Introduction

The first thought that goes through most shoppers head is the price of the clothing or shoes, a thought that doesn't commonly go through their heads is, how did these clothes get into my hands?, who made them?, are their working conditions healthy?, how much do they get paid?, or, is there any harmful products put into making these clothes?, do these chemicals effect peoples health?. The answers to these questions may be of a shocking surprise to you, but the good news is that there are things you can do to help!

Sweatshops

The sad news is that, most of the clothes and shoes that end up in our hands are made in sweatshops (a working environment with unhealthy conditions that are considered by many people of industrialized nations to be difficult or dangerous, usually where the workers have few opportunities to address their situation). The conditions of these factories are appalling; one of the worst factories is one where the production of Hanes products is made. They employ both young and old workers, and get paid roughly 53-60 cents per day ($3.50 per week). If they are absent one day, they will get shouted at and beaten the next day. If they make a mistake they will get shouted at and scolded. They have a certain quota to make per hour, e.g. a young worker would have to snip excess material off underwear and clean 150 pieces per hour. If this was not made they would have been scolded and yelled at. These are only a few of the appalling conditions and rules these factory workers have to work with.

Environmental effects

Growing the fabrics used to make your clothes is actually quite harmful to the environment. For example, the pesticides used on the plant to protect the fabric get released into the air, causing unhealthy breathing air for the houses around the farm growing the fabrics. Also nylon manufacture creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 310 times more potent then carbon dioxide, and this is threatening to our ozone layer.

Non-Government Organisations

Non-Governmental Organisations is a non-profit organisation that works to promote human good while operating separately from any national government. Organisations such as Oxfam, Toms Shoes and Compassion, that go out to poverty and developing countries MAKE that difference.It is based on the common interests of its members, individuals, or institutions wanting to ameliorate the lives of those in extreme poverty.

Chief executive officer's

Chief executive officer's (CEO's) are the highest-ranking corporate officer (executive) or administrator in charge of total management of an organization, in this case, clothing and footwear organisations. Some of the major companies such as Nike, Gap, Calvin Klein, Guess, Hanes, Speedo and Tommy Hilfiger use sweatshops to produce their clothing and shoes, and CEO's are the ones who make the decision to use sweatshops. The reason for this is because they make huge profits by paying the workers who make the garments very little and then selling the garment for about 10 times the amount it took to make the garment. There is good news as well, not all companies use sweatshops to produce their range, and these companies are the ones you should be buying your clothing and shoes from.

Activists

Activists hold meetings and protests around Australia regarding many topics, but in this case, these meeting's would regard topics like environmental impacts,sweatshop conditions and sweatshops workers income. Considering going along to these meetings/protests is an extremely good idea because numbers play a big outcome in a decision made but the government, or whoever you are protesting to. The more numbers (and every person counts!) means a better outcome to the meeting/protest.

Code of Conduct

here is a set of guidelines for you to follow, and if you do these things, if everyone does these things, this could result in a phenomenal outcome.

Workers in sweatshops are being taken advantage of everyday, in every way. Their pay is far too low (roughly $0.60 per day, depending on their job, e.g. sewing collars, ironing etc.), the conditions are unacceptable (piles of rubbish lying everywhere, low ceilings, and no windows etc.), and the rules are unimaginable (can’t reach water quickly and safely, workers will get beaten if they take too long at their rare, timed toilet breaks, have to finish their quota per day, no matter how long it takes.

1. Don’t buy clothes and shoes from developing countries, unless the label specifies it hasn’t been made in a sweatshop, because the working conditions are appalling (low roofs, no windows etc.). Pay is one of the most shocking things about sweatshops, workers get paid roughly $0.60 per day, that’s $218.40 per year for a full time worker, this isn’t equal to the average person in a developing country like Australia, the average income for a full time working Australian is $64,594 per year, that’s about 295 times more pay than a sweatshop worker.
2. Lobby the government about the appalling conditions in sweatshops; tell them that you won’t buy clothes made in sweatshops. If enough people did this it WOULD make a difference because the government would realise that if people won’t buy products made in sweatshops, the economy won’t thrive as well, therefore forcing them to stock shops with clothes and footwear not made in sweatshops.
3. Be associated with volunteer work through developing countries. We (non-government organisations) have opened up Sweat-free companies that provide alternative merchandise that consumer’s desire.
4. We (NGO’s) support sweat-free shops/online shops and buy products from companies which utilise union labor, even if they are slightly more expensive. We encourage young Australian’s to do the same, to support these shops, so sales of clothes made in sweatshops will decrease.
5. The CEO of Ms Jr.M’s clothing & footwear range is working towards a better working environment for her workers in sweatshops, she has increased their pay by 50%, and is working to increase it more. Because you can’t always buy sweatshop free clothes and footwear, buy from Ms Jr.M’s range whenever possible.*
6. The CEO of Ms Jr.M’s clothing & footwear range also has a suitable working environment for the workers of her sweatshops. The buildings have windows and fans, it always is clean, as they have a cleaner. The workers have safe access to water at all times, and the workers get regular toilet breaks, as well as two lunch breaks per day.*
7. Don’t buy clothes and shoes from shops that sell products made in sweatshops , e.g. Target, if their product sales decrease, they will look into the problem of why, and fix it.
8. Don’t constantly buy clothes and footwear; there are many harmful products that go into growing the fabrics used to make most garments. For example, Aldicarb (a pesticide used when growing cotton) is a nerve agent so toxic, that just one drop absorbed through the skin can kill an adult. The more clothes bought, more fabric is needed to make new clothes to stock shops.
9. Avoid buying products that are made of polyester and nylon, these fabrics are non-biodegradable, and when you throw them out they are taking up precious space in our landfills that are rapidly filling up.
10. We (activists) hold lots of meetings, protests and discussions around Australia regarding the appalling, unfair conditions (low roof’s, no windows, piles of rubbish lying around etc.) of sweatshops and environmental impacts (the harmful products and pesticide use to grow fabrics used to make clothes and footwear). Go along to these meetings and protests, numbers play a big outcome in a final decision, more people at meetings/protests means a better outcome!
11. Consider becoming a child labor advocate to fight against child workers. Children are being forced to work in sweatshops, sometimes just to support their family, and just because they are young they are being taken advantage of pay wise. For example, if an adult gets paid $0.60 a day, a child worker would get paid around $0.53 per day, and this is quite a big difference for sweatshop workers.

So, can we be globally responsible when buying clothes and shoes?

The answer is no, we cannot be globally responsible when buying clothes and shoes. The truth is that we don't really care who made our clothes, and what it took to make them, we really only care if it's fashionable, or if it's comfortable. But if Australian's followed these set of guidelines, we can be globally responsible when buying clothes and shoes, and this is what we encourage all Australian's to do.