ETHICAL FASHION 2. A Mediterranean experience: the Spanish NGO SETEM and the ethical campaign Campaña Ropa Limpia.

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1 ETHICAL FASHION 2 - Prof.Alberto Viñas Vizcaino, profesor asociado, en la Facultad de Economía y Ciencias Empresariales de la Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona impartiendo docencia, en el Departamento de Economía Europea. El Curso: Economía y Medioambiente en Europa. satuna80@hotmail.com - Prof.ssa Marcella Bellocchio, profesora asociada en el IDEP, ESCUELA DE LA IMAGEN y INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE DISEÑO de Barcelona - Área Moda y Estilismo. Impartiendo docencia en el Postgrado Coolhunting y Visual Trade. El curso: Nuevas Tendencias en Moda. marcella.bellocchio@gmail.com A Mediterranean experience: the Spanish NGO SETEM and the ethical campaign Campaña Ropa Limpia. The Spanish Non Governmental Organization SETEM organises, since 2004, an ethical campaign Campaña Ropa Limpia at national level. The main purpose of the campaign is to improve working conditions and to empower workers in the global garment industry, in order to end the oppression, exploitation and abuse of workers in this industry, most of whom are women. It does this by: Putting pressure on Spanish companies to take responsibility to ensure that their garments are produced in decent working conditions. Supporting workers, trade unions and NGOs in producer countries. Raising awareness among Spanish consumers by providing accurate information about working conditions in the global garment and sportswear industry, in order to mobilise Spanish citizens to use their power as consumers. Exploring legal possibilities for improving working conditions, and lobbying for legislation to promote good working conditions and for laws that would compel national and regional governments and companies to become ethical consumers. Now I will explain you some activities organized by SETEM since It shows how the ethical campaign Campaña Ropa Limpia has been able to use existing events and festivals in different regions of Spain as an opportunity to get out on the street and speak directly to consumers. 1. Companies In 2007, SETEM decided to organise a special action Made in Human Rights: A Shared Responsibility concerning the main Spanish garment companies. As part of this action, consumers are sending postcards to Spanish companies, demanding greater 1

2 transparency in their policies related to social responsibility. The campaign estimates that protest postcards are arriving at a rate of about 60 a day at the offices of the country's top five garment companies (Adolfo Domínguez, Burberry, Cortefiel, Mango, and Zara). As of December 2008, approximately 4000 cards had been sent to the companies. Previous to the start of these actions, June 2007, SETEM sent a questionnaire with 30 questions about "Corporate Social Responsability" to 12 clothes brands (Spanish or foreigners based in Spain). There was a poor answer (no surprise), 3 out of 12. It's the first time that a Spanish NGO puts pressure on Spanish multinational companies. SETEM wanted to force them to answer the consumers. Mango, Cortefiel, and Burberry have opted for personalized responses to those who sent postcards. In each case the response assures us that these companies are concerned about the human rights of both direct and indirect workers in their factories outside of Spain. Zara's Communications Director told to SETEM that his company is currently undergoing an internal process, which aims, amongst other objectives, to approve a corporate code of conduct. Up until now, Adolfo Domínguez has not responded. For SETEM, the main clothing manufacturers in Spain are showing, in very general terms, a change of attitude: they are beginning to react. That is why it seems very positive to continue mailing the postcards. The companies seem to be worried about the "social image" that could be conveyed to their potential customers. As we could see, this action offers yet more clear evidence of the power that consumers can have. 2. Street Action At the end of February 2008 the Ropa Limpia Campaign decided to take to the streets to explain the action to a wider audience. The results were spectacular: more than 1, 500 people in Madrid and Barcelona approached the stands and from there sent over 500 postcards to the main manufacturers in Spain. The companies, as tends to happen in these cases, have started to consider the issue, due to pressure from some of their customers. In addition SETEM have created a personage called "La Filo" (funny name similar to the word "hilo"). Hilo means yarn. She represents a sort of "social label". 3. The power of the internet In June 2007 a new, more dynamic and interactive web page was also launched together with the cyber campaign "Just Stop It" which aims to raise awareness of the working conditions in Nike factories. In Catalonia alone, 9,000 protest s were sent. Without a doubt, the most successful activities are the urgent appeals on workers' rights that are spread via the internet. The campaigners also use the information to spread the word about working conditions in actions on the street or in places of work or study. 4. A guide for the purchase of clean work wear by public authorities. 2

