Sweatshops have been a contentious issue in the fashion industry for decades, with reports of poor working conditions, low wages, and human rights abuses plaguing the industry. In response, a number of companies have emerged with a mission to provide ethical and sustainable clothing options that are produced in a sweatshop-free environment.
One such company is No Sweat UK, a garment manufacturing company that is committed to fair labor practices and creating high-quality clothing that is both ethically and environmentally responsible. The company has become a leading voice in the fight against sweatshops, and has inspired a growing movement of consumers who are demanding more transparency and accountability from the fashion industry.
We had the pleasure of chatting to No Sweat's Jay Kerr to learn more about this inspiring organization.
Please briefly introduce yourself to our readers, and give us a bit of background context relating to your previous business experience.
"My name is Jay, I am convenor of No Sweat, an anti-sweatshop campaign group that builds solidarity with independent trade unions in the garment industry around the world, and I am the lead on our T-shirt project that has set up a brand of wholesale organic T-shirts that focuses on workers’ rights. I’ve been a campaigner with No Sweat for about 20 years, calling out the exploitation that some of the world’s largest brands are involved in through their supply chains.
In 2011 to 2015, I lived overseas working on workers’ rights projects in Thailand and Australia, but kept close links with No Sweat while I was away. When I returned to the UK in 2015, we took a look at how the fashion industry has tackled exploitation and found serious failures. So with the T-shirt project, we decided to show how it should and can be done."
Can you talk a little bit about what sparked the idea to start this organization?
"No Sweat started as a campaign back in the year 2000. At the time, the anti-globalisation movement was in full swing and large brands like Nike and Gap were being exposed for the horrible conditions their clothes were being made in. No Sweat was set up to bring campaigners together to support workers and their trade unions around the world demand better wages and conditions. This involved protesting outside the flagship stores of many large brands, telling the world about the conditions the clothes were being made and calling on these corporations to improve things.
Since then, the fashion industry has responded by creating so called ‘ethical’ fashion. However, a lot of the focus has been on the environmental impact – which is hugely important to be sure – but workers’ rights have often been glossed over and talk over trade unions has been actively excluded.
So in 2015, we decided to set up our own brand of T-shirts that would not only be environmentally friendly – we only use organic cotton – but would have workers’ rights and trade unions at the centre of the project.
This means we source from factories that have trade union representation, where the workers have the power to negotiate their hours, wages and conditions with the management, and not rely on the benevolence of their employers to treat them well. As we are primarily a workers rights campaign, we set up our T-shirt project as a separate legal entity, a not-for-profit company that uses the money made from selling T-shirts to support our campaign and donate funds to trade unions organising workers in sweatshop factories."
What has been the most challenging aspect to running the No Sweat T-shirt division, and how have you overcome that?
"The most challenging aspect has been learning to run a clothing company. As campaigners, there are many things that we were unaware of when it comes to developing a line of clothing, from things like pre-production samples, wash testing and the different options for labels. All of this stuff we had to learn as we went, and there were a few mistakes along the way. We really only overcame the problems through perseverance and dedication.
When ethics are your main goal, rather than profit, it’s easier to stick at something that is difficult, as you have a desire to make something happen without worrying too much about the reward; the positive outcome often is the reward.
Now, after five years or so since we placed our first order, we have a good handle on the processes involved and have worked with some excellent people in the industry that want to see workers given the respect they deserve while making quality products."
Left: Photograph of Jay Kerr. Right: Garment factory worker holding No Sweat t-shirt.
It feels like the fight against sweatshop labour has been gaining traction over the last couple of years, with social media bringing the atrocities of sweatshops to light. There seems to be a growing number of people who are against fast fashion and unethical practices, but there is no doubt that the fight against sweatshop labour is a continuous uphill battle. Are you optimistic about the future of fashion, and can you talk about the change you’ve seen personally over the last couple of years?
