Toolbox for Ethical Shopping Pt.7

This morning, I read an interesting article about hashtag activism.  It outlined what the issue was with it, but the part that stood out to me was a reference to something Malcom Gladwell said:

"We are swimming in knowledge, but lacking in understanding behind it."

I wonder how much my blog is contributing to this phenomenon.  My hope is to give people the knowledge to make informed decisions when purchasing their consumer goods, but the truth is, the issue of ethical supply chains is immensely complex.  I've wrestled with a lot recently as people have brought articles to my attention that contradicted what retailers websites said.  Most people's initial reaction is to say that the business is just putting on a good front, but then the question is, why?  If they can't and aren't trying to live up to the policies they put in place, why have many of them made them so robust?  The companies who make no claim be ethical don't deal with the same criticism, so if you're not going to follow through, why make yourself a target?  So it becomes much more complex than being only about who professes to have policies in place.  When things go wrong in a factory, or many factories, how long will it realistically take before the problem is solved?  Where does the responsibility of the corporation end and the individuals who manage and work in the factories begin? 

What I'm trying to say here is that this whole issue is so complex that there's no way that a seven part blog series is going to answer all your questions and give you all the information so you know the exact conditions every piece of clothing, every shoe and every cell phone you purchase was made in.  I don't have all the answers, in fact, I have hardly any of the answers!  So I urge you to take what I've written and put it in your "ethical shopping" toolbox, but look for other tools to accompany it.  Search for news articles about your favourite brands.  Seek out fair trade alternatives to the things you usually buy.  And keep an open mind when reading articles, watching videos, listening to what other people say about different brands (including me!), and searching out policies on a corporations website. 

That being said, let's take a look at the last seven stores in my local mall, Coquitlam Centre.

Urban Barn

Urban Barn is a furniture and housing goods store. Sadly it has no information on its website about its supply chain.

Urban Vista

Urban Vista is another furniture store, and also has no information about where or how its products are made on its website.

Walk with Ronsons

Walk with Ronsons is the umbrella company which owns Ronson's Rack, which I wrote about in a previous blog.  All Walk with Ronsons shoes are Canadian designed and manufactured.

WATCHIT!

WATCHIT! is (you guessed it!) a watch retailer.  They also carry sunglasses and other accessories, but have no information on their website about where or how their products are made.

Starbucks

Starbucks has at least one Fair Trade certified coffee, but they work closely with Conservation International to ensure that all their coffee, as well as their tea and cocoa, is ethically produced.  Starbucks is all about transparency, and requires that suppliers have evidence of payments throughout the supply chain, so that Starbucks knows exactly how much money reaches the farmers.  They also publish a progress report about their coffee purchasing on their website for all consumers to read.

Waves

Waves Coffee falls somewhere between really awesome, and could potentially be better.  Their website states that all their coffee is purchased directly from small lot farmers, which is awesome.  But one of the things they're famous for is their real Belgian chocolate in their mochas and hot chocolates.  However, their website says nothing about the sourcing of the chocolate that they use, or of their tea.  

West49

West49 is a skate/surf shop that carried multiple different brands.  They have no information about their supply chain on their website, so I would proceed with caution.  However, as they carry multiple different brands, it might be worth researching the brand you're interested in before writing them off entirely.

Zumiez

Zumiez is another skate/surf shop, which has its "Code of Conduct" posted on its website.  This Code states that Zumiez will not conduct business with any factory that uses forced labour, or child labour.  The Code also prohibits partner factories to engage in harassment, abuse or discrimination.  It also outlines rules for compensation of the factory employees, as well as overtime, length of work weeks, and health and safety in the workplace.  The Code also states that both Zumiez and third party auditors engage in both announced and unannounced audits of the factories.

Well, that's the end.  I hope you will be able to use this as a resource to aid you in your own journey of empowering rather than harming others through your consumer habits, and I hope this information has served to make the murky waters of corporations supply chains a little more clear.  

To sum it all up, after all my research, here are the stores I would recommend checking out first, next time you're looking for a specific consumer good:

Clothing

American Eagle, Aritzia, Eddie Bauer, H&M, Hudson's Bay, Le Chateau, Retimans, RW&Co., Sears and Zumiez.

Shoes

ALDO Shoes, Call it Spring, Footlocker, Hudson's Bay, Le Chateau, Naturalizer Shoes, Ronson's Rack, Sears, Walk with Ronsons and Zumiez.

Underwear

Hudson's Bay, La Senza and Sears.

Coffee, tea and chocolate

DAVIDsTea, Purdy's Chocolate, Starbucks and Waves.

Sporting wear

Hudson's Bay, Lululemon and Sears.

Bath and cosmetic products

The Body Shop, Lush and Merle Norman.