3 SETEM believes that all work wear worn by public workers should be produced in workplaces that respect workers' rights. Through community-council targeted action, lobby and research, SETEM is already seeing positive results. In September 2006, an extensive programme on ethical procurement was initiated in the Catalonia region, with three different local governments involved: Barcelona, Manresa and Badalona. In the case of Barcelona, following a resolution adopted by the City Council and subsequent research by SETEM, a guide for the purchase of clean work wear was written. This was presented in 2007 to the thirty city employees who handle purchasing decisions. 5. Press publications: a new report launched. First of May 2008, Labour Day, was used to launch a new report "La moda, un tejido de injusticias" (Fashion, a fabric of injustice) on the working conditions in the Moroccan factories of some Spanish companies. This is just some basic activities done by SETEM in different areas like communication, education, publication or even the adoption of an ethical label that must be respected by Spanish medium and small size companies. Even with the financial crisis SETEM campaigns are still going on with the support of Spanish citizens and public authorities at national, regional and local level. Conclusions Finally, as you could see the experience of the Spanish NGO SETEM could be interesting for the Italian NGO s, Consumers Associations, Garments companies and Research centres as an example of a successful information campaign in the field of fashion products and ethical values for the Spanish citizens of the XXI st century living in a common Planet and with the obligation to preserve the natural resources for the next generation. From our point of view SETEM s experience is one of the most important as you could find at the Mediterranean level with a very well developed network of more than 30 years as a NGO working in South America and Africa and 5 years in the field of ethical fashion. 3

4 Isabel Cantista Teacher - Universidade Lusíada do Porto Research Fellow at CEPESE Centro de Estudos em População, Economia e Sociedade da Universidade do Porto icantista@por.ulusiada.pt Paula Rodrigues Teacher - Universidade Lusíada do Porto Research Fellow at CEPESE Centro de Estudos em População, Economia e Sociedade da Universidade do Porto pcristinalopesrodrigues@gmail.com Ethical fashion: a portuguese case study Consumers are the key to change on marketing practices. New consumers demand new approaches. In spite of this, little attention has been given to the understanding and analysis of ethics of the consumers, or the role ethics play on consumer behaviour (Carrigan and Attalla, 2001). At the same time, even within the group of consumers, who tend to have a more positive attitude towards social responsibility practices, only a small percentage actually buys ethical products, or products traded on the basis of ethical values. According to some studies (Carrigan and Attalla, 2001; Boulstridge e Carrigan, 2000) these consumers tend to be willing to pay a higher price for products which were produced and traded according to some ethical values, but these values are not the main reason for them to buy the products. Ethical motives for consumption are particularly present in fair trade. The increasing interest of the public opinion on the conditions under which products are made and traded, highlighted by some journalists, known as opinion makers (Klein, 2000; Werner and Weiss, 2003) has led to the creation of this movement and its institutionalisation. Since its beginning, the fair trade has increased in impressive numbers (Rice, 2001). Since 2000, the annual average growth has been 20% (Krier, 2005). Fair trade is an alternative to traditional international trade. It has a focus on the development of partnership relationships between producers from poor countries from the South and consumers from rich countries from the North. These partnerships are intended to be long-term. Its aim is to help to reduce poverty from producers who most of the times are excluded from the international trade, or exploited by some companies from the traditional trade. It promotes access in fair conditions to producers from Africa, Asia and South America (EFTA European Fair Trade Association, 2001). In order to understand the reasons of buying of consumers and particularly the influence of ethical values we conducted an exploratory research in a fair trade shop located in Porto. This is one of the six shops of the Portuguese Association Reviravolta, who has as a main partner the Italian distributor Altro mercato, the second biggest European distributor of fair trade products. The association was founded in the year 2000, in a small city in the North Region of Portugal, called Amarante, and the shops are seen as a mean of communicating about fair trade. Thirty customers were interviewed after buying some products. These interviews were carried during the month of February

