Clothes you can feel really, really good about!
Now I don't mean to alarm you but I have some shocking information. Both Varsh and myself love...clothes. A shocking revelation, isn't it?
And I'm sure that my fellow clothes-lovers would have probably also spent a little too much a boxing day sales. Well check the tags on those items because if they have the ECA logo on them, you needn't feel too guilty!
We had a chat to Eloise from Ethical Clothing Australia to find out a little bit more about this fantastic organisation!
-----------------
FM: Tell us about ECA:
Eloise: Ethical Clothing Australia provides ethical brands and clothing manufacturers with a way to help ensure legal obligations and standards are met throughout the supply chain. When you see the Ethical Clothing Australia trademark on a product, it means it was made in Australia and everyone involved in its production received, as a minimum, the legal rates of pay and conditions. There are currently a total of 63 Australian clothing and footwear businesses accredited.
FM: What are the long-term aims of ECA?
Eloise: Ethical Clothing Australia looks forward to continuing its work with the Australian textile, clothing and footwear industry, and building on the number of businesses that are certified as having provided workers with fair wages and decent conditions.
FM: What are some of the campaigns ECA has organised?
Eloise: Ethical Clothing Australia launched its first consumer awareness campaign, Meet Your Maker, in October 2011. The campaign aims to educate consumers about the importance of ethical manufacturing in the Australia textile, clothing and footwear industry, and assist them to make an informed choice for shopping ethically. Contrary to common opinion, ‘Australian-made’ does not always mean ethically made. The Ethical Clothing Australia program ensures that these workers receive fair pay and conditions.
FM: That sounds exciting! Tell us more about Meet Your Maker!
Eloise: The Meet Your Maker campaign aims to connect consumers with the people who have been involved behind the scenes in making their clothing and footwear. In highlighting the individual makers that work for Ethical Clothing Australia accredited brands and manufacturers, we hope to showcase the high degree of skill and expertise that they use every day to do their work. We want consumers to value these makers’ work and the Ethical Clothing Australia accredited businesses that employ them. These are businesses that are committed to ethical manufacturing in Australia. The Meet Your Maker website www.meetyourmaker.org.au is the key platform of the campaign, which is then promoted by the accredited business online and in store. We want consumers to engage with the brand and makers involvement with the campaign website.
FM: How can readers get involved?
Eloise: Consumers are encouraged to visit the campaign website, or more specifically the brand or makers’ own website pages. If the brand is using swing tags in their stores, consumers can follow the URL or use the scannable QR code using their smart phone to go directly to these pages.
Most importantly, consumers are encouraged to interact with their makers by:
- Taking a photo of themselves with their new purchase and upload it to the brand or maker’s page
- Making a comment about their purchase or the campaign on the brand or maker’s page
FM: How do businesses get involved?
Eloise: By registering with Ethical Clothing Australia, clothing businesses are committing to take certain steps to keep their Australian-based supply chains transparent and ensure that they and any sub-contractors are compliant with the relevant Australian laws.
Once compliant, accredited brands are licensed to display the Ethical Clothing Australia trademark on their Australian-made products, providing consumers and buyers with a way to identify and support ethical Australian-made products.
FM: What exciting initiatives are planned for 2012?
Eloise: The year ahead is shaping up to be a big one for Ethical Clothing Australia. If the past year is anything to go by, which saw Ethical Clothing Australia more than double the number of applications for accreditation, there are positive indicators that support for ethical manufacturing in Australia is increasing, which is perhaps consistent with the growing trend for ethical and sustainable products worldwide.
Ethical Clothing Australia will also be building on the resources for TCF (textile, clothing, footwear) industry to assist Australian textile, clothing and footwear businesses ensure their legal obligations and standards are met throughout the supply chain.
-----------------
If you would like to know more about ECA's work, head to their website! We can't wait for their 2012 initiatives to start so we can back this organisation as soon as possible! Why wouldn't you?! As far as we are concerned, the more accredited brands there are, the better we can feel about our insane shopping sprees!
- Jessica