Kids Clothing

The Children's Place, Gymboree, Hudson's Bay and Sears.

Houseware items

Hudson's Bay, and Sears.

If you're in the market for some new technology, this is a tricky one.  I would personally still buy Apple if I for some reason needed to buy new, as they are doing more than any other company to respect the dignity and value of the people in their supply chain.  There have obviously been problems, which they claim to be trying to fix.  We cannot expect these problems to go away over night and hopefully we will see some of them resolved as the company works to correct them. Maybe I'm delusional and they're just dotting the "i"s and crossing the "t"s for show.  If you can, I would suggest buying second hand.

May you use this knowledge to bring you to a deeper understanding of how your purchases affect people around the world.  May you use it to develop responsible consumer habits, as well as compassion for the girls, boys, women and men exploited around the world so that we can have more "stuff."  And may you use it to do your part in changing the system that disadvantages, and enslaves millions of people worldwide.

Thanks for reading!

Toolbox for Ethical Shopping Pt. 6

This last weekend, I spent my weekend in Calgary, hanging out at a booth representing Wellspring at the Canadian Youth Workers Convention, where we were advertising our new youth curriculum, JustUs: Poverty and Justice Explored.  It's pretty awesome.  You can check it out at www.thereisjustus.com.  But that's beside the point. During this event, I spent a lot of time standing around and chatting to other exhibitors.  One of these exhibitors was from an organization called Defend Dignity, and they work in Canada to eliminate sexual exploitation through education and a lot of really cool programs.  I walked over to chat because I was interested in finding out about their work, and because they had t-shirts with quotes from Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa written on them.  As we chatted, he happened to mention they were giving away t-shirts for free, so I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of a new t-shirt.  I picked the Mandela quote, partially because I think Mandela is awesome, and partially because I love the quote.  My new t-shirt reads:

"To be free is.. to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."  --Nelson Mandela

It's a great quote, yes.  But spend a minute thinking about that.  If we were to define freedom the way Mandela does, how many of us can truly claim that we are free?  I hope and strive to live in this freedom, but I am aware that it is not my reality.  This is one reason I began this journey to live justly, and specifically to learn about where my clothing comes from, how it's made, and what conditions it's made in.  I hope by choosing to buy clothes that are made in a safe environment, by people who are paid fairly and are given many opportunities, I will respect and enhance the freedom of the textile workers all over the world.

This is part 6 of 7 of my review of Coquitlam Centre Mall stores.  Check out parts one through five here.

Sears

I know department stores aren't the most popular places to shop these days, but Sears Canada has a reputation for conducting their business ethically.  Their "Social Responsibility" website is easy to find (thankfully for me!), and is extremely deep and detailed.  Their Code of Vendor Conduct is printed in 26 languages, and is required to be posted in all of their factories, so that those it is meant to protect can see and read it - which is awesome!  Realistically, some of the people who work in their factories may not be able to read, but giving them access to the document that protects them from oppression is pretty amazing.  I'm a little surprised that this is the first company I've come across with this policy, as it's pretty ingenious.  This Conduct, which, in theory, all workers will be able to read and know, states that child and involuntary labour, harassment and abuse, and discrimination are prohibited.  It also states that the factory must be safe and clean, and that employees are not to work more than 60 hour weeks, with at least one day off every seven.  It also clearly states that each employee should receive wages, including overtime pay and benefits.  Can you imagine how empowering it would be for these employees to walk by this every day?  On top of that, at the bottom of the document it has contact information, saying specifically who you should get in touch with if any of the policies are violated.  On top of this, they also have a web page on Conflict Mineral Policies.  A 2012 Act adopted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to disclose the use of conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or surrounding countries - this includes tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold.  The website states that Sears is "committed to ensuring that it's products are obtained in a socially responsible manner and is taking steps to ensure compliance... including conducting supply chain due diligence to identify the presence of conflict minerals in those products that it contracts to manufacture."1  Sears also conducts regular audits of it's factories, which include interviewing factory workers.  They also have a factory improvement process, as they believe that it is important to support factories that do not meet standards and help them improve rather than just terminating the relationship, as termination negatively affects the workers they were trying to protect in the first place.

Sephora 

Sephora is a huge make-up company.  They are one of the few cosmetic companies that have a "Supply Chain Transparency" page on their website.  In accordance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, Sephora has adopted a statement saying that suppliers are prohibited from engaging in forced labour, human trafficking, child labour and harassment and abuse.  It states that Sephora has communicated this with it's suppliers, but does not conducts audits of it's supply chain (hence the yellow grade.)  The website says they will "consider" audits should they feel a supplier is in significant risk of breaking their Code of Conduct.