5 The findings point out that the main group of customers buys the products because of their quality and because they want to support the project. For the second largest group constituted mainly by men, the most important reason to buy is to support fair trade. In terms of fashion the shop offers a variety of products, but t-shirts are the best selling product. Most of the t-shirts are from the brand People Tree, present already in some European cities and best known for their corner at Topshop in London. Other products such as bags and jewellery are valued because of their handicraft nature. Their quality was also stressed. The Internet and friends seem to be the main sources of information. Once a customer, always a customer. The quality of the products and the ethical values underneath the project seem to reinforce each other. Loyalty was a trace of the majority of customers, who would enter the shop with something in mind already and the Shop Assistant would address most of them by their name. Professor Efrat Tseëlon Chair in Fashion Theory School of Design University of Leeds Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK e.tseelon@leeds.ac.uk Is ethical fashion sustainable? Globalisation was supposed to bring progress to world economies by closer integration through trade agreements that reduce barriers to the flow of goods, services, capital, knowledge and to some extent labour, and increase economic stability. Globalisation heralded an era where national governments were superceded by intergovernmental institutions (such as World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Health Organisation, International Labour Organisation and the UN). The economic strategy adopted by the financial institutions of self-regulating free market economy led to repeated crises, culminating in the current global economic downturn. In his much acclaimed classic Globalization and its Discontents, Professor Joseph Stiglitz (who had previously worked at the World Bank and as an adviser to the Clinton administration) analysed the dynamics and shortcomings of global economic policy and though the book was published in 2003 it set the scene for the current crisis. Stiglitz explained that trade can be a positive force for development, however, The notion that free trade unencumbered by government restrictions is welfare enhancing is one of the most fundamental doctrines in modern economics, dating back at least to Adam Smith (1776) and David Ricardo (1816). But the subject has always been marked by controversy because the issue facing most countries is not a binary choice of autarky (no trade) or free trade, but rather a choice among a spectrum of trade regimes with varying degrees of liberalization (Fair trade for all, 2005, p. 12). In fact pro-development agenda is more complex. The results of different trade policies have varied across countries; and the evidence suggests that benefits of liberalisation depend on a host of factors. Some of the greatest advocates of trade liberalisation negotiated reduction of tariffs and taxes and the elimination of subsidies for goods in which they have comparative advantage, but were rather more reluctant to eliminate their own subsidies in areas where the 5

6 developing countries have an advantage. As a result the trade negotiations have been disadvantageous to the developing countries. However, global governance without global government fostered globalisation without a human face which, rather than becoming a force for good contributed to undermining of cultural traditions, greater poverty, more inequality and anti democratic practices replacing the old dictatorships of national elites with new dictatorships of international finance. It was caused by a combination of factors including a rapid indiscriminant liberalisation which was not managed carefully, and did not leave sufficient time for adaptation, lack of transparency and accountability of the global institutions, and lack of concern for the perspective of the producers at the expense of the industrialised West of clients and users. What is needed, he says, are policies for sustainable, equitable, and democratic growth. Development is not about making a handful of people get rich, or creating a handful of protected luxury industries that only benefit the elite. It is not about bringing in Prada and Benetton, or Ralph Lauren or Louis Vuitton for the urban rich and leaving the poor in their misery. Rather, development is about transforming societies, improving the lives of the poor, enabling everyone to have a chance at success and access to health care and education, and increasing stability. Stiglitz advocates reforms in the international institutions that govern globalisation. Ethics has been defined in varied ways from CSR practices with regards to a company s range of stakeholders from the producers and suppliers of its raw materials and finished product, to its own employees, shareholders and the public at large. The signs are that the ethical business concept shows no signs of being beaten by the recession, and that in the 21st century, profit-making and social motives are growing closer. Kevin Brennan, the Minister for the Third Sector*, believes that despite the current fiscal turmoil, social enterprise is an idea whose time has arrived (The Times 9/1/2009). Indeed, the article says that Kevin Brennan has thrown his weight behind the Social Return on Investment (SROI) project whose aim is to provide a method of quantifying the social value a business creates by Even commercial institutions support the spirit of such thinking: the Bank of Scotland set up a Social Entrepreneur Awards scheme to celebrate enterprise and bright ideas. In this climate the emergence of organisations concerned with ethical fashion is both unexpected and timely. Paradoxically just when (as Bauman argues) local and national communities are disappearing while multinational corporations assume power - we have seen the emergence of a global grassroots solidarity network. It is unexpected in that the logic of globalisation, as Stiglitz s and other globalisation theorists observed would drive profit motives to be dominant in global trade. Being concerned with the human or environmental factors was considered, at best, a CSR PR exercise, not a genuine ethical commitment. In fact, Stiglitz s main critique of globalisation was precisely that aspect of neglecting the wider consequeces: human and environmental. It was perhaps Al Gore s refocusing of the global debates on issues of planetary concern that parachuted environmental consequences to the top of the agenda. And at the same time as climbing to the top global priorities CSR began to change its position in the corporation from that of an add-on the core of the business enterprise. Possible scrutiny of the The issue of ethical fashion departs from that tradition in that it is the first serious attempt of the industry to extend fashion discourse beyond the bottom line and to engage critically with the social/environmental consequences of the fashion phenomenon on a global scale. Since it has sprung into public consciousness in the last decade and particularly as a consequence of globalisation, the debate on ethical fashion 6