"I always feel optimistic when I see workers standing up for their rights, and seeing the growing focus on the sweatshop issue pushes the bigger brands that hold the economic power to do the right thing. We have seen mass protests in Haiti calling for a living wage, we have seen trade unions in Bangladesh demand a wage commission be formed by the government to increase the national minimum wage, the first time in five years, and there have been agreements signed in factories in India and Lesotho in Africa to end sexual harassment and gender-based violence against women in garment factories. Add to this the pressure being put on big brands by a growing number of campaign groups like No Sweat and there is a lot to be optimistic about.
However, we have to be vigilant, as when we look at the issue of damage to the environment by garment production, the industry has shown how adept it can be at greenwashing, presenting itself as doing lots to protect the environment but actually continuing the same damaging practices. It is the same with workers rights. We need to keep up the pressure to improve conditions and make sure workers have a seat at the table when it comes to their working conditions."
Can you describe the relationships you have built with your suppliers and workers, and how they contribute to the organization's success?
"We have developed good relationships with our suppliers, based on honesty and integrity, but our starting point has been with the trade unions. All of the accreditation models have been shown to be ineffective at protecting workers rights, so we have taken the position that the best judge of the conditions in a factory are the workers themselves and the trade unions they form to protect their collective interests.
Independent and respected trade union groups tell us the factories that they have decent relationships with, where workers rights are respected. From there, we speak with the factory management about our orders, making it clear that it is their positive relationship with the workers that has brought us to work with them. We then keep in constant communication with the trade union about the conditions in the factory. By maintaining this dual relationship we are able to ensure that the highest conditions are maintained and we can offer our support to the workers when they negotiate with the management."
How has being involved with No Sweat impacted you from a personal standpoint, and what lessons has it taught you?
"This is a hard question to answer, as I’ve been involved with No Sweat for such a long time, it is a major part of my life. It has created so many different experiences, everything from doing protests outside shops, doing creative events at festivals like Glastonbury, meeting garment workers in the UK and overseas, it’s been a real education.
I think overall, it has taught me the importance of solidarity. It is often easy to feel very small in the world. Decisions are made at high levels by powerful people and rich corporations, it can often feel impossible to make any meaningful change. But when you join together with others and create a plan of action on something, you can be surprised at the impact you can make.
Standing with others in solidarity to make positive change in the world is crucial and is a lesson that everyone should learn. Everyone has the power to make a difference, even the smallest difference, that can have a ripple effect in the world that often causes waves."
For individuals who may not have the financial means to support this cause but want to do their part to help, what’s one step they can take in the right direction?
"The most important thing anyone can do is ask questions. Speak with the companies that make the clothes and ask them about the working conditions in a factory, ask if their workers have a trade union representing them, and if they don’t, ask them why not? Ask how much they invest in workers development and improving conditions. Ask them what efforts they are taking to minimise the impact on the environment that their production has. It is by asking these questions of the big companies that we can keep up the pressure and show that these issues are things that we care about.
While No Sweat is a not-for-profit company run by a campaign group, most companies in this industry are not, and they are driven by making a profit. If we can show that we want to buy things that are made ethically then they will move to produce things more ethically. When campaigns like No Sweat raise questions about the ethical claims that are being made, people can repeat those questions and keep the pressure on. The more questions we ask, the more transparent that we can make the industry, which is good for the workers and for the environment."
What has been your biggest highlight since the start of No Sweat, and what are you looking forward to in years to come?
"There have been so many over the years, but I do still remember the feeling of seeing the No Sweat logo on a T-shirt label for the first time, and knowing that it was the start of something. Since then, we have had so much positive feedback, particularly from bands that love to shout about their band merch fighting sweatshops.
We get tagged on social media a lot and it is always wonderful to see people excited about the project. And as the project has grown, we have been able to send the money that we have made out to the people on the front lines and see it make a genuine impact. That is what it is all about, really."
To learn more about No Sweat, visit their website here.
Follow No Sweat on Instagram here.
Email: tshirts@nosweat.org.uk
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