SoftMoc

SoftMoc has none of their supply chain policies on their website, so we cannot be sure of how their shoes are made.

Spencers Gifts

While the consumer goods sold in Spencer's Gifts are a little strange at times, they do have some policies in place for it's supply chain.  I'm always told not to judge a book by its cover, but I'll be honest, I judged Spencer's Gifts and was surprised they had any policies at all.  They aren't extremely thorough, and skip the issue of child labour altogether, hence the red rating.  But they do state that they require all of their suppliers to follow local laws governing human trafficking and slavery, and it requires a third party auditor to confirm suppliers' compliance with laws.

SportChek

SportChek has no policies on their website, so we can't be sure of how their gear is made.  It would be worth researching the brands they carry individually.  In a quick glance through the website of some of the larger brands, I found that Under Armour seems to have decent policies in place, but could not find much about Nike or Adidas.

STREET

STREET is a Canadian owned and operated clothing store.  It does not have its own website, but is part of the Below the Belt in Coquitlam Centre, and carries the same brands.  

Suzy Shier

Suzy Shier's website has no policies stated.

Swimco

Swimco doesn't have any policies on its website, so I checked out a few of the brands that they carry. Billabong does have some great policies in place, and, though I couldn't find a website for 24th and Ocean, Sears carries them, and considering their policies I must assume they are up to snuff.  More research needs to be done on the individual brands.

Target

All Targets in Canada are closing, so I had to go to the American website to find their policies.  While they do have some a code of conduct for their vendors, this code of conduct says absolutely nothing about how Target ensures compliance of this code.  In fact, it seems to rely on the factories to report any violations of the code.

The Source

I personally really dislike the Source.  It thoroughly bothers me that their slogan is "I want that" as if our society isn't greedy enough as it is.  But thats a rant for another place and another time.  The Source has no policies stated on its website, but like every other IT retailer, it carries many different brands of electronics, so it would be best to research those brands individually.

Tip Top Tailors

Tip Top also has no information on its supply chain listed on its website.

Town Shoes

Town Shoes has no information on its supply chain, but does provide a list of brands they carry. Once again, further research is required on the individual shoe brands.

Triple Flip

Triple Flip is a girl's athletic clothing store.  Sadly, they have no policies on their website.

This blog post makes me a little sad. Only ONE store that you could confidently walk into, pick something up off the shelf, and be certain no one was harmed in the making of it.  If you have the time to check out a few more brands carried by some of these stores, please comment below and let us know what you find!  My hope and desire is to enable myself and others to be free in Nelson Mandela's sense of the word - to "respect and enhance the freedom" of the supply chain workers who make our clothing, shoes and cosmetics, and in the process, to allow us to experience our own true freedom.

Thanks for reading!

A Follow-up on Apple

Any of you who have read parts of my series on the companies represented at my local mall will know that I like Apple products.  I'm amazed with the policies on their website and am pretty happy that they don't use slave labour in the mining of their tantalum.

However, a friend of mine brought a pretty disturbing news article to my attention today, and I want to thank her for challenging my high opinions of the company.  I hope to keep an open mind about the companies I write about on this blog, as I know often policies don't equal reality.  There are tons of stages to a production line, and often only a few of them can be monitored closely.  Not to mention, if a company does not own it's factories, I'm sure a lot of policies slip between audits.  The question that really matters is, how is this dealt with once the slip is found?  Does the company admit to it and either end the relationship with the producer, or work to correct it?  If they choose to provide incentives and training to help correct the situation, and their employees choose not to take the incentive, what can they do next?  Many things play a part in the ethics behind a companies production line.  On the multinational corporations end, they are responsible for policies, monitoring, transparency and solutions to any problems they find.  On the factory managers end, they are responsible for following those policies in hiring, providing safe and healthy working conditions, and pay.  But the question comes down to who is to blame if a fourteen-year-old wants to help his or her family meet their needs and provides false ID saying they are of age to be working?

I hope you all realize that I am NOT trying to defend Apple, or any other corporation that finds child labour in it's supply chain.  All I am trying to do here is help you realize how complex the system is, and then provide you with evidence so that you can make your own decision on whether or not you feel comfortable shopping there.  For me, this moves Apple closer to the yellow category.  I think they have a lot of great policies and of course do not own their factories so cannot constantly be present, but have taken action to correct issues that have been found.  However, they could be doing more, specifically in their tin mines. Below I have posted the link to Apple's policies, as well as some articles that bring up some disturbing evidence against them.  Please read with an open mind, remember the complexities, weigh the evidence, and decide for yourself if Apple's doing a good enough job.  Also, please take dates into account. Some of the situations written about have been responded to.  Some still need a better response.

