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May 22, 2009
An update from the World Fair Trade Organisation conference in Nepal
I woke last Monday morning to a little face at my hotel window (I was three storeys up!). I reached for my glasses quickly - to see a fawn coloured monkey. That's how my first day at the World Fair Trade Organisaion annual global meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal, started . . .
Top - Members of the WFTO. I'm in to the right in the orange vintage frock between Professor Sharma of Tara Project, India and Raihan Ali of Swallows Thanapara Bangladesh.
Bottom - Over 500 Fair Traders and Nepalese artisans march the streets of Kathmandu to light candles at the local temple and call for support for Fair Trade.
We have spent the last four days talking about Fair Trade. There are 200 of us from all over the world. Really scary stuff reported from Thailand, Kenya and Nepal about how climate change is affecting them NOW. They are planting rice in dry land, not the usual wet fields typical of Asia because the rains come 6 weeks late - and people here in the Katmandu valley are queuing for two hours a day for a bucket of water! I chatted to our hotel manager and they wont even consider putting up a little note in bathrooms asking people to conserve water - it's scandalous!
At the conference there are fair trade product design competitions, sessions on how Fair Trade will fare in the global recession (it's looking good - as more people buy to reflect their values!) and workshops held for each region.
Between sessions I visit local partners to have business meetings and do product development - I'm on the back of a motorbike, the dust and pollution from the street gets stuck at the back of my throat - I can barely talk the next day.
Top - Discussing earthenware and quality standards with a ceramics specialist at a Fair Trade project in Nepal. He is helping the group set up a new kiln and retrain to help them accessinternational markets.
Bottom - The 'CAJUN' pan-pacific group at the WFTO conference.
I join the Hawaiian shirt wearing, easy-going 'CAJUN' pan-pacific group. The "J" is for Japan, which is where one of the People Tree offices is and then I skip through to the highly disciplined European group to work on policy issues - and get a few odd looks for my bright vintage dress.
Diversity rules at the World Fair Trade Organisation - that's what I love about it!
If you have a twitter account you can also follow my updates at http://twitter.com/SafiaMinney
May 18, 2009
People Tree brings you World Fair Trade Day
Photos - (c) Chika Okazumi (A.K.A.) / People Tree
It is seven years since I initiated World Fair Trade Day - we needed a day to celebrate Fair Trade, the diversity of the movement and advocate for Fair Trade in different countries.
This years theme 'Beat Poverty' was celebrated on Saturday 9th May with Gocoo, the Japanese drumming performers, one of our team is a drummer in her spare time!
800 People came to celebrate World fair Trade Day, watched our fashion show, listened to producer partners from India about the Social Impact of Fair Trade and how it protects the environment. I also launched my book 'By Hand' in Japanese and had a chat with ex Marie Claire Editor, Yoshiko Ikomo on the future of luxury fashion and it's relationship with Fair Trade fashion.
Whether you attended a World Fair Trade Day event or not the biggest support you can give is buying Fair Trade and telling your friends about it.
May 08, 2009
British library in London launches first in a series of World Fair Trade Day events
From left Albert Tucker, Paul Myers, Ann MacCaig, Matthew Rock, Safia and Tim Smit at the British Libraries Kick-Starting the Sustainable Economy panel discussion.
On Wednesday night I joined other movers and shakers in the Fair Trade movement to outline People Tree's activities and our vision for a sustainable economic model, built on social and environmental justice.
Albert Tucker, former Chief Executive of Twin was his usual charismatic self. He told the story of how he had worked alongside cocoa farmers to bring their product to the British market in the early days, and how, 15 years ago, few believed that a market of more than 2% could be achieved how wrong they were! Albert's focus was to show how Fair Trade organisations like Twin, Cafedirect and People Tree are unique in working to help producers build capacity so that they can develop domestic markets and create local businesses, using Fair Trade as a launch pad for this.
Ann MacCaig CEO of Cafedirect explained the roots of Cafedirect's work and how coffee farmers had sponsored the first three containers of coffee beans when the market price of coffee plummeted. These desperate measures, backed by public support at the back of churches and small groups, have led to building the vibrant fair trade coffee market that we have today.
Tim from the Eden Project gave an inspired and fun presentation on how we shouldn't be calling ourselves ethical businesses, we should be calling conventional businesses unethical, whether it's auditing or financial institutions or trading companies which do not use kitchen table common sense in addressing social and environmental costs and performance just financial profit. Indeed they don't even begin to acknowledge the risks of not incorporating the true social and environmental costs of their activities. Tim also amusingly gave us some tips and hints advising strongly to "kill negative people around you" (of course he didn't mean it literally) as they just slow down the positivity of a team in delivering positive change in an already difficult environment.
What did I talk about? I talked about how People Tree's work is delivering social benefit in rural areas amongst disadvantaged cotton farmers and artisans and how there are environmental benefits too. I also talked about the baby steps of where People Tree came from. The British library have posted the speeches here so if you have a moment log in and take a look.
May 02, 2009
Primark Protest
After seeing news coverage of our planned protest outside the new Primark store in Tooting today the shop opened in a hurry yesterday. But that did not stop People Tree and War on Want supporters getting up early on a Saturday to show their concerns over Primark’s ethics.
I had been planning this protest with Naseem who volunteers in our local charity shop for the last two months and was delighted when War on Want offered to help - I'm fed up with gritting my teeth whenever I walk past Primark and when they upscale like this, the least we can do is show them that they are not welcome by all in Tooting
It was wonderful to see so much support from people of all ages and paths. People Tree customers, War on Want supporters, children, teenagers and local residents. Support from Tooting also came from its MP Sadiq Khan.
