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May 31, 2007

Red-flag sale

On the subway in San Francisco this morning, I did a double take as we pulled into one of the downtown stations. Milling around among the other commuters were three women dressed in business casual, but something was slightly ... off. First of all, I could tell by their body language that they were promoting something. Then I saw that attached to every article of clothing they wore—even their shoes—was an oversize price tag bearing the Marshalls logo. As I watched, of of them handed a flyer to a woman who was clearly intrigued by the gimmick. The prices were pretty low: $12.99 for a blouse, if memory serves.

As the train pulled away, I started wondering what sort of person might have stitched that $12.99 blouse, and how old he or (more likely) she is. Does she earn a fair wage? Does she get to use the toilet when nature calls?

That reminded me of an article from the current issue of ReadyMade (which happens to be one of the magazines I freelance for) about a Dutch organization called Made-By that’s both an umbrella label for companies that aim to produce their garments in a socially responsible, sustainable way, and an initiative that’s working to create greater transparency in the supply chain and helping clothing companies to clean up their production process. Especially cool is the Made-By labels “Check it out” tracking feature, which lets you type in the garment’s bar code to find out where it was made.

Posted at 09:25 PM in Corporate social responsibility, Data to the people, Labels and certifications, Labor abuses, Products: apparel, Provenance |

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Hi Bronwyn! Just heard about this blog - I love it. This post reminded me of the recent buzz about Sarah Jessica Parker's new clothing line through a store chain called Steve & Barry's. She boasts all clothes in her line to be $20 or less. The slogan is something like "Fashion Isn't a Luxury". Unfortunately some workers don't have the luxury of a fair wage or decent working conditions because of our need to buy, buy, buy. If you go on the S & B website there is very little info about how or where the clothing is made, just some blurbs how they do anything to cut costs. Hmm, very suspicious.

Posted by: Cassie | June 06, 2007 at 07:22 PM

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My buycotts & boycotts

  • July 2008
    Started feeling extra-good about buying one of my fave meat substitutes, Tofurky, after learning that its maker, Turtle Island Foods, is an independent, family-owned company (Unlike Boca Foods, which is a subsidiary of Kraft, and Morningstar, which is owned by Kellogg).
  • April 2008
    I'm going to start buying my canned beans from Eden Foods, for two reasons: it uses custom-made cans that don't contain bisphenol A, and it's an independent, family-operated company.
  • February 2008
    From now on, whenever I order takeout or ask for a doggy bag, I’ll make sure to avoid #6 polystyrene containers (and, of course, Styrofoam).
  • January 2008
    My morning yogurt is now garnished with a combination of bulk granola from Oat Cuisine, a locally owned company, and Food for Life's Ezekiel 4:9 cereal. This instead of Kashi Nuggets (Kashi is owned by Kellogg, and the cereal, despite all the "whole grains" messages on the box, isn't organic and probably contains GMOs) or Grape Nuts, which is owned by Altria (Philip Morris), isn't organic, and almost certainly contains GMOs.
  • October 2007
    Until Kimberly-Clark stops destroying virgin North American forests to make its products, I will boycott it and urge others to do so. Feeling outraged? Call K-C's customer service department: 1-888-525-8388 (North America and Puerto Rico only). Following are the brands to avoid. First, the ones I've heard of: Kleenex, Scott, Scottex, Huggies, Kotex, Depend, Viva, Fiesta, Cottonelle. Now a bunch more: Andrex, Block-it, Camelia, DryNites, GoodNites, Kimcare, KimTech, KleenBebé, KleenGard, Little Swimmers, Page, Peaudouce, Pingos, Plenitud, Poise, Pull-Ups, Snugglers, Subtelle, Tela, Le Trefle, WypAll.
  • October 2007
    First Odwalla was bought by Coca-Cola; then Naked Juice was acquired by Pepsico. I'll buy my juice (when I splurge on fresh-squeezed) from Columbia Gorge, which is family-run and all organic.
  • June 2007
    Started buying my organic yogurt from Straus instead of Trader Joe's after hearing from an organics activist that TJ's drives a really hard bargain with organic-food producers. Plus, Straus is local and demonstrates a clear commitment to the environment: its methane digester captures gas from its cows' manure and generates up to 600,000 kWH of electricity per year. I'd rather pay a little extra to support that.
  • March 2007
    Started buying Wildwood soy creamer instead of Silk after learning that White Wave, Silk’s maker, is owned by Dean Foods, the world’s largest dairy processor and distributor. I'm happier supporting the little(r) guy, and Wildwood is just as good—and less expensive.
  • February 2007
    Resolved to buy gas only from BP/Arco and Sunoco after reading the "Pick Your Poison" guide in Sierra. At the very least, no more patronizing Exxon or 76.
  • October 2006
    Started buying Dr. Bronner's soap after seeing Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap Box. I'm impressed by its charitable giving, treatment of employees, leadership in fair trade and organics, and environmental record. More recently, the company has helped facilitate organic and fair-trade certification for olive-oil makers in Israel and Palestine so that it can buy the oil for use in its products.

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