Apples policies: https://www.apple.com/ca/supplier-responsibility/

The Case against them:
July 2013: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/even-worse-than-foxconn-apple-rocked-by-child-labour-claims-8736504.html

March 2014: http://qz.com/183563/what-happens-when-apple-finds-a-child-making-your-iphone/

December 2014: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/12/19/371910482/apple-responds-to-bbc-on-conditions-at-asian-iphone-suppliers

I really do appreciate it if you challenge my opinions if something doesn't seem right to you!  I would rather be corrected and have a better understanding of where I am shopping than be correct, so please, comment below with any concerns you have.

Toolbox for Ethical Shopping Pt. 5

At the tender age of 9, Serkalem's family's poverty sent her into the labour force.  Since her father's weaving and her mother's pottery could not make ends meet, Serkalem began assisting both her parents with their work, before heading out to work for other local weavers as well.  For her long hours and multiple jobs, she received a wage of about $1.50 each week.  Six years later, at the age of 15, Serkalem has only been able to complete up to 5th grade in school, and her work has left her with chronic pain.*

This story is just one of an estimated 150 million child labourers.  If you read Serkalem's whole story on the No Child for Sale website, you'll be happy to hear it ends well.  With support from World Vision, Serkalem has had the opportunity to spend a lot more time on her studies.  But for millions of children all over the world, this isn't the case.

If you still need to be convinced that purchasing your consumer goods from socially responsible companies is the way to go, just type "Child labour stories" into your Google bar.  Spend fifteen minutes wading through the results.  And then ask yourself, would I want this for my child? Go ahead do that right now.  If your answer is "no," come back and keep reading.

Good.  I'm glad we agree.  It might not happen to your child, but it is happening to someone's.  And that's not right.  So, together, let's make it unnecessary by choosing to purchase products made in a fair and safe environment, by people of legal working age.

Today marks Part 5 of my 7 part series, looking at the supply chain policies of companies represented at my local mall.  To read parts 1 through 4, click here.  We'll start with the "O"s.

Old Navy
Old Navy is owned by Gap Inc., whose policies I reviewed in Part 3.  If you want to know their policies, and why I put it in the yellow category, click here.

Payless Shoe Source
Payless Shoe Source is known for being a place to buy cheap shoes.  Generally speaking, if a store is known for being cheap, it's probably not paying the manufacturers very much.  I can't confirm if this is true about Payless or not, because their website offers no information at all.

People's Jewellers
Like most jewellery stores in Coquitlam Centre, People's Jewellers sells some Canadian diamonds, and they follow the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct. This means those diamonds cane be traced from the mine, and can be bought with the knowledge that they were fairly mined.  However, People's Jewellers website has no information on the other metals used in their jewellery.

Plenty
Plenty is a Vancouver based boutique store with international and in-house brands.  Unfortunately for us, their website has no information on the supply chain for any of these brands.

Privilege
Privilege is another small boutique store in Coquitlam Centre.  Once again, it's website has no information on the production of the clothing they carry.

Purdy's Chocolates
For those of you with a sweet tooth (like myself), you'll be happy to hear that Purdy's Chocolates is committed to sustainable cocoa farming.  They are a member of the World Cocoa Foundation, which helps cocoa farmers and their families through programs that "raise farmers incomes, encourage responsible, sustainable cocoa farming and strengthen communities."  They are also part of an organization called Winrock International, which has implemented a child labour prevention program in cocoa-growing communities in Cote d'Ivoire, whose main export is cocoa beans.  The innovative program keeps children out of the cocoa farms by providing financial support for vocational training, summer camps, scholarships and microloans.

Reitmans
Reitman's website boasts a robust Code of Conduct for all it's suppliers.  This code includes, but is not limited to, rules against the use of children younger than 15, or the age for completing compulsory educations, against the use of any type of forced labour, and against discriminatory hiring policies.  On top of this, the Code has a long and exhaustive list of safety conditions that must be met.  Their code of conduct also states that all factories must give authorized representatives unhindered access to all relevant records, whether or not they have been notified in advance. Reitman's also reserves the right to terminate its relationship with any suppliers that violate their code.

Rickis
Ricki's is owned by the same company as Bootlegger and Cleo, and none of their websites have any information on their supply chain.

Ronson's Rack
Ronson's Rack is a branch of Ronson's, which is a Canadian owned and operated show company.  All shoes are designed, manufactured, and sold in Canada.

Rose Cosmetics
Once again, it would be best to talk to someone who has more knowledge of cosmetics and how they're made.  But, I assume someone has to harvest the plants that are used in the majority of cosmetics, and Rose Cosmetic's website has no information about who does this, where it's done, or how it's done.

