"Our purpose is to give the faceless a face and the voiceless a voice" -- That was the remarkable opening message that Rachel Reilly, Ethical Clothing Australia National Manager, gave before the start of the panel for the Ethical Clothing Australia Week in Sydney, in partnership with The University of Sydney's Modern Slavery Unit and the Business School's MBA Dimensions Program.
Image supplied by ECA.
Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) is an accreditation body that collaborates with local textile, clothing, and footwear (TCF) businesses to protect and uphold the rights of Australian garment workers. Their accreditation program maps a business' supply chain from design to dispatch, including initial design, pattern making, cut, make, trim, and all value-adding services.
Each year, ECA hosts a series of events, both virtual and in-person, to commemorate Ethical Clothing Australia Week. Now in its fourth year, it was an opportunity to celebrate the skilled workers in Australia who create and distribute the garments we wear and love. The week also recognised the businesses that have taken action to prove their ethical credentials by becoming Ethical Clothing Australia accredited and raising awareness about the issues regarding unfair worker treatment and different forms of exploitation.
From left to right: Ava Kalinauskas, Ella Spencer, Nina Gbor, Dr James Cockayne. Image credit: Lucie Davies, Ethical Clothing Australia.
This year's program ran from October 7-13, with events hosted in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. In New South Wales' capital city, Sydney, the was called Ethical Clothing Australia Week 2024 x The University of Sydney's Modern Slavery Unit and the Business School's MBA Dimensions Program. The commemoration brought together several ECA member brands, such as The Social Outfit and Citizen Wolf. The NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner, Dr James Cockayne, was also present for the event which had an insightful panel discussion, and many more industry professionals in attendance.
From left to right: John Fields, Heather Chai, Andrew Quinn, Jenny Kruschel, Martijn Boeresma, Sarah Kaine, Carolyn Kitto, Rachel Reilly. Image credit: Lucie Davies, Ethical Clothing Australia.
Moderated by Heather Chai, Director Modern Slavery Unit at The University of Sydney, the panel featured:
The Hon. Dr Sarah Kaine MLC
Jenny Kruschel | TCF National Secretary | CFMEU, Manufacturing Division
Associate Professor Martijn Boersma | The University of Sydney
Carolyn Kitto OAM | Co-Director | Be Slavery free
Andrew Quinn | Director | ABMT Apparel
The panellists shared personal anecdotes from their experiences in the industry, providing a unique perspective on the challenges that still exist and how they can be overcome.
Image credit: Hermes Riviera
Ethics in the fashion industry
A persistent issue in the fashion industry is the rise of numerous “sustainable” labels with different criteria and definitions. Sustainability is often limited to the effects of clothing on the environment. However, sustainability should not be assessed solely through an environmental lens. The discourse should always include the impact on people, especially industry workers. It defies logic to label anything as “sustainable” if it requires the use of modern slavery to achieve its production goals.
The ethical issues in the fashion industry are extensive: unfair working conditions, extensive hours, forced labour and low pay are just a few of them. To provide some context, Fashion Checker (2023) states that 93% of some of the largest international brands are not paying garment workers a living wage. Besides that, many garment factories do not have the appropriate infrastructure for their workers to be safe and comfortable. Incidents like the 2013 Rana Plaza garment factory building collapse in Bangladesh killed more than 1,000 people died and injured over 2500 people. This greatly impacted the industry, exposing the need for significant changes to guarantee workers’ fundamental human rights and safety.
The fashion industry is considered one of the leading industries responsible for the existence of modern slavery. As a matter of fact, a 2018 report conducted by the Walk Free Foundation revealed that the garment industry is the second largest contributor to modern slavery, with technology being the first. The term modern slavery refers to when an individual is exploited by others for personal or commercial gain either through trickery, coercion, forceful labour or loss of freedom of some nature. Long work hours and correspondingly low wages are common characteristics of modern slavery. Workers are sometimes forced to work extended periods just to buy basic supplies.