He said: “I am a strong supporter of ethical trading and have been campaigning locally to promote Fair-trade and to make Wandsworth into a Fair-trade Borough.
This week I met with Safia Minney, CEO of People Tree to discuss her concerns about Primark and action that the government could be taking.
I have read War on Want’s excellently researched report, ‘Fashion Victims II’, which shows that factory employees are still being exploited and are in an even worse financial position than before.
Working conditions such as the ones described in the report would definitely not be accepted here. We need to remind everyone that whatever the geographical difference between us and the factory workers who make our clothes, these are real people who just like us need jobs that pay enough to buy at least the basics in life, food, shelter, healthcare and education.”
Unfortunately Katherine Kirk, Primark’s Ethical Trading Director did not accept our invitation or appoint a representative to meet with us today to receive the letter asking Primark to deliver on its ethical claims.
In the coming weeks we will be asking you to put your name to this letter along with the hundreds of shoppers who took it today. Maybe then she would like to meet us. We could help her to improve practice. I would be happy to take her to Bangladesh and help her set up a dialogue strategy to improve conditions on the ground. It’s not difficult. Am I naïve? Perhaps improving the situation for workers is not what Primark and other fast fashion brands want to do - they’d rather ignore the problem in the hope it goes away.
Well it won’t go away as shown today in Tooting. People are feeling increasingly uncomfortable and want to be part of the solution in solving poverty and environmental problems.
Watch a video of the protest where I explain more about why we were there.
May 01, 2009
Why we need to pay more for Primark + be sure that it 'trickles down' to the workers
Safia talks to Mr Amin, Director of National Garment Workers Federation, who represents garment workers and campaigns for their rights about the grim realities of the real costs of fast fashion.
Home to garment factory workers
Safia - Can you tell me how many factories a company like Primark will be sourcing from?
Amin - About 50-100 factories in Bangladesh.
Safia - What kind of problems do you hear from these garment workers?
Amin - Long working hours instead of 9 hours they work 14 hours or even 18-20 hours and all night too through enforced overtime. They also do not earn a living wage which is estimated at 5000 taka per month here.
Safia - What are the health risks of working such long hours?
Amin - 8am to 4am means they have only four hours off, to get to their homes, shower, eat, they have no more than two hours sleep. For the women workers it is harder as they have to look after their homes as well.
Safia - Some people say earning ‘something’ is better than earning nothing! Or however low the salary is it’s better than no salary – or better than other work like, prostitution.
Amin - People who respond in this way saying low wage are better than no wages are confused. The factory worker is producing clothes – and as a consumer you should take responsibility for the producer of the clothes you buy. Consumers should ask themselves why should a person who works for me go with half a lunch or live in a slum, or not get any medical treatment when they become sick due to the long hours caused by making cheap clothes for me. People need to be more aware of how business works. The consumer pays for a top in Primark, the consumer needs to know how much Primark pays to the local factory – a £7 shirt may pay only £1-1.50 to a local factory owner. At £1.50, 7-8% will go to the garment worker as the labour cost.
If a garment is too cheap, the factories suffers and cannot pay its workers properly. If consumers put pressure on Primark to charge more and pass on the benefit to the garment workers, even a few percent increase, it would make a big difference in improving the workers situation but add little to the price.
Fashion companies can also reduce their indirect costs to increase the money that goes to the workers. There is no need to entertain buyers in 5 star hotels and even pay for their 5 star hotel accommodation in some cases. No need to spend money bribing government labour departments as they are violating labour laws. And so need to bribe political parties sometimes to make it easier to undermine workers rights.
Safia - Have labour standards and conditions of the garment workers improved over the last two years?
Amin - There are some tiny steps. There are people called ‘Compliance officers/managers/directors’ who have little training but they do not visit the slums or bother to find out the real situation of their workers. They need to involve the Trade Union organisations- they have to be motivated to communicate with their workers.
Safia - What steps could be taken to improve communication then?
Amin - One solution would be that the company gives the trade union a list of factories they are working with, asking for a list of labour violations at each, then a committee is set up with representatives from a trade union, the factory management and the fashion company. In this way, within as little as a month, everyone would understand the realities on the ground and be able to work out solutions together.
Safia - Has the National Garment Workers Federation worked with a conventional fashion company in this way?
Amin - Tesco, Walmart, Gap, H&M use an auditing company to do it. They just want a report. They don't want genuine improvements.
Safia - Are there any examples of best practice
Amin - Not yet
Safia - Profits are running high in fast fashion at the cost of workers human rights. Companies like Primark made £230 million profit last year - that doesn't seem fair at all.
Amin - Consumers are buying the products made by these workers. If profits are running into millions of pounds part of it should be spent improving peoples welfare. It should be there moral obligation.
Consumers need to be more aware of the terrible livng and working conditions of garment factory workers in the developing world. I believe that if they were more aware of the situation on the ground, they would pressurise companies to make their trading practice humane.
Read what Jo Wood thought when she visited People Tree fair trade projects and then the slums in Begum Bari, Dhaka Bangladesh and watch her short video
Top left - Jo Wood in the Begum Bari slums Bangladesh. Top and bottom right - 200 people share two toilets, one shower and three stoves in the slum. Bottom left - For a room on bamboo stilts the size of an average persons bathroom it costs half the average garment worker's wage.
