FTM-July2017-Issuu

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fast fashion: i n e x p e n s i v e items purchased on a whim? or wasteful, ill-fitting clothing with profit made at the expense of workers? count as fair trade, but with an estimated 1 million tonnes of textiles entering Canadian landfills on an annual basis, such companies occupy a necessary space. Many sustainable and ethical apparel businesses do embrace fair trade principles, like paying living wages and building capacity in their workers to bring better alternatives to the marketplace. The downside? Companies that use the term fair trade without being certified cause confusion in the minds of consumers. Without certification, the term lacks transparency and risks being redefined however a company sees fit. Why aren’t more companies choosing to seek out certification? According to Jonit Bookheim, director of sales and social impact at Mata Traders, a Chicago-based fashion retailer, fair trade certification for apparel is a relatively new process. “Fair trade was traditionally used for commodities, agricultural products that are farmed and sold,” she says. “Clothing is a value-added product, where additional labour and processing has to occur before a saleable item can be produced.” Mata Traders is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, and Bookheim has had firsthand experience with the challenges of attaining that status. The number of steps and people involved in manufacturing clothing makes the process exceptionally difficult to verify. The fibres have to be grown, processed, and woven into material, which is then dyed and treated before being cut and sewn into the finished product. Each stage needs to meet the corresponding standards for the final product to be considered fair trade. In contrast, the process for certifying fair trade bananas or coffee is more straightforward. Flipping the model In addition, the fair trade model, in some respects, simply runs contrary to traditional clothing production techniques. Fair trade aims to empower workers and foster a co-operative environment where workers have a say in how things are run. A typical garment factory involves quotas, rigid hours, and a hierarchy of power, with the threat of penalties if workers do not comply. A fair trade model of production also presents significant challenges to apparel retailers, adding uncertainties that don’t exist with conventional production. Small companies lack the resources to accurately forecast fashion trends for future seasons, and the collectives they work with may not be accustomed to making Western-style clothing and accessories, and could require extra training. A step toward transparency Ultimately, the sheer size of the fashion industry makes any sort of major changes difficult to enact and enforce. Because 20 | FAIR TRADE MAGAZINE • CANADA’S VOICE FOR SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
ig clothing companies rely on networks of factories and subfactories, they can ostensibly separate their brands from any one factory’s unsavoury labour practices. While some companies have stepped up and published lists of suppliers, many others are reluctant. Last year, a group of human rights organizations and labour unions challenged 72 garment and footwear companies to pledge supply chain transparency and share the names of their contractors and subcontractors. A recent report published by Human Rights Watch (a co-creator of the pledge) states that out of 72 clothing and footwear companies they contacted, only 17 are on track to meet supply chain transparency standards by the end of 2017. While the pledge encourages only a basic level of transparency, the Fairtrade Textile Standard is more ambitious, with guidelines for better wages and working conditions—the first step to certifying the entire supply chain. But uptake has been slow, with only a handful of European companies currently signed on. Part of the responsibility lies with consumers to demand change, and this requires a new mindset, a move away from bargain hunting and instant gratification. “We really encourage the general public to participate, for example by contacting companies and encouraging them to sign up to the Fairtrade Textile Standard,” says Shannon Brown, business development manager at Fairtrade Canada. A shift in customer tastes and expectations could push the industry to get better much faster than waiting for companies to voluntarily implement ethical regulations. As consumers, can we learn to treat unethical and unsustainably made clothing the same way we treat clothing we deem to be too expensive—by leaving it on the rack? Can we learn, collectively, to look at value as more than just what’s on the price tag, digging deeper to consider the environmental and human cost as well? Only when we do will fast fashion finally lose its appeal, allowing sustainable, ethical, and fair trade retailers to take over. Kimberly Leung is a Toronto-based freelance writer with a special interest in sustainable and ethical living. CFTN.CA | 21
Page 1 and 2: FREE Winter / Spring 2017 CANADA’
Page 3 and 4: w inter / spr ing 2017 | issue # 9
Page 5 and 6: Fresh. Beautiful. Ethical. Add Fair
Page 7 and 8: Why Fair Trade? The fair trade move
Page 9 and 10: on the ground Between January and M
Page 11 and 12: international fair trade community.
Page 13 and 14: growing change Regenerating Soils a
Page 15 and 16: through direct and fair trade. As p
Page 17 and 18: a Breakfast that Cares NuTerraCerea
Page 19: The term “fast fashion” might b
Page 23 and 24: essay If Free Trade then Fair Trade
Page 25 and 26: their early years with policies tha
Page 27 and 28: Selkirk’s Whirlwind Campaign towa
Page 29 and 30: pitcher of sangria makes a fine com
Page 31: OUR SIGNATURE COLLECTION ETHICALLY

FTM-July2017-Issuu

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