Fair Wear NSW Newsletter, November 2001

As we hurtle towards the end of another year, it's time to report and reflect on how the campaign to stop outworker exploitation has progressed thus far in the 21st Century. Whilst it would be an exaggeration to state that "all our Christmases have come at once", we are happy to report that Fair Wear has had some heartening successes in recent months. Get comfy and we'll tell you all about it...

NO SWEAT SHOP LABEL NEWS

If patience is a virtue, then call us virtuous. It is fair to say that progress on the No Sweat Shop label has been slow, thanks to the resistance exerted by clothing retailers. There is, however, some good news and congratulations due on this front. We now have four companies accredited and eligible to use the No Sweat Shop label. They are Australian Defence Apparel, Resort Report, Qualitops and Poppets (makers of Beare & Ley school uniforms). We are hoping that this list will continue to grow, and anyone wishing to send more No Sweat Shop label postcards is encouraged to contact the Fair Wear office.

FAIR TRADE NOT FREE TRADE RALLY

Regardless of which major party is governing Australia, it's fair to say that those running the show subscribe to the concept of "trade liberalisation", removing regulations governing international trade. We need look no further for an example than tariff reductions in the clothing industry, which are largely attributable to the exploitation that we know is rife in the industry today.

The organisation at the forefront of pushing for these types of policy developments in countries across the globe is the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The next round of World Trade Organisation talks will be held between 9-13 November. The meeting will be held in Qatar, a country that does not allow freedom of speech or democratic protest. Those wishing to enter the country during the time of the meeting must have their visa approved by the WTO.

The location for the meeting is no co-incidence, as the WTO is widely criticised as an undemocratic organisation that implements free trade policies to benefit transnational corporations regardless of the affect on jobs and local communities.

Due to increasing alarm regarding the power of such meetings and the impact of their decisions on the lives of so many people world-wide, a rally has been organised to take place in Sydney during the Qatar meeting. The rally is part of the global social and environmental movement to transform national and international institutions, like the WTO, in the interests of the community.

The rally will be held in Sydney's Darling Harbour on Tuesday, 13th November at 12 noon. It is hoped that the event will bring together organisations and individuals who want an alternative to global economic policies being dictated by corporate interests over the interests of society. There have been a wide range of church, union, environment and community groups involved in the planning of the event.

TRIUMPH??

FairWear has been lobbying Triumph International to withdraw its manufacturing operations from Burma (Myanmar) since International Women's Day in March this year. Background information is available on the Website and in past newsletters. Letters, petitions and postcards have been sent to Triumph International (Australia), based in Brisbane. We have sought unsuccessfully to meet with their Managing Director and we have participated in a demonstration to raise awareness about Triumph's involvement in Burma, a country with well documented human rights abuses and a repressive military dictatorship (could these two features be related?).

On Tuesday, 23 October 2001 Triumph International (Australia) sent FairWear the following written statement:

Triumph International Australia has diverted styles currently sourced from Myanmar to alternative manufacturing facilities within the Triumph network.

The stock already in Australia either in-store, in our trading partners' distribution centres or our warehouse will be sold through in the normal sales cycle.

So we can celebrate that Australian consumers have made their wishes known to the retailers and the manufacturer about not wanting to buy garments made in Burma (Myanmar). We have brought about change, at least locally.

Your postcards and personal letters to Triumph were enough to make them change their behaviour and have undoubtedly demonstrated a consumer interest in ethical clothing production.

Sadly though, Triumph is still producing in Burma - just not for their Australian market. The Clean Clothes Campaign, based in Europe, continues pressure from their end, including the call to withdraw from Burma altogether and for the introduction of a Code of Conduct.

Letters to Triumph to encourage them to withdraw from Burma altogether are still very appropriate (addresses for Australian and International offices can be found in our 'global' section). A tactful tone might be of congratulations for the Australian stance, mixed with a dash of disappointment regarding the maintenance of the company's operations in Burma.

DAVID JONES ACTIONS

Our fantabulous Fair Wear action group has led the way in providing a prototype for cutting edge campaigning. A number of actions were conducted outside David Jones stores to highlight the company's lack of support for the No Sweat Shop label. The City, Bondi Junction, Chatswood, Newcastle and Wollongong stores were all targeted for consumer education actions during September and October. 'Perfume cards' were distributed to shoppers along with a flyer explaining David Jones failure to support the No Sweat Shop label. The actions attracted the attention of David Jones Director of Stores, who engaged the Fair Wear office in correspondence indicating his "disappointment" that the company was being targeted. We indicated that we shared his disappointment with the situation which led us to engage in the actions and that we would not be meeting his request to reconsider our awareness raising exercises. Copies of these enlightening exchanges are available from the Fair Wear office for those interested. Further copies of the perfume cards and accompanying flyers are also available through the Fair Wear office. If you'd like to organise your very own local David Jones action, let us know.

NSW GOVERNMENT OUTWORKER STRATEGY

It looks as though there will be legislation introduced in the NSW parliament later this month regarding the long awaited outworker strategy. We believe that the legislation will serve to establish an "Ethical Clothing Trades Council", which will examine developments in the industry and report to the Industrial Relations Minister (and also publicly) on developments in the industry. It is believed that the Council will examine the need to legislate in the event that voluntary Codes have not gained widespread industry support to eliminate the exploitation of outworkers. Keep your eyes peeled on the media in coming weeks for more details, and stay tuned for more info.

FAIR WEAR CHRISTMAS CARDS

This year, we thought we'd combine two concepts by producing a Fair Wear Christmas card with a detachable section which can be sent as a Christmas postcard to retailers. We're asking Fair Wear supporters to consider sending the cards to people on their regular "Christmas Card list", or to establish such a list if you don't already have one. We recognise that each of us have contacts who view Christmas in different fashions, from a celebration of the birth of Jesus, through to a dated pagan ritual, shamelessly highjacked by multinational corporations. We have attempted to produce a card which will be broadly palatable, but urge discretion when selecting recipients of the card. The cards can be ordered through the Fair Wear office.

• Fair Wear NSW Contact details:
• Mail Address: PO Box 708 Darlinghurst, NSW 1300
• Phone: (02) 9380 9091
• Fax: (02) 9331 8490
• email: fairwear@awatw.org.au