7 tended to focus on descriptive accounts of ethical fashion designers, producers and activities. It also tended to define the scope of ethical fashion around issues of fair trade and sustainability. On the whole it has not incorporated issues of animal welfare (from leather and fur to feathers and ivory), the use of toxins in beauty products, and the influence of fashion and beauty images on young people s, particularly women s - self image and well being as integral parts of the ethical discourse. Further, it has not addressed the complexities of the ethical discourse which appears to suggest somewhat naïve idealised romanticised solutions to political questions and moral dilemmas that are sometimes incompatible, or moral problems that are devoid of unproblematic solutions. My proposed paper takes a broad brush view of the whole ethical fashion terrain, elaborates some of its dilemmatic qualities, and situates it in a context of a meeting point of political realities (globalisation, decline of the nation state, liquid modernity), ideological discourses (consumption, beauty system, human rights) and complex issues that address not just sourcing of textiles (yarns and fabrics) but the whole lifecycle of the garment trade: sourcing, shipping, maintenance, and end of life. Mo Tomaney Central St Martins, London Fashion and Ethics: Re- inventing models of consumption and creativity in a global industry Based on a paper co written by Proff Julie Thomas & Mo Tomaney; To be published as part of the Cultures & Globalisation Series to be published by SAGE, While consumption of clothing is universal, the way people consume fashion is not; the term fashion trend itself is indicative of the transience of fashion - most obviously in western contemporary societies, but changing fashion trends are also visible in historical and contemporary tribal societies. Embedded into it s social potency as definer of social roles, fashion is also an important creative industry, marketing and distributing a global commodity; clothing and textiles have been an early vehicle for globalisation and the complex trading transaction, a politicised product from colonial history onwards. Textiles are intrinsically products that require value to be added at multiple layers of intense processing at pre-consumption and the comprehension of the complex textile supply chain is key to understanding the nature of the ethical in fashion, and the possibilities for change in fashion consumption both globally and locally. Whereas popular culture might participate in creating the right atmosphere for ethical consumption, the marketing and fashion industries are concerned to create the sustainable consumer the contemporary constant consumer of mass-market, fast fashion. This paper debates the defining factors of what is ethics or sustainable in fashion. Is ethical fashion itself a consumable, a trend that has an inbuit expiry date? It aims to examine the ways that ethical fashion can and does challenge traditional and post-colonial trading patterns and those of modern fashion consumption they have created, in the context of not only the production of our clothes but their pre- and post-consumer existence. It considers whether creativity and design excellence can play a role in creating solutions to ethical dilemmas, offering an examination of transformation in the nature of concepting and creating sustainable fashion and the 7