RW&Co.
I was relieved to find that RW&Co has pretty quality policies, as it's the only place I can find shirts that fit my husband.  RW&Co. is owned by Reitman's Canada.  If you've been reading thoroughly, you'll know why that's a good thing!


Children like Serkalem should be spending their time playing outside, learning their multiplication tables and reading fantasy books, not working 14 or more hour days in horrible conditions for little pay.  We can be a part of making the need for child labour obsolete by refusing to support companies that use kids in their production line, and by supporting companies that refuse to use child labour.



* Story from World Vision's "No Child for Sale" Campaign.  Find it here: http://nochildforsale.ca/casestudy/weaving-a-childhood-away/

Toolbox for Ethical Shopping Pt. 4

Earlier this week, I found this graphic from Macleans.ca, which I think perfectly sums up exactly why it is so important that we are aware of where our clothing comes from.  Let's assume the average t-shirt actually does cost $14.00- even though that is probably on the low side these days- then, according to this graphic, the average labourer receives less than 1% of the cost of a pretty inexpensive t-shirt.  I'm fairly certain (and sincerely hope) I'm not the only one sitting here thinking, "that doesn't sound fair at all." Because it really isn't.

That is why I am researching company policies, so that together we can avoid companies that spend less money paying the people behind our purchases than they pay the shipping companies.  This is part 4 of my review of the policies of companies in my local mall, Coquitlam Centre.  If this is the first time you've come across this blog and are curious about the other stores check out parts 1 thru 3 below.   Today, we're starting with the "K"s.


Kebe
Kebe is a small boutique store in Coquitlam Centre and has no website, and therefore no information available to the public on their supply chain.

Koodo
Much like every other cell phone provider I've come across at Coquitlam Centre, Koodo carries many different brands on technology.  As I've said before, with all technology we have to be very aware of how the tantalum, a mineral used in cell phones, laptops, etc., is mined, as it is notorious in the industry for slave labour.  Because of this, each brand would need to be research separately.  I have done the research on Apple, and they are the only brand I know of that has released a statement that their tantalum mines are free from slave labour.  I just did a quick check on Nokia, and while they consistently mention striving to be "ethical" there was no mention of child or forced labour in their supply chain at all.  Sony has no information on their supply chain whatsoever.  Samsung, however, states that they don't permit forced or child labour in the making of their products, which is hopeful!  The one thing missing from their policies is factory audits or inspection.  Their website makes no note of how, or even if, they check for these things in their supply chain.

La Senza
I'm both surprised and happy to say that La Senza has some great policies in place.  They are a branch of a multinational corporation called "L Brands" and their website not only states that they prohibit forced, indentured, prison, bonded, or child labour, as well as any labour obtained through human trafficking.  They state that all workers must meet the minimum local age for work, or the standard of the ILO, whichever is higher.  They also have some great policies on minimum wage and maximum working hours.  On top of this, their website outlines the process a factory must go through in order to become an L Brands supplier.  They begin with an audit and risk assessment, and once those have been passed, they must agree to ongoing, unannounced audits.

La Vie en Rose
The La Vie en Rose website has no information on their supply chain available.

Laura
While Laura is locally trying to make a difference by donation to the Canadian Cancer Society, which is obviously very commendable, their website has no information on their supply chain, or the people behind the clothing they sell.

Lazy One
Lazy One is a somewhat comical pyjama store.  They are moving towards greener initiatives, such as recycled clothing hangers, but unfortunately, their website has no information on where or how their products are made.

Le Chateau
Le Chateau also has some great policies in place! They inspect their factories on a regular basis, through unannounced audits, to ensure that child or forced labour are not present.  On top of having those very necessary policies in place, along with minimum wage, maximum work hours, health and safety, and discrimination, they also restrict the use of hazardous materials in the making of their products.

Lululemon
Lululemon has a Vendor Code of Ethics with six zero-tolerance policies, which include child labour, forced labour, corruption, and minimum wage violations.  The Lululemon sustainability team and third-party auditors provide announced, semi-announced, and unannounced audits of all their factories.

Lush
I'm excited to say I have a new love for Lush!  I've never really bought anything from there before, but if you're a close friend or a family member, beware, you may be getting gifts from Lush in the future!  Lush has its own Ethical Buying team whose job it is to find ethically produced ingredients for their products.  They start locally, but in the cases that the ingredient isn't found in Canada, they travel the world, visit potential suppliers and find out as much as they can about the planting and harvesting of the ingredient.  They build relationships with the growers and producers and work to ensure that the ingredients are grown sustainably and in fair conditions. My favourite part is the end of their "Ethical Buying" section on their website, which states "Buying from small-scale producer groups affords us the opportunity to drive positive change, encourage sustainability, and form long-lasting relationships with people all over the world."  If those aren't good policies, I don't know what is!

