sus·tain·a·ble /səˈstānəb(ə)l/ adjective conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources. "our fundamental commitment to sustainable development" -Oxford English Dictionary CommonShare, the first transactional and discovery platform for sustainable textile sourcing, proudly sources sustainability-conscious products such as organic cotton, recycled cotton, REPREVEⓇ recycled polyester, hemp, linen and others. We’re proud to unveil a new blog series in which we address the question of "what is sustainable fashion?" by unpacking key terms and presenting balanced solutions. Pursuing and understanding “sustainable fashion” is critical: more and more, customers are appreciating—if not demanding—that apparel companies embrace environmental consideration and stewardship. It’s possible that brands who fail to make small but noticeable changes to their supply chains will be considered outdated and lose consumers to brands who do their part to address the ecological concern. Of course, being more “sustainable” is not an easy pursuit, especially when trying to maintain a production calendar and turn a profit. But by educating our readers about the basics of what constitutes a more sustainable supply chain, our hope is that brands can achieve a balance between business and B-corp behavior. Part 2: Ethical Labor Last week, we presented potential sustainable materials in the article Sustainable Fashion 101: Fabrics; this week, we’re discussing how responsible labor and manufacturing are also crucial components to forming a transparent, healthy apparel supply chain. Sustainability implies being kind to the Earth; should it not, then, include being kind to all people who inhabit it? In fashion manufacturing, this responsibility is often referred to as ethical labor—indeed, manufacturing is often where most “ethical” concerns arise. Ergo, a couple major questions companies should ask themselves as they build better businesses are, who is making our products, and are they being employed in a responsible, caring way? These aren’t always easy questions to answer. Offshore manufacturing has led to many transparency issues, like underpaid—or unpaid—labor, and poor manufacturing conditions. The terms “sweatshops” and “child labor” are not uncommon in the fashion industry—though of course, in this conversation, we must acknowledge the grey area: in some countries, children work in factories because they need to help their families. In fact, for one village in Cambodia, working long hours in a factory was a career dream. Still, back their home turfs, corporate apparel companies make legally required efforts to offer employees lunch breaks, sick leave, paid time off, and even maternal leave. Yet it seems the garment workers in contracted factories across the ocean are viewed as unskilled laborers and therefore unimportant communities. As a result, horror stories have emerged from the lack of labor ethics codes across the industry. Not just stories of workers being denied lunch breaks (which they are), but stories of workers being denied payment for making small mistakes on a single garment. Stories of workers on strike, seeking higher pay, being brutally beaten by authorities. For more dismaying and shocking exposés of labor inequalities, view the documentary The True Cost. Nonetheless, some companies have abdicated themselves of responsibility for their garment workers, claiming that the wellbeing of a sewer is the responsibility of the factory owner who employs them. But by today’s transparency standards, perhaps if you’re a company contracting labor to produce a product you have created, then technically, a garment worker works for you. A recent example of ignorance towards garment workers was the wave of COVID-19 order cancellations. In April, the anti-unethical fashion nonprofit Remake Our World exposed that as the pandemic temporarily shut down fashion retail, numerous well-known and well-loved apparel companies not only cancelled their orders from their international factories, but actually refused to pay these factories for the work they had already completed. These manufacturing facilities, primarily in Asia, were left with piles of unwanted clothes—and it was workers who received the brunt of this financial dismissal, with no wages to show for their hard work. It is clear that garment sewing, in foreign factories particularly, is an undervalued skill. But simply because sewers do not hold higher degrees or have upward mobility (by circumstances not of their making, remember) does not mean that their work is to be devalued or underpaid. The truth is, sewing for hours at a time is hard work: it strains the back and the eyes. It’s meticulous and requires long hours of attention to detail. It also requires knowledge of fashion construction, machines, and sometimes dangerous materials. And ultimately, it’s the sewers who are responsible for the construction of products. Doesn’t this deserve respect? Today, it’s imperative to source low-priced in order to maintain sales margins—however, is there a way to avoid much of the above sadness by offering more flexible delivery dates, upholding contracts and pricing, and working with factories to ensure that working conditions are safe for and considerate of garment workers? It’s not easy to get it all right. One manufacturer might focus on fair wages, but still have some safety concerns. Another manufacturer might be environmentally sound, but might discourage workers from unionizing. But every little effort counts toward creating a more ethical fashion world. Not sure where to begin? There are a number of resources for fashion companies to refer to regarding ethical labor initiative such as the United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion and The World Fair Trade Organization, both of which provide trips and resources for business models to put people and planet first. Better World Apparel lists the following checklist for inquiring into the ethicality of a manufacturer: Wages
Does the company pay all employees a liveable wage? Are all workers adults that have freely chosen this job? Do the workers have to work incredibly long hours to get a liveable wage? Can they provide not only for themselves but for their families as well?
Worker Conditions This goes hand-in-hand with wages.
Are the workers treated well? Are they given adequate breaks and mealtimes? Do they have access to help (medical or otherwise) should they need it? Are they allowed to unionize or advocate on their own behalf?
And of course, Environment
How do the manufacturers deal with waste? Where do they source their materials from? How do they try and cut back on their carbon footprint whenever possible?
(Visit this article by Better World Apparel for additional resources that help guide apparel companies toward more ethical labor.)
If your company already has a manufacturing system in place, it may be important to discuss with manufacturing leaders the importance of pursuing ethical labor. As mentioned, small but positive changes can be made. Depending on your current manufacturing standards, these changes may involve slightly slower productivity—because, for example, adopting new eco-conscious waste management practices can take longer than simply throwing out waste materials and moving onto the next project. It will also likely involve slightly higher price, if for the first time you’re making sure workers are receiving a living wage. It’s a challenge to embrace, as in today’s market, the company with the cheapest product seems to win, even if a growing number of customers are expecting that companies put the wellbeing of their workers at equal priority as the wellbeing of their products—we saw this when hundreds of shoppers joined Remake in their campaign, #PAYUP. But pursuit of profit has left many workers without wellbeing, even if with a [meager] paycheck. Thus for a business to align with the values of “sustainable fashion,” ethical labor cannot be left out of the equation.