Fair Trade for a Peaceful World

“Before you finish eating your breakfast this morning, you've depended on half the world. This is the way our universe is structured... We aren't going to have peace on earth until we recognise this basic fact.” - Martin Luther King

What is Fair Trade?

The United States Department of Labor de?nes a sweatshop as any factory that breaks one or more of the U.S. labor laws, such as not paying overtime or keeping a time card and not being paid on time. The U.S. Garment workers union, UNITE, says that any factory that does not respect a worker’s right to form a union is a sweatshop.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has identi?ed the following eight labour standards, which should be followed by all companies. Failure to comply doesn’t necessarily mean the workplace is a sweatshop, but it does indicate that the working conditions may need to improve.

• No forced labour.
• No discrimination.
• No child labour.
• Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
• Payment of a living wage.
• No excessive overtime.
• A safe and healthy workplace.
• A legally binding labour contract.

Working in sweatshops means long days: 12 hours in Indonesia, 16 in southern China. Most workers are women, because men can't afford to do low-pay work. Workers may need to travel a long way from home to get to the factories

How do garment sewing sweatshops happen?
Retailers put in orders for clothing with a manufacturer. But manufacturers often don't make the clothing themselves. They contract factories to make it for them. The price the manufacturer offers the contracted factory isn't always enough to pay a fair wage to the workers who actually make the garments. But because the factory isn't owned by the manufacturer directly, they claim no responsibility.

It isn't even illegal for some of these factories to operate as sweatshops. Many developing countries have set up Free Trade Zones, where the labour laws do not apply.

Cavite is the largest free trade zone in the Phillippines: “682 acres of walled-in industrial area housing 207 factories that produce goods specifically for the export market”. It is one of 52 such zones in the Phillippines, employing 459,000 people. In China, there are 124 “export processing zones” employing more than 18 million people. Worldwide, there are over 27 million workers in around 1,000 zones.

What about in Australia?
Sweatshops don't just happen in developing countries. Manufacturers in Australia sometimes use “home-workers” or “outworkers” to do piece work sewing. The workers are paid per piece, not per hour. This means workers can earn as little as $1 an hour, depending on how long it takes to sew each piece.
In Australia, there are around 329,000 outworkers in the clothing, textile and footwear industries. They may be people who are unable to work in other industries due to issues with language skills, or childcare.

How do I know if it's Fair Trade?
There are accreditation schemes for brands to prove they are sweatshop free. Try www.fairwear.org.au for a list of Australian brands.

Even better is to choose retailers that stock Fair Trade. This is more than just sweatshop-free. Fair trade gives equity to the workers making the goods, and works to improve the practice of international trade. More than just paying a fair wage, fair trade helps workers develop the skills they need to participate in trade on a global scale. Look for the Fair Trade logo.

Australian Certified Organic products are also manufactured under fair labour laws. However, not all organic certification schemes include labour regulations in their standards. So when buying “organic” clothing, look for the ACO logo to ensure that the clothing product, not just the fabric from which it is made, has been manufactured fairly.