London Drugs
London Drugs is a strange store, sort of a drug store crossed with an electronic store, crossed with a grocery store.  Because of this, they carry so many brands it is impossible to say where they lie on our spectrum. They have some fair trade chocolate. They carry Apple products.  They probably even have some ethically produced make-up.  But once again, we would have to research each brand.  And as this is not my full-time job, I think it would take to long for the sake of this blog!

MAC
MAC has very little information on their company at all on their website.  All I could find were the products they sell. I have very little knowledge on how make-up is produced, and I know recently the biggest ethical dilemma with make-up has been whether or not it has been tested on animals.  But I'm pretty sure make-up is made from (at least some) natural materials, which means someone had to plant//harvest/etc. those materials to make our make-up.  In any case, you wouldn't know people were involved at all my looking at their website.

Mappins Jewellers
Mappins has very little information about the metals used in the make of their jewellery, or the people behind the metals, on their website. The one thing they do have is a line of Canadian Diamonds, which were mined out of the Northwest Territories, and can be bought with the confidence of knowing they're not conflict diamonds.

Merle Norman
Merle Norman is another cosmetics brand that I know very little about.  However, I'm pretty satisfied with the statement on their website, which reads "To ensure optimum quality control, the company researches, develops, manufactures and packages its own products."  Generally speaking, if a company manufactures its own product directly, its pretty safe!

Mr. Big & Tall
Bad news for you extremely tall, large men out there.  Mr. Big & Tall has no information about its supply chain on its website.

Naturalizer Shoes
Naturalizer Shoes is a branch of Brown Shoe Company.  Brown Shoe Company's website outlines
their Production Code of Conduct, which states that no suppliers may be involved in human trafficking, slavery, forced labour, or child labour.  It also states that their suppliers should pay their employees in regulation with local industry standards and minimum wage.  Unfortunately, I doubt whether local industry standard is generally fair.  Brown Shoe's code also states that it reserves the right to announced, unannounced, internal, or third party audits.

For those of you who have gone through this whole blog, confused by the colours, you can check out part one of this series to see what makes a store green (great policies in place), yellow (lacking a few key aspects in their policies, or a little vague), or red (appalling policies or lack thereof).  Thanks again for reading.  As always, if you have any information to add, feel free to comment so that more people can benefit from the knowledge you have!

Toolbox for Ethical Shopping Pt. 3

 People in North America have more money than they know what to do with, so they spend without much thought for the people behind their purchases.  In fact, according to morssglobalfinance.com1, in 2008, the average American spent over $1,100 on clothing and footwear.  That’s a whopping $352 billion spent in just one of the 196 countries in the world.  However, this affluence is the opposite of what most people experience.  Take the 3.5 million people who work in the Bangladeshi garment industry for instance, who produce most of this clothing. The ones who are lucky enough to be paid for their work make about $576.00 per year.2 If you ask me, this is anything but just.

And that's why it's so important to know where and how your clothing is made.  If we are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the garment industry each year, shouldn't those who spend their lives making our clothes reap some of the benefits?  Fortunately, many companies are working to make sure that they do.  This is part 3 of 7 of my guide on which stores to support, and which to avoid.  In seven parts, I will be analyzing the policies of the companies that have stores in my local mall, Coquitlam Centre.  If you don't shop at Coquitlam Centre (or even know where it is), don't skip over this, as many of these companies have stores all over North America.

The Gap
The Gap has a pretty bad reputation, specifically since on of their buildings were involved in the 2013 Bangladesh factory collapse.  But they are actively working to atone for their part in that tragedy.  The Gap Inc. has adopted a statement under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act.  Their statement says that child, forced and trafficked labour will not be used in any Gap products, and that they will actively monitor their factories.  Gap Inc. had both announced and unannounced audits.  However, they are mostly conducted by their staff.

Garage
Garage is the same company as Dynamite.  Check out part 2 to see why Garage scored red.

Golf Town
Golf Town had no information on their supply chain.

GUESS
The GUESS website also had no information on their supply chain.

Gymboree
Gymboree is a children's clothing store that cares about kids everywhere!  In fact, they prohibit cotton sourced from Uzbekistan because of it's history of forced child labour.  Their policy states that no one under the age of 15, or higher where the age of school completion is higher, is permitted to work in their factories.  They go above and beyond though: "Factories are encouraged to develop lawful workplace apprenticeship programs whenever possible for the educational benefit of their workers, provided that all participants meet both our minimum age standard of 15 and minimum legal age requirements."3  They also state that they will not use forced, indentured or prison labour in the making of their products.  They also monitor and assess compliance in their factories, but did not say whether it was through a third party company.

