F

Fair Trade cotton is not that same as Fairtrade certified cotton. It can get pretty confusing... A product that is Fair Trade or ‘fairly traded' is has probably not been certified by an external independent body. There is every possibility that the company producing these garments is conducting fair trade practices, but it is much more difficult to monitor as the process is not verified by independent audits and the legitimacy of the product depends heavily upon the company's own ethics and commitment to ethical production.

Fairtrade Mark. For a product to display the FAIRTRADE Mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards, which are set by the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) certification body. These standards are agreed through a process of research and consultation with key participants in the Fairtrade scheme, including producers themselves, traders, NGOs, academic institutions and labelling organisations such as the Fairtrade Foundation. The Fairtrade Foundation demands high standards to ensure the minimum social, economic and environmental requirements which producers must meet to be certified. The FAIRTRADE Mark guarantees farmers will receive a better price, an additional social premium to invest in community projects, work together in co-operative groups and reduce the impact of farming by replacing conventional pesticides with natural alternatives. Only products certified by the Fairtrade Foundation can carry the FAIRTRADE Mark.

G

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is an umbrella organisation for a number of organic certification bodies. It was created to define the requirements that would ensure the organic status of textiles, from raw material to manufacturing, and provide the consumer with a credible assurance of this organic status. The organisations involved include the International Association Natural Textile Industry, Soil Association (SA), Organic Trade Association and Japan Organic Cotton Association. A company is not accredited by GOTS, but by a GOTS approved supplier and currently only the IMO, SA, Control Union and Oregon Tilth are able to carry out certification. It has two labels - one is ‘organic' (95% organic cotton) and the other is ‘made with organic' (70%-95% organic cotton). It involves a rigorous certification process and the criteria states all product components must meet basic requirements on toxicity and biodegradability, have no toxic or heavy metals, formaldehyde or GMS's, manufacturing sites must comply with an environmental policy, compulsory social criteria based on ILO conventions and a dual system of quality assurance consisting of on-site inspection and residue testing.

H

Hemp as a sustainable eco-textile fabric has a lot of potential. Although it is illegal to grow hemp in many parts of the world, it can be grown using natural ingredients such as compost, animal manure and rainfall, as it requires no irrigation, pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. It is though be some to be genuine alternative to non-organic cotton as it is an efficient, economical and low input crop. 

I

International Labour Organisation (ILO) has devised a set of labour standards that intend to advance opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive working conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. The ILO states that, its main aims "are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues. In promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights, the organisation continues to pursue its founding mission that labour peace is essential to prosperity."

J

Jute is another environmentally friendly ‘bast' fiber and grows naturally without pesticides. It is hardwearing and ideally suited to bags.

Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers Rights (Jo-in criteria). The Clean Clothes Campaign has described the Jo-in criteria as a step towards a ‘credible European verification' of labour standards. It is an initiative involving six organisations in a collaborative effort to improve workplace conditions in the garment industry and how to implement labour codes of conduct. The group aims to lessen the confusion generated by the multiplicity of codes and related initiatives (which would certainly be a help!) and has tested a variety of code implementation strategies and approaches in Turkey. The organisations involved are The Ethical Trading Initiative, The Clean Clothes Campaign, Fairwear Foundation (Netherlands), The Fair Labor Association, Social Accountability International and Workers Rights Consortium (USA).

K

Katherine Hamnett is one of the most high profile campaigners. She has brought organic fashion into the public arena and shown it is possible for organic to enter the mainstream, by launching an organic cotton range for Tesco in 2006.

L

Labour behind the Label is the UK arm of the Clean Clothes Campaign, a worldwide organisation that supports garment workers' efforts to defend their rights. They educate consumers, lobby companies and government, raise awareness, and encourage international solidarity with workers. Their website, http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/ and report ‘fashioning an ethical industry', are both great resources to find out more about improving and monitoring working conditions.

M

Mordents are made from heavy metals and are often used to fix ‘natural' dyes (made from animal or plant extracts), but can be very harmful to the environment if