According to the International Organisation for Migration’s 2021 study, Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, led by Walk Free, the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration, 27.6 million workers were estimated to be in a situation of forced labour, across the world. These workers were in countries with high and low wealth, economic and developmental levels. According to Walk Free statistics, in 2021, 1.6 out of every 1000 people in Australia were living in modern slavery, meaning 41,000 individuals were living in modern slavery in the country.
The speakers acknowledged how some of these conditions have improved over the years. For example, the Modern Slavery Act (MSA) implemented in Australia in 2019 requires larger companies and other entities to report how they prevent and address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. This notion is supported by 54% of Australians who say they exclusively support brands that are transparent about their supply chains based on a study commissioned by QIC Real Estate.
In addition, more companies have begun to allow maternity leave for their workers, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted a code of practice on safety and health in textiles, clothing, leather, and footwear industries in 2021 to provide guidelines on risk management. Despite this progress, there is still a lot of work to be done, and transparency in the supply chain is one of the most significant barriers to change, significantly since the needs of fashion industry workers have evolved. With over 70% of victims of modern slavery, including forced marriage situations, nearly 30 million are estimated to be women and girls, with a majority of these women working in garment factories that create fast fashion. This equates to 1 in every 130 females (girls and women) around the world falling victim to modern slavery.
The Fashion Transparency Index (2023) indicates that 99% of major brands and retailers do not publish the number of workers in their supply chains who are paid liveable wages. Many of them still choose not to disclose how they operate. Transparency is the only way for workers to have a voice, not only nationally but also internationally. Harriette Richards in her 2022 paper, Risk, Reporting and Responsibility: Modern Slavery, Colonial Power and Fashion’s Transparency Industry, analysed through the lens of the Modern Slavery Act to discover which fashion brands in Australia had modern slavery in their supply chain with annual revenue from A$0-99 million to A$1 billion and over. She discovered nine brands on the list which had labels such as The Cotton On Group, Country Road Group, Zara, Uniqlo, and THE ICONIC.
Addressing the issues
The panel speakers unanimously underscored the pressing need for more stringent regulations and the enforcement of existing policies. They stressed that local governments should mandate companies to report on every manufacturing activity, monitor the whereabouts of their workers in the production chains, and document their tasks. Additionally, they should focus on minimising existing risks in the workspace and effectively implementing risk management plans.
Governments can also play an essential role in helping sustainable and ethical businesses scale. As Kitto highlighted, the issue with ethical businesses is that they tend to operate at a smaller scale due to more limited resources and high competence from other fast fashion brands. That sometimes prevents them from being able to take on larger projects or clients. Governments can provide the resources to help ethical businesses reach the scale they need to produce at a higher demand. They can also protect local industries from international concurrence on regional markets. Indeed, one of the principal issues for small ethical brands is that they cannot compete with giant international fast fashion companies that have mastered their cost/benefit ratio by using underpaid labour across the globe to achieve their mass production and artificially low product prices.
Krushel emphasised unions' critical role in providing a collective for workers to defend their rights. They are crucial to re-balance the status inequalities. Without them, workers are isolated and prone to exploitation, especially groups that are already at a high vulnerability status, such as women and refugees.
As consumers and citizens, we hold significant power in promoting responsible consumption by choosing ethical brands. However, despite the general public's concern for these issues, it can be difficult to discern which brands truly adhere to ethical standards. Opting for brands accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia is a reliable way to ensure the brand meets the necessary ethical criteria. Other reputable certifications include B Corp and Bluesign.
Furthermore, one of the most potent actions for the citizens to force the fashion industry to change is boycotting unethical brands such as Zara, H&M, Shein, Temu, Gap, etc. If enough citizens and consumers demand transparency and these brands see their profit margins decrease, there will likely be some form of change. There is a shared responsibility between the citizens and governments to take action for an ethical fashion industry. Individuals can start by making informed personal choices, advocating for change, educating others and demanding ethical clothing regulations from local and federal policymakers.
*Article by Martina Novajas and Maëlys Dunand.
Martina Novajas is passionate about social psychology and marketing, and their role in delivering creative and effective environmental communication strategies.
Maëlys Dunand is interested in combining law and politics for a broader approach to sustainability, as a viable pathway to making the world better for nature, humans and other living things.