H&M
H&M impressed me a couple years ago when they announced that they would be increasing their prices in order to ensure that their garment producers were paid fairly.  Their code of ethics is thorough and impressive.  They state that child labour is unacceptable, but then say that saying no to child labour isn't enough.  Since 2004, H&M has been working alongside UNICEF to help abolish child labour around the world, and have been able to help over million children in the process.  Their code of ethics also states that young workers (those under 18, but above the legal age of employment) are to be protect from any type of hazardous work, work that may interfere with their education, or that could be harmful to their health, physical or otherwise.  The code also states that they don't accept forms of bonded, prison, illegal or forced labour.  H&M not only does yearly unannounced audits of its factories, it also visits them to educate workers about their rights, and to interview workers to ensure they know how their wages are calculated.

Hudson's Bay Company
They Bay has adopted a statement under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, which states that a third party company does social compliance inspections of their factories, and that child labour, forced labour and hazardous working conditions are unacceptable.  It's pretty wordy, and doesn't say a lot other than that besides the fact that all factories must follow the laws of the countries they're in.

Icing
Icing is owned by Claire's.  Check out Part 2 to find out why Claire's received a yellow score.

J76
J76 is a yoga apparel company, but unfortunately, they don't seem to have any information about their supply chain on their website.

Jersey City
Jersey City also has no information about their supply chain on their website.
 

The 3.5 million Bangladeshi garment workers, and everyone else who is involved in making our clothing, should benefit from the crazy amounts we North Americans spend on clothing each year.  As I do this research, I'm always amazed and excited to find companies that are going above and beyond - not just ensuring they aren't contributing to the injustice, but that are actively working to end it.  Of course, there are tons of amazing companies that you won't find in a mall that are doing great things to help people all over the world climb out of poverty.  If you want to learn about some of them, check out some of my earlier posts!

1: http://www.morssglobalfinance.com/the-global-economics-of-fashion-and-clothing-part-1-–-clothing/2: http://www.waronwant.org/overseas-work/sweatshops-and-plantations/sweatshops-in-bangladesh 3: http://www.gymboree.com/our_company/cs_home.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374306258480&bmUID=kKoRbEm 

Toolbox for Ethical Shopping Pt.2

Next month, the UN will celebrate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery.  This day was made to reflect on the horrors, and celebrate the demise of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.  However, according to Compassion International, there are still an estimated 27 million slaves in the world right now - more than at any time in history.  Of these 27 million slaves, many of them are children, forced to work picking the cotton, cutting the pattern, or sewing the button onto the shirt you're wearing right now.  In fact, as high as 50% of the slaves in the world today are children under the age of 18.  That's right - over 13.5 million children, who should be in school, learning to read and write, playing with their friends, testing teachers limits and dreaming about becoming a famous (insert whatever your dream job as a child was here), are being forced to work long hours, endure beatings and horrific treatment, for inadequate or no pay.

Despite the fact that child labour is illegal in most countries, in many places it is a common occurrence.  India, Uzbekistan, China, Bangladesh, Egypt, Thailand, and Pakistan are all countries that are notorious for using children in their textile industries*.  Many of the stores in our local malls carry brands that are produced in one or many of these countries, so it's hard to know whether or not the pair of pants you're purchasing was made by a nine-year-old.  Fortunately for us, many consumers are becoming more aware of who their clothing was made by, and the conditions they were working in, and the multinational corporations are taking notice, and many (the smart ones) are putting measures in place to ensure that slave and child labour aren't being used in their supply chains.

To help you navigate these very murky waters, this is part two of seven of my research on the stores in my local mall, Coquitlam Centre.  If this is the first you've seen of this, you can find part 1 here: http://living-justly.blogspot.ca/2015/02/toolbox-for-ethical-shopping-pt1.html

To make things easy, every store that has great policies in place to prevent child and slave labour, as well as harsh treatment of production workers, is in green, those with some policies in place, but not enough to be completely certain no one is being harmed in the making of their products are in yellow, and those with no policies, or no information are in red.

Call it Spring
Call it Spring is owned by the ALDO group, which is a direct trade company.  See my review of ALDO in part one to see why Call it Spring is a safe place to shop!

Change
Change is a lingerie store that owns its factories.  The company itself does all its manufacturing in China.  While it is encouraging that they themselves are involved in the manufacturing, the fact that there is no more information on the supply chain gives me pause.  One would hope that if this company own and operates its factories, there would be no abuse of employees, but it is hard to say for sure without a list of policies.

