Tag Archives: fashion

Envisioning Wellbeing Economies through the Australian Fashion Industry Context

September 9, 2022UncategorizedAustralia, civil society, consumers, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, ethics, fashion, forced labour, global supply chains, human rights, supply chains, Sustainability, Wellbeingmartijn

Sustainability leaders, experts, industry and innovators from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific came together to share their knowledge on sustainability challenges and opportunities in the Oceania region as part of a major international sustainability event.

Coordinated by Future Earth Australia, Australian Academia and government partners hosted the sustainability-focused event in Brisbane from 29 June – 1 July 2022.

Sessions were held over three days and covered any aspects of sustainability: climate change, Indigenous knowledges, coastal resilience, urban sustainability, synthetic biology and more. It will focus on sustainability issues and challenges unique to Oceania.

The Oceania Satellite Event built on the outcomes of the inaugural SRI2021 Congress last year in Brisbane, that featured more than 2000 attendees from over 100 countries.

Wellbeing Economies through Fashion

0:04 Welcome from Moderator : Assoc. Prof. Samantha Sharpe
2:12 Wellbeing Economy – Sufficiency – UTS/ISF – Dr.Monique Retamal
10:04 Reuse / Repair – Monash – Aleasha McCallion
18:05 Policy & Stewardship – QUT – Assoc.Prof. Alice Payne
26:30 Inclusive fashion Practices and Intersectionality – USC – Deborah Fisher
34:36 Circularity – Monash – Julie Boulton.
47:04 Modern Slavery – UNDA – Assoc.Prof. Martijn Boersma
55:33 Regenerative Business models – UTS ISF – Karina Kallio
1:04:40 Discussion

Why do Companies Find it so Hard to Choose Between Profit and Principle?

April 5, 2021Uncategorized2022 World Cup, companies, cotton, exploitation, fashion, governance, government, governments, human rights, human rights abuses, labour, Martijn Boersma, migrant workers, modern slavery, muslims, Qatar, Revenue, Supply Chain, supply chains, systematic exploitation, uyghur, xinjiangmartijn

Businesses with ties to the Xinjiang province in China find themselves at a junction.

Caught in debates concerning Uyghur people being the victim of modern slavery and genocide, they must deal with concerns expressed by Western governments and human rights groups, and an increasingly agitated Chinese Communist Party.

Some commentators have suggested that foreign companies that (in)directly profit from the systematic exploitation of Uyghurs in China must choose between profit and principle.

It seems like a straightforward question: do companies want to profit from the state-organised repression, exploitation and extermination of an ethnic minority, or do companies condemn the treatment of Uyghur people in China and deal with the backlash?

The conundrum underlying the question is as old as capitalism itself: what social costs are we willing to accept in order for companies to make a profit?

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‘Bullying’ clothing companies are asking struggling suppliers for discounts

May 14, 2020UncategorizedAustralia, Bangladesh, brands, business ethicss, companies, corona, covid19, ethics, fashion, retailers, Supply Chainmartijn

Prominent Australian retailers been caught out again for “unsavoury” behaviour during the coronavirus pandemic – including asking for discounts and pushing back orders from struggling suppliers overseas.

Kmart has backflipped on its request for a 30 per cent discount it forced on its Bangladeshi suppliers, but is still enforcing tight turnarounds.

Mosaic Brands, which owns Crossroads, Millers, Noni B and more, has told its suppliers, also in Bangladesh, that it won’t be meeting some of its payments for eight months, according to the ABC.

Mosaic was called out early in the pandemic for its pushy sales techniques, peddling hand sanitiser and face masks to shoppers to capitalise on the panic-buying surge.

The behaviour is nothing short of bullying, business ethics expert Martijn Boersma said.

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Cotton Value Chain – Labour Risk Heat Maps

March 14, 2020UncategorizedAustralia, cotton, fashion, government, human rights, ILO, labour, labour rights, risk, supply chains, Value Chain, working conditionsmartijn

The Queensland University of Technology and the University of Technology Sydney have been funded by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation to research “Strategies for improving labour conditions within the Australian cotton value chain” (2019-2022).

Non-Government Organisations are active in pressuring fashion brands to be accountable for their social and environmental claims. Labour is currently in the spotlight. Over 20 million employees in garment manufacturing in Asia Pacific are paid below the minimum wage. ILO ratification in Australia’s export countries is low and non-compliance high (up to 90%). This project will provide information to enable the cotton industry to understand labour issues along its value chain and recommend strategies for the industry to explore.

Phase 1 produced a heat map, based on secondary data, which provides an overview of labour issues affecting the textile and apparel industry in primary export destinations in the Australian cotton value chain. Click on the image below to see the full interactive heat maps which were created using Tableau.

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Supply Chains of Australian Fashion Retailers at Risk of Exploitation

April 18, 2015Uncategorizedchild labour, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, ethics, exploitation, fashion, labour, Supply Chainmartijn

supply chain protest — Protests against garment factory owners and their threats and intimidation of workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photograph: Sk Hasan Ali/Demotix/Corbis

Australian fashion companies lack transparency around their supply chain or do not have full knowledge of where their raw materials are being sourced from, leaving workers including children at risk of exploitation, an audit has found.

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