A recent investigation into Lululemon casts doubt on the ability of Canada’s new Modern Slavery Act to tackle labour abuse.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
A new study suggests disclosure laws to prevent forced labour in the clothing industry are a form of window dressing designed to ease the conscience of consumers rather than protecting workers.
Mike Lee, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The collapse of Rana Plaza on March 24, 2013, put the focus on fast fashion. But research shows that stressed and struggling consumers don’t have the luxury of making ethical choices.
Activists in Dhaka demand safe working conditions in 2019, on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse.
Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Ten years after the collapse at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, the garment industry’s deadliest disaster, reforms are incomplete. The opaqueness of today’s complex supply chain is part of the problem.
In this April 2013 photo, Bangladeshis gather as rescuers look for survivors and victims at the site of the Rana Plaza building that collapsed a day earlier, in Savar, Bangladesh.
(AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)
Until there are global standards for authentic corporate social responsibility efforts, we will continue to see local impoverishment, hazardous waste and tragic labour accidents in the Global South.
In this May 2013 photo, residents walk past a cordon of soldiers standing guard at a checkpoint in San Rafael Las Flores, Guatemala, near a mine owned by Tahoe Resources Inc.
(AP Photo/Luis Soto)
Despite a recent Tahoe Resources settlement and apology to Guatemalan protesters, Canadian companies can still get away with crimes committed abroad — even in the face of insurmountable evidence.
Consumers should ask: “who made my clothes” so that they remember the modern slavery conditions imposed on many garment workers.
Shutterstock
Fashion Revolution week puts a spotlight on the modern slavery conditions of the fashion industry and encourages fashion consumers to ask, “who made my clothes.”