Who are the real mode victims of London Mode Calendar week?

Feb xx, 2015 by Mark Dunn

  • Supply concatenation

You won't find many articles on human trafficking when the 61st London Way Week opens its doors today. The media will undoubtedly be focusing on heat-reactive handbags, millinery and the latest in couture creations. But while the catwalk shows paint the glitzy face of the multi-billion dollar dress industry, ethical sourcing remains fundamentally linked to the brand - and to the business concern - of fashion.

fashion week

Forced labour in the Supply Chain

It is a little known fact that over 200,000 young women and girls are trafficked to work in the cotton industry in the Tamil Nadu region of India.  Female workers, mainly anile xiv to 23 years old, are recruited with false promises of a proficient task and a lump sum payment under the guise of an 'apprenticeship' scheme called Sumangali. In one case recruited, they are substantially trapped inside a manufacturing plant for upward to five years.

The cotton fiber is spun, dyed and woven in these factories to be sold to consumer markets all over the world. It is likely to exist found in most of our favourite shops and labels. It is likely to be in cotton garments in our wardrobes and drawers.

cotton paper'Dressed to Kill', a written report published jointly by LexisNexis and non-governmental system, Terminate THE TRAFFIK, shone the spotlight on the effect of forced labour inside cotton production.

Co-ordinate to Ruth Dearnley, CEO of End THE TRAFFIK, fabric made by trafficked young women and girls may be in the apparel we article of clothing today. However, with the complexities of the modern supply concatenation, the multiple levels of outsourcing and subcontracting, and the huge number of people 'touching' a unmarried garment, many way retailers and labels simply do non know who makes the clothes they sell.

While consumers have a role to play, End THE TRAFFIK believes the global brands that dominate the world of mode are best placed to apply their power and influence to ensure garments are ethically sourced and fabricated.

If the brand and moral imperatives are non enough for style to become its houses in order, then increasingly onerous legal implications may be – as Thomas Firestone and Lina A Braude highlight in their recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) blog looking at the five risks for Fashion Week 2015.

The United states of america' Department of Justice (DoJ) has legal devices that allow for the prosecution of companies that knowingly profit from forced labour. Similarly, the United kingdom'south Modern Slavery Bill is set for a line-past-line test in Parliament on 23 February – at the same time as the models are walking the boards less than a mile away at London Fashion Week'due south Somerset House venue.

After months of political debate on the Modern Slavery Bill, all parties in Government are very shut to an incredible achievement. Yous tin follow the progress of the Modern Slavery Bill here.

Ultimately, addressing worker rubber and eliminating human trafficking and forced labour within the apparel supply concatenation requires a detailed assay of potential risks, consummate transparency and fundamental due diligence on all suppliers and their extended networks.

This task demands a high level of insight throughout the chain. While information technology is a circuitous challenge, failure to act tin can accept wide ranging consequences – non least for the millions of workers (and forced workers) across the earth who endure to brand u.s. look good.

Related blogs

  • Compliance in brand and retail
  • The part of business concern in the anti-trafficking movement

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