Supermarkets Embrace Ethically Responsible Clothing
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 by Sarah J Jones
Workers are forced to lie to their markets about conditions at work. At Tesco and Asda worker respond with the above statement, or else risk being sacked. Investigations in factories, where bargain items are manufactured, that supply to British supermarkets have revealed discrimination, and exploitation of workers.
Through investigation, it was discovered that the reduction in prices of clothes by Tesco, for 700 clothes affected the workers even. This is because when the giants of the market, like Tesco and Asda, reduce prices, the burden comes on to the suppliers, who then put immense pressure on their workers, and treat them badly. These major giants have huge buying power, as per the representative of Clean Clothes Campaign in UK, Sam Maher states, that they can really help in improving the working condition of the labours. All falls upon the workers who merely want to survive, and have to deal with the pressure.
The Investigation was conducted in 30 manufacturing units across Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and Bangladesh, where 440 workers were interviewed. These workers make clothes for top ranking chains, Walmart (Asda), Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, and Carrefore. A large number of workers said that they mostly had to work overtime, and only few of the overtime hours were recorded, so they were not always paid for the long hours. Absences were almost forbidden, as pay was deducted if leave was taken, and holidays were non-existent.
After the research, the brands were negatively publicised and hence, Tesco and Asda, have decided to do something about it. Tesco has come out with its own ethical line. Asda is now selling fair-trade T-shirts.
Izzy Lane, which is owned by Isobel Davies, was employed by Tesco to make ethical clothing line made out of wool. The clothes at Izzy Lane are made out of sheep and include coats, jackets, skirts, and other items. This was a big revolution in the supermarket world, since Izzy Lane is an expensive brand. Only one skirt required a flock of sheep wool to utilise. Tesco started an ethically responsible clothing line, but increased its price because their costs also went up. Since their introduction, the sales of ethical clothing line have risen high due to increase in demand. This was confirmed through a study conducted by a Data Analysis Group, named Mintel.
The sales of ethical clothing line are rising day by day, as per the observation of the Data Analysis Group named Mintel. Since the last five years, the demand rate has quadrupled since their arrival.
This is undoubtedly because of the fact that supermarkets, retailers, and independent stores alike are driven by customer demand. Consumers have become aware, and they prefer to buy reasonably priced products rather than cheap products.
Among stores that produce ethical clothes, Emma Watson, famous for her part in the Harry Potter series, has come up with a clothing collection in collaboration with the People Tree. The People Tree line will open in 2010, and will present 26 varieties of styles for women, and 15 styles for men. The garments are made by people from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, and will help generate income for the underprivelaged living there.
Sarah J Jones is a fashion designer. Now you can buy new and stylish Linen Tops with good quality at half price now at her recommended website at http://www.saharalondon.com.
