Thoughts about fair trade: part five

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Some posts on other blogs have prompted me to think yet again about a question I have often pondered: how can “green” and “fair trade” labels become more popular. Some people are wondering whether this will always stay a niche market because the marketing budgets of these, usually small enterprises, are so limited. I think that not having a lot of money for advertising isn’t necessarily the problem.

Here are the top 5 obstacles that I think fair trade and organic labels (from here on called FTO) have to overcome:

1) access: FTO labels still aren’t as widely available as “normal” fashion. I like to try on clothes before I buy them but most FTO stuff is only accessible online. FTO labels have to work on being sold in “normal” shops to reach a wider audience.

2) image: If I see ONE more “green” fashion website that uses green, brown and/or beige for their web design I will puke. It’s not only terribly unoriginal but also just plain ugly. Another no-no in my opinion: unprofessional photography and using non-photogenic people to model your clothes. Hopefully they will be worn by the girl next door but don’t ask the girl next door to model for you unless she’s gorgeous. I know that this is a question of money (or perhaps asking everyone you know for help to find the perfect amateur photographer and a great amateur model) but do not save here. You are competing with other labels for the customers who can afford to pay a little more for their clothes so your image and design have to be on par.

3) design: After spending one year of researching FTO clothes I found some wonderful labels with great designs BUT I also found way too many FTO labels with horrible designs. It really is the single most important issue if you want to be successful: your clothes have to look great. Again, maybe you don’t have the money to hire a designer from a high street label but you can get the look for free by poaching. Talent imitates, genius steals. Think of the labels that are sold at the same price point than your clothes and get inspired. It’s really a mystery to me why FTO labels often seem to deliberately shun any trends some of which have already become new classics: gladiators, skinny jeans, oversized tees, plaid shirts, fringed scarves – still hard to find in an FTO version.

4) mixing up fashion and politics: Do you want to be a successful fashion label owner or a successful activist? Don’t get me wrong - you should definitely stress the FTO character of your business. Be as transparent about this as possible. Photograph your studio and the people who make your clothes. Clearly state what makes you an FTO company. Explain why organic is better than standard cotton but don’t get side-tracked by campaigning; selling FTO clothes is already a political statement. And if you aren’t Katharine Hamnett back off from statement t-shirts.

5) trust: A 5$ t-shirt – made in China; a 50$ t-shirt from an FTO label – made in China. You can only get people to pay more if they trust you that there is a difference between these two shirts. If you work together with suppliers my suggestion, again, is to be very transparent about this. Clearly state where the garment was made, who the supplier is and why it’s okay to work with them. If you visit your suppliers take pictures and write about the experience. Be sincere about your efforts to be different than a “normal” high street brand but beware of the holier-than-thou attitude. Do trust your customers that they will prefer the ethical alternative without you having to point the finger at your dirty rivals. Instead, do good and talk about it. Become a member of the World Fair Trade Organisation, the Fairtrade Foundation, the Made-By Initiative or get certified by the FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International).

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Neulich habe ich mal wieder darüber nachgedacht, was “grüne” und Fair Trade Modelabel noch erfolgreicher werden könnten. Manche meinen ja, dass dies immer ein Nischenmarkt bleiben wird, u.a. auch deswegen, weil die Marketing Budgets solcher Firmen meistens recht klein sein. Ich denke aber, dass wenig Geld für Werbung nicht unbedingt das Hauptproblem ist.

Hier sind die 5 Hürden, die Fair Trade und grüne Label (ab hier FTG) meiner Meinung nach überwinden müssen:

1) Zugänglichkeit: FTG Marken sind immer noch nicht so einfach erhältlich wie „normale“ Marken. Ich, und viele andere Konsumenten, probieren Kleidung gerne an aber FTG Kleidung ist hauptsächlich online erhältlich. Die FTG Produzenten sollten daran arbeiten, dass ihre Sachen auch in “normalen” Läden verkauft werden, um ein größeres Publikum zu erreichen.

2) Image: Also wenn ich noch eine einzige „grüne“ Modewebseite sehe, die in grün, braun und beige gehalten ist… Das ist nicht nur wahnsinnig unoriginell, sondern außerdem total hässlich. Noch ein Ding der Unmöglichkeit: unprofessionelle Fotografie und nicht-fotogene Modelle. Die Kleidung soll natürlich von jedermann/frau getragen werden, aber für die Kampagne würde ich nie das Mädchen von nebenan fragen, außer sie ist ein Fotomodell. Das ist eine Frage des Geldes (oder aber so lange im Freundeskreis herumzufragen, bis man den/die perfekte/n Amateurfotograf/in und das perfekte Amateurmodell gefunden hat), aber hier sollte auf keinen Fall gespart werden. Die FTG Marken konkurrieren mit andere Marken um die Konsumenten, die es sich leisten können, mehr Geld für Kleidung auszugeben also müssen Image und Design konkurrenzfähig sein.

