The news from Banglaesh gets worse and worse - 352 people dead so far in the collapses factory where people made clothes for Matalan, Primark and ther names.
I don't want to buy from labels that don't use sweat shops and don't use suppliers that have coercive or dehumanising working conditions. Does anyone know if there is a list prepared of the most ethical retailers?
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How do we know which retailers have ethical practices? Related to the Bangladeshi factory tragedy
264 replies
Cristiane · 28/04/2013 07:15
OP posts:
ppeatfruit ·
17/05/2013 09:51
I've just signed the War on Want petition to 'push' GAP and Asda who are holding out from signing with nearly ALL the giant firms to make sure the buildings are properly maintained and built. so there is positive action 
literarygeek ·
17/05/2013 21:08
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literarygeek ·
17/05/2013 21:10
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FrugalFashionista ·
18/05/2013 12:51
Great link Literarygeek!
Sorry about not having been very active over the past days, have been travelling. Have gotten a few new replies during my absence, one from 7 For All Mankind and one from Matches. Both are kind of... well, many companies are so far 'above' their supply chain that these types of questions are just not their forte. Maybe we should ask these questions more often? 
I went to the Gucci shop at the airport. They didn't have the vegetable-tanned rainforest bag, and it took quite a while before the saleslady remembered that they actually had one in their collection. She said quite emphatically that she knows of the bag but they have never had it in that particular shop (and most likely never will either). Greenwashing? They are riding high on the positive press but the actual item is N/A.
I also had friendly discussion about sustainable fibers with the COS checkout girl (bought a silk-cotton scarf there). She explained that polyester has been very popular among vendors because it's so great for printing (bright colors, no fading), and prints are very fashionable right now. Her personal preferred fiber was lyocell (she found cotton problematic, rightly so). Anyway, I enjoyed that type of talk with the girl at the till and would have liked to continue (to talk about sourcing and work conditions) but a queue was forming. But I found pleasant that a regular SA in a chain store clearly had been trained in these issues and had some information and opinions!
Have you noticed that 'Made in China' is almost a luxury these days? When I have scanned the labels of things I own, among the higher-end items, the better made, more complex or detail-oriented are almost always made in China. Salaries there have risen so much that uncomplicated sewing tasks are being done elsewhere. 'To die for' also talks about Chinese suppliers doing the outsourcing - they are increasingly having the very dirty, labor-intensive phases done in Africa or dirt-poor Asian countries.
ppeatfruit ·
18/05/2013 16:19
Yes it effing upset me as well frugal esp. the bit about chopping down rain forest to build factories in Indonesia; doesn't the living world mean anything to these people? 
FrugalFashionista ·
18/05/2013 16:40
I'm increasingly disillusioned. Companies have cut cost by shifting production to countries where profits are being made largely because environmental regulation and labor regulation are lax and favor all possible forms of exploitation. This means that we are willing to let go both of domestic jobs and the practices we have through trial and error developed to avoid sweatshops and polluted soil, air and water.
That cheap t shirt or bargainous pair of shoes has a invisible prize tag. Sooner or later we will have to pay the outstanding balance
ppeatfruit ·
18/05/2013 17:18
Yes as you can tell Iam too but I've said for many years that nothing is REALLY cheap (unless you grow veg. and flowers from seed in your own garden I suppose ) there aren't many people who seem to care either. I totally agree about the invisible price tag.
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Forgetfulmog ·
21/05/2013 09:29
Mrsrad, yes it is a little, but I was quite impressed by the tone tbh. It really did seem like the person who replied (I removed her name for security) was trying her best to answer. I haven't responded to her yet but will do.
I don't think we're going to get any straightforward answers but at least the info is getting out there.
On a separate note, I am just amazed at how few people have heard about the Rana Plaza collapse - it was on the bbc website for weeks, but many people I've spoken to haven't heard about it, nor do they care when I tell them 
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