The Children's Place

The website insists that all vendors, suppliers, manufacturers, etc. follow their employment practices, which state that The Children's Place will knowingly only conduct business with companies whose workers are voluntarily at the workplace, are not at risk of physical harm, are fairly compensated, and are not exploited in any way. Neither child labour, nor forced labour, are permitted, and Children’s Place will “favour” companies that practice non-discriminatory employment.  These practices also mention fair payment and vacation time.  The documents also says that the company has the right to unannounced inspections of all manufacturing facilities, and the right to sever the relationship with any factories that do not comply with their employment practices.

Claires

Claires has adopted a statement in accordance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act.  Their statement contains third party audits in their supply chain, as well as prohibition against indentured or forced labour.  Unfortunately, nothing is mentioned about Child labour, or any rights the workers possess.

Cleo

Cleo is owned by the same company as Bootlegger.  Unfortunately, I can't find any information on all four of the websites this company runs about their supply chain.  

Daniadown quilts

This company is somewhere between and yellow and a red at their website says they manufacture the “majority” of their products.  Much like Change, if they own their own factories, one would hope they would closely monitor the conditions of the workplace, but there was no other information, so we cannot be sure.

DAVIDsTea

DAVIDsTea offers a selection of Fair Trade teas! I sent an email to inquire about the rest of their tea selection.  They replied that they work closely with all their suppliers, who work with the tea estates to ensure that their tea meets their industry and ethical standards.  As the Fair Trade Certification process is quite pricey, it is not practical for some of the smaller farms, but they are working toward adding as many of their teas to they Fair Trade Certified collection as possible!

Dynamite Clothing

The website had no information whatsoever on their Supply Chain.

Eddie Bauer

Eddie Bauer has adopted a statement in accordance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act.  Their statement contains a Workplace Code of Conduct (“Code”) and requires all manufacturers of their product to comply with the Code.  This Code states that manufacturers will not used forced labor of any kind, will not not use child labor, refrain from harassment, abuse and discrimination, as and will provide a safe working environment, allow workers freedom of association and collective bargaining, pays wages for all time worked, at minimum wage or higher, and pay overtime. Eddie Bauer has a third party audit done at the commencement of production, in all their new factories, and unannounced audits by a third party periodically afterwards.

Fido

Like most Cell Phone providers, Fido carries many different brands of technology. While their website offers no information on the production of those brands, tantalum, a mineral used in the production of most laptops, cellphones, tablets, etc. is notorious for the use of slaves in the mining process.  Because of this, one would have to research each brand individually.  I have yet to do this for any but Apple, which has the green light.  A couple years ago, the company released a statement saying that no slavery was used in their tantalum mines. I personally would stick to purchasing the Apple products to be on the safe side if you're making a purchase through Fido.

Flip Flop Shop

The Flip Flop Shop does not have it's own brand of shoes, but carries multiple different brands.  Once again, this makes more work for us.  One would have to research the brand of shoe they were hoping to buy to be sure.  I've done the legwork on three of them for you.  

Quicksilver offers no information on their supply chain on their website.

Sanuk completed Ethical Supply Chain audits for all factories and key suppliers since 2009.  They also provided training for over 400 representatives from Deckers suppliers in Ethical Supply Chain capability building courses since 2010.  Their Ethical Supply Chain (ESC) Program "strives to ensure that the factories which manufacture our products conform to fair labor standards. Those standards expressly preclude child labor, forced labor and human trafficking." They ale have an audit team, which regularly checks up on their partner's factories to ensure compliance with their labour standards.  The company has a few "zero tolerance"issues, which the violation of will lead to a supplier failing the audit and corrective measures will need to be taken.  Those "zero tolerance issues include child and forced labour.

     Olukai offers no other information on their website other than that their shoes are manufactured in Asia and Mexico

Foot Locker

FootLocker is somewhere between a green and a yellow as they have adopted a statement in accordance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, which says that Foot Locker has the right to make unannounced inspections of their suppliers' facilities, either by the Foot Locker team or a third party, to ensure the factory complies with their Global Sourcing Guidelines and "other requirements."  However, I couldn't find what these requirements might be!

Future Shop

Future Shop is in the same boat as Fido.  They carry multiple different technology brands, and one has to be aware that this industry is ripe with slave labour. Once again, I would ere on the side of caution and stick with Apple.

I hope this information equips you to make informed choices about your purchases, so that we can avoid benefiting companies that allow nine-year-olds to miss out on their education to sew the buttons on our shirts for little or no monetary compensation, and support those companies that are doing their best to ensure that the employees in their factories are treated fairly and with dignity.  If you have any more information, or have a chance to do some research on individual brands of technology, please feel free to comment with your findings!  Check back next week for part 3 of this series.                    

*SOMO, Child Labour Fact Sheet.  Find it here: somo.nl/publications-en/Publication_4058/at_download/fullfile