8 emerging forms of fashion business models that are born of the emergent discipline that is ethical fashion. Mo Tomaney Central St Martins, London/ UCA Epsom Threads of Change - A Case Study Building development through Entrepreneurship with Rural Women Embroiders in Pakistan This presentation will examine, via a case study of this 10 year project, ways in which the development of market awareness and the building entrepreneurial links between women in impoverished and often isolated rural communities can impact on the real development issues that include economic empowerment but go far beyond it. It will outline the social, political and gender context that in some ways defines elements of the project, It offers an insight into the building of integral relationships between development organisations and educational institutions that have developed mutual insights, learnings and knowledge transfer, with some extremely positive outcomes, both in terms of the strategic targets and as by-products of the ongoing work. Women in the diverse and widespread regions of Pakistan are custodians of textile skills that are extremely fine, and in some cases barely known beyond Pakistan s borders. The Threads of Change project is supported by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London and the Rural Support Network, Pakistan (RSPN) - an important national NGO that is working throughout Pakistan on a broad swathe of development issues, and having enormous outreach into local communities - with the partnership of Central St Martins College of Art & Design in the UK. The project, while faced with numerous unavoidable obstacles including a volatile political landscape and an earthquake, has begun to develop design, market awareness and entrepreneurial skills alongside the creation of local community co-operatives, networked from village level up to an Enterprise Facilitation Unit (EFU) with international links, supported by students, staff and graduates of fashion colleges in the UK and Pakistan, Currently a pilot, working with 3 specific regions, the project has attracted international attention and the support of the British Prince of Wales. The end of the initial phase of the project was marked by an exhibition at The Prince s School for Traditional Arts in Central London in November 2008, showcasing work produced by international designers at a series of masterclasses held in the field in late The second phase of the project is commencing and will see the project rolled out to further regions, with the continued support of student design and marketing interns. The nature of this project has meant that there have been important learnings from a fashion educational viewpoint as well as from the development view. What kind of impact can this level of trading and training have on socio economic development and is it possible for links with fashion education to bring a dynamic and positive contribution to this impact? What is the relationship of a developmental trajectory created at the micro level to globalisation and sustainability within a bigger picture? In this presentation we will examine a snapshot of parallel examples, from commodity food markets such as chocolate to businesses working with small scale textiles production in a sustainable or ethical framework, examining how meaningful community based project can be in the global context. 8

9 Nathaniel Dafydd Beard, Independent Creative Practitioner and Writer, London, UK Slogans and Celebrity: Translations and Interpretations in Ecofashion Promotion Integral to the sustainable development of the eco or ethical fashion market is its branding and promotion. In today s climate of economic uncertainty, this remains as pertinent as ever, not only for campaign groups, including the Ethical Fashion Forum, but also for commercial ecofashion brands. Two of the most important aspects in the promotion and branding of ecofashion, both in engaging its consumer audience and in developing sustainable business models, surround the usage of slogans and celebrity endorsement. This paper seeks to address the practice of slogans and celebrity as key components in translating ecofashion for consumers in conjunction with their interpretation by ecofashion brands in developing a new market. While sloganeering is often associated with politicisation, the usage of celebrity by association is regarded as dumbing-down, a distraction from the core issue. Yet, if ecofashion is to establish a permanent position within the fashion industry, it must embrace and learn from the promotional strategies that best engage the society in which it exists Within the context of ecofashion two differing kinds of celebrities emerge: personalities, like Colin Firth, actor and backer of London s Eco Age shop, and star designers, like Stella McCartney. This paper will trace the relevance and impact of affiliated versus integrated celebrity in the context of ecofashion marketing. In conjunction with this, the role of developing slogans, such as Gossypium s Pure and Fair label or Linda Loudermilk s Eco-Luxury Stamp of Approval, will be investigated to decipher how useful such slogans are in educating existing and potential ecofashion consumers. In conclusion, this paper will outline why creative solutions in marketing ecofashion remain necessary, especially within the context of today s bleak economic outlook. Paloma Diaz Soloaga (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) and Lucia Ruggerone (Università Cattolica di Milano) Fashion images and self-perception: a study on young women in four different countries This paper discusses the results of a comparative study carried out in Spain, Mexico, Italy and the Usa. The study investigates the effects on women s attitudes and opinions, as well as the possible long-term consequences of exposure to the unhealthy bodily stereotypes found in fashion advertisements, including distorted images of the body s appearance sometimes leading to eating disorders. In this respect the study might contribute to some current debates about the spread of eating disorders in western societies and its association with stereotypes promoted by the fashion industry. In order to carry out the research in a transcultural context, an online questionnaire was 9

10 designed and made available on the universities Intranet systems to be completed by a sample of female students. A smaller number of questionnaires was administered to female members of the Univerisities staff, that functioned as a control group to evaluate the impact of age on the subjects perceptions. Although the data from the USA are not yet available (they are being collected and will be promptly analysed and included in the discussion), results from the other three countries show differences in the consumption of fashion magazines and purchasing of fashion brands. In particular, Spanish women value being modern and fashionable and youthful more than Mexican women, who feel that being thin and looking elegant is most important. They are also more prepared than Spanish women to undergo cosmetic surgery in order to achieve the ideal appearance. The data from Italy are currently under analysis, but at a first glance Italian women show more similarities with Spanish women, though some differences are emerging as to the social effects of advertising. 10