supermarkets could squeeze out millions of poor people who currently work in small shops or as street sellers and who have almost no alternative way to make a living.2

Finally, these trade deals will also determine how much access the EU companies will have to extracting raw materials from the world’s most mineral rich countries. This is extremely important, because without regulation, the EU can potentially exploit developing countries by over mining for minerals or fossil fuels, which can have a devastating effect on both the environment and the livelihoods of the local people as is the case in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, where the Dutch oil giant, Shell’s operates.3

But what about fashion?

Well to take these examples further, currently, unless suppliers and producers of material are working with European companies, many will not have enough knowledge of the skills needed to produce clothes and stylish, beautiful designs for a European market. If a company in a country like Ghana chooses to start a fashion brand with ethical and environmentally sound practices, they will be competing with multinationals that have years of experience in designing and promoting their clothes to different markets. Plus the multinationals will be able to charge cheaper prices due to economies of scale, and in many cases, due to the unethical employment practices it may use.

One success story is the growth of ethical and fair trade fashion which enables farmers and workers to work in fairer conditions and who in partnerships with western brands sell beautiful and fashionable ranges at fairer prices.

It may all seem complicated, but by choosing a European Parliamentary candidate who opposes these practices in the upcoming elections, we can choose to vote for fair trade deals and as a result vote for fashion and style with a conscience.

To find out more about your local MEP candidates visit www.europarl.europa.eu or the websites of the political parties such as:
www.eurolabour.org.uk
www.conservativeeurope.com
www.libdemmeps.org.uk
www.greenparty.org.uk/elections/euro-elections2009.html

or google the party you are interested in and ‘European Elections’

To get more involved in campaigning for trade justice, visit www.tjm.org.uk to download a campaigner pack at www.tjm.org.uk/action/TJMlobby-pack.pdf.

And of course keep buying beautiful and ethical and fairtrade  fashion such as

 
, especially from EcoChic Collection!

http://http://www.ecochiccollection.co.uk/product/grey_metallic_envelope_purse/

 

Thanks to the Fairtrade Foundation (www.fairtrade.org.uk) and Trade Justice Movement (www.tjm.org.uk) for help with researching this article.

References:

 1 - Paasch, A (2008) Floods - Man Made: European Trade Policy Violates Right to Food in Ghana - Chickens and Tomatoes, Germanwatch, Bonn http://www.germanwatch.org/handel/tomachi.pdf
2 - Powell, S (2208) the EU-India FTA: initial observations from a development perspective, Traidcraft, London http://www.traidcraft.co.uk/Resources/Traidcraft/PDF/tx/policy_report_eu_india_FTA2.pdf
3 - Mathiason, N (13 June 2004) - Revealed: How Shell’s desperate thirst for oil is devastating Nigeria, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2004/jun/13/oilandpetrol.news

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