3) Design: Ich habe mich jetzt ein Jahr lang intensiv damit beschäftigt, was es alles so für FTG Marken gibt und dabei viele tolle Labels mit gutem Design entdeckt aber auch viel zu viele FTG Marken mit grauenhaften Designs. Das allerwichtigste um erfolgreich zu sein: die Klamotten müssen super aussehen. Vielleicht habt ihr nicht genug Geld um eine/n Designer/in von einem erfolgreichen „normalen“ Label abzuwerben, aber den massengeschmackstauglichen Einkaufsstraßenlook kann man ja auch abkupfern. Denkt an die anderen Marken, die zum gleichen Preis wie eure Kleidung verkauft werden und holt euch Inspirationen. Ich verstehe wirklich nicht, warum so viele Trends, von denen einige schon wieder neue Klassiker geworden sind, an den FTG Labels scheinbar spurlos vorbeiziehen: Gladiator-Sandalen, enge Jeans, Oversized T-shirts, Karohemden, Fransenschals – die in einer FTG Version zu finden, ist immer noch schwer.

4) die Vermischung von Mode und Aktivismus: Wollt ihr ein erfolgreiches FTG Label führen oder erfolgreiche Aktivisten sein? Nicht falsch verstehen – natürlich solltet ihr die FTG Ausrichtung eures Geschäftsmodells hervorheben. Seid hier so transparent wie möglich. Fotografiert euer Studio und die Leute, die eure Kleidung herstellen. Erklärt auf verständliche Art und Weise was euch zu einer FTG Firma macht und warum z.B. Biobaumwolle besser als konventionell angebaute ist. Aber verringert die Energie, die ihr in eure Mode stecken solltet, nicht dadurch, dass ihr euch zu sehr auf politische Kampagnen einlasst: FTG Kleidung zu verkaufen ist doch schon ein politisches Statement. Ach ja, und wenn ihr nicht Katharine Hamnett seid lasst lieber die Finger von Statement-Tshirts.

5) Vertrauen: Ein 5 Euro T-shirt – made in China; ein 50 Euro T-shirt von einem FTG Label – made in China. Ich denke, die Leute wählen nur dann das teurere Shirt, wenn sie sich darauf verlassen können, dass es einen Unterschied macht. Wenn ihr mit Lieferanten arbeitet, die eure Kleidung produzieren, solltet ihr sehr offen damit umgehen. Erklärt genau, wo die Kleider gemacht werden, wer der Lieferant ist und warum es okay ist, mit dieser Firma zu arbeiten. Falls ihr eure Lieferanten besuchen solltet, macht Fotos und schreibt über eure Erfahrungen. Vertraut euren Kunden, dass sie die ethisch korrekte Alternative wählen werden, ohne dass ihr mit dem Finger auf die „schmutzigen“ Konkurrenten zeigen müsst. Macht es lieber besser und redet dann darüber. Werdet Mitglieder der World Fair Trade Organisation, der Fairtrade Foundation, der Made-By Initiative oder lasst euch von der FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International) zertifizieren.

Thoughts about fair trade: part four

Mahret and Kathrin of Two for Fashion have called on fellow bloggers to participate in the Green Glamour blog parade and today's "Thoughts about fair trade" is part of my contribution. These days organic anything is all the rage: food, cosmetics, furniture, clothes - a lot of products can be bought in a "green" version. But what does it actually mean when you buy organic cotton?

Organic cotton is grown without the use pesticides. Conventional methods of cotton cultivation use a lot of pesticides which are harmful to the people who grow cotton (btw, coffee crops and tobacco are big offenders too). "The World Health Organisation and the UN Environment Programme estimate that each year, 3 million workers in agriculture in the developing world experience severe poisoning from pesticides, about 18,000 of whom die. According to one study, as many as 25 million workers in developing countries may suffer mild pesticide poisoning yearly."

So it's a good thing that fashion made with organic cotton is finally getting some lovin' from the mainstream media. However, fashion editors shouldn't stop at promoting organic cotton but also point out the circumstances under which high street fashion is produced maybe in a mix and match sweatshop and fair trade spread (though that probably wouldn't fly so well with ad customers). I have looked at many editorials on "green" fashion in the past months and most journalists seem to equate organic with fair production methods. It is true that organic cotton farmers receive better prices for their product but what about the dressmakers of that organic cotton t-shirt from any high street fashion label that has introduced a "green" line? Are they getting paid a fair wage for their labour?

I know that checking all the boxes (is it organic? was it made under fair conditions? was it made with eco-friendly methods - using as little energy as possible and as little chemicals as possible?) can be quite tiresome but if you look at it as a challenge rather than a chore shopping can still be as much fun as it used to be before you knew about the dark side of fashion.

Etwas spät dran mit der Übersetzung aber jetzt: Hier der erste Teil meines Beitrags zur Green Glamour Blog Parade in Form eines "Gedanken zu Fair Trade" Posts. Im Moment ist Öko dies und das schwer angesagt: Lebensmittel, Kosmetik, Möbel, Kleidung - viele Produkte können auch in einer "grünen" Version gekauft werden. Was aber bedeutet Bio-Baumwolle eigentlich?

Bio-Baumwolle wird ohne Pestizide angebaut. Konventionelle Methoden des Baumwoll-Anbaus benötigen viele Pestizide, die den Menschen die die Baumwollfelder bestellen großen Schaden zufügen können (Kaffee- und Tabakanbau benötigen neben dem Baumwollanbau die meisten Pestizide). Die WHO und das UN Umweltprogramm schätzen, dass jedes Jahr 3 Millionen Landwirtschaftsarbeiter in der "Dritten" Welt schwere Vergiftungen durch Pestizide erleiden und 18000 von ihnen durch diese Vergiftungen sterben.

Es ist also sehr erfreulich, dass Mode aus Bio-Baumwolle gerade von den Mainstream-Medien entdeckt und gehypt wird. Allerdings wäre es gut, wenn die Moderedakteurinnen nicht nur die Bio-Baumwolle loben würden, sondern auch die Arbeitsbedingungen beleuchten unter denen die meisten Modeketten ihre Kleidung herstellen lassen (die Anzeigenkunden fänden es wahrscheinlich weniger gut). Zu oft wird Öko- oder Bio- mit Fair Trade gleichgesetzt. Für Bio-Baumwolle wird ein besserer Preis gezahlt als für konventionell angebaute Baumwolle aber Bio- allein reicht nicht.

Ich weiß, dass es sehr anstrengend sein kann, an seine Neuerwerbungen alle möglichen Anforderungen zu stellen (aus Bio-Baumwolle? unter fairen Bedingungen hergestellt? möglichst umweltfreundlich produziert - unter geringstmöglichem Energieverbrauch und mit so wenig Chemikalien wie möglich?). Wenn man das Ganze als Herausforderung sieht statt als Zumutung kann Shoppen allerdings genauso viel Spaß machen, wie zu den Zeiten, da wir noch nichts über die dunkle Seite der Mode wußten.

Thoughts about fair trade - part three

Right now there are so many thoughts rolling around in my head that I just can't sort out quickly so instead of writing my own post tonight I am referring you to the lovely Susie Bubble who has written some posts about sweatshops which attracted many many comments (unlike my posts so far ;-)

You have to question it... (Primark)
The Arcadia Avoidance (Topshop)

The second post was found via this post on The Coveted:
No Sweat

And I also highly recommend this article from the Let's Clean Up Fashion blog:
Who is the ethical consumer

Thoughts about fair trade - part two

One month of blogging about Fair Trade Fashion has passed and I enjoyed it a lot. I've found many interesting labels which I will introduce this month; more "Made in Berlin" posts are coming too. I was also thinking about adding "background check" posts about high street brands but this is a difficult topic. These companies don't own factories in India, Bangladesh or China but they contract out their production to manufacturers in these and other countries. International human rights groups have exposed that many of these overseas manufacturers violate labor rights.

This practice also means that high street brands (who may have a code of ethics and who may perform factory inspections) can claim that they didn't know that their sub-contractor ran a sweatshop. "In complex global supply chains, often several parties - including suppliers, buyers and governments - contribute to the poor working conditions experienced by workers. Of these, it is the fashion brands and retailers who take the most profit and have the most power in the supply chain, and who therefore bear the primary responsibility for working conditions." (quoted from "Let's clean up fashion 2007 Update" from the war on want website)

However we can also weigh in by choosing to buy from fair trade fashion labels and thus supporting companies who pay a decent wage to their workers. Of course, in an ideal world, every item of clothing should be made under fair conditions and no-one should have to worry whether their T-shirt was sewn by a slave laborer or whether the cotton it is made of was picked by a kid. If you want to support the clean clothes movement just check out www.cleanclothes.org and www.cleanclothes.org/contacting.htm will lead you to their national branches. Here you can also read individual profiles of several brands like Adidas, Fila, G-star, Nike, Puma, Reebok and Walmart.

Thoughts about fair trade - part one

The easiest approach to define fair trade is probably to describe unfair trade: child-labor, working more than nine/ten hours each day, working six/seven days a week, no health insurance, no holidays, no sick-leave, no maternity leave, getting paid less than the minimum wage, being exposed to health hazards at your workplace, unpaid overtime and so on. These kind of working conditions are rampant in sweatshops around the globe.

Unfortunately most high street garments which are available today are made in sweatshops. Why is this possible: economic globalization. "The popularity of the "free" market [...] hastened the globalization process. Large corporations are now free to seek out low-wage havens: impoverished countries where corporations benefit from oppressive dictatorial regimes that actively suppress workers' freedoms of speech and association."

So how can one avoid buying products made in a sweatshop? It definitely isn't easy especially when it comes to fashion since the availability of fair trade fashion is still limited compared to the choice offered by conventionally produced clothes. However I want to show that there are beautiful alternatives. I would say that the safest way to buy sweatshop-free products is to buy from local producers hence my "Made in Berlin" posts. Then there are some credible labels like "People Tree" and "Misericordia" (and this list will grow much longer as soon as I have time for more research).

If you want to find out more about working conditions in the garment industry I recommend the clean clothes campaign, Kampagne für Saubere Kleidung, war on want - lets clean up fashion and frequently asked questions about sweatshops.