Clothes for a Change
Working with farmers, consumers, and companies
to promote organics and Fair Trade in the clothing sector
About Clothes for a Change (CFAC)
OCA and our allies have launched a new global campaign to raise awareness
about the negative health and environmental effects of conventional and
genetically engineered cotton and the institutionalized exploitation of
clothing sweatshops.
By uniting organic consumers, anti-genetic engineering
activists, trade unionists, religious social justice advocates, progressives
in the fashion & apparel industry, and the Fair Trade / anti-sweatshop
communities into a potent force we can change the dynamics of the marketplace
and fundamentally alter public policy.
The Clothes for a Change Campaign Is Demanding that Major Clothing Retailers
& Manufacturers:
- Stop using genetically engineered cotton.
- Start blending in certified organic or "transition to organic"
cotton in their clothing.
- Guarantee that they meet independently verified Fair Labor (non-sweatshop)
standards.
- Eliminate all production and export cotton subsidies in the U.S. and
convert to Green subsidies for organic and transition to organic cotton
production.
While the OCA and our allies put marketplace pressure on the clothing
giants, we will also be enlisting public interest groups to support the
campaign by:
- Committing to procure non-sweatshop, environmentally sound products.
- Signing-on in support of the core demands of the Clothes for a Change
campaign.
Want to Endorse Our Campaign?
You can
make a difference in your community.
Today, organic and Fair Made clothing constitutes a niche market, but
with your support we can ensure that at least 30% of all clothing in
the USA is Organic & Fair Made by the year 2015. Help us reach these
goals by participating locally in the Clothes For a Change campaign:
- Campaign for your school district or university to
begin purchasing only organic and Fair Made clothing and fibers. Campus
clothing represents is a $6 billion a year industry.
- Get a resolution passed in your town
mandating organic and fair made fiber purchasing for municipal contracts.
- Buy your new clothing from socially responsible
businesses who can certify that their products are organic (not
genetically engineered) and Fair Made.
- Help us ensure that every exhibitor at Earth Day festivals and May
Day Rallies are selling only fair made and organic clothes.
- Ask the manager of the local store where you purchase your clothes
if they can guarantee that the fibers they use are GMO-free and organic
and if the workers who made the garments were paid a living wage.
LINKS
SUSTAINABLE
COTTON PRODUCTION
- Sustainable
Cotton Project - Information about farmers, manufacturers, activists,
retailers and others who are devoting their energies to making organic
cotton a viable agricultural and economic alternative.
- Behind
the Label -
Promoting the collective bargaining power of both workers in sweatshops
and communities of consumers.
- The Organic
Cotton Directory - Directory of companies selling
organic cotton products
- International
Organic Cotton Directory -Directory locates links
in the organic cotton chain: organic agricultural
input suppliers, farmers, gins, mills & retailers of organic
cotton products.
LABOR ISSUES & SWEATSHOP INFO
- National Labor Committee -
Educating & engaging
the public on human & labor rights abuses by corporations.
- Global
Exchange - Human rights organization dedicated
to promoting environmental, political, and social justice around
the world.
- Workers Rights Consortium
(WRC) - A non-profit organization created by college and university
administrations, students and labor rights experts on over 100 campuses.
The WRC's purpose is to ensure that factories producing clothing
and other goods bearing college and university names respect the
basic rights of workers.
- Campaign
for Labor Rights (CLR) - Working
to inform and mobilize grassroots activists in solidarity with major,
international anti-sweatshop struggles. CLR has been called the "grassroots
mobilizing department" of the anti-sweatshop movement
- UNITE! Fighting
for good jobs everywhere. Our union is supporting workers in other
countries who are fighting to organize their own unions to improve
wages and working conditions.
- Clean Clothes
Campaign Campaignind to improve working conditions in
the garment industry.
- SweatX A new line of "sweat-free" casual
active wear. Designed and manufactured entirely within Los Angeles,
SweatX clothing is made by teamX inc., an employee owned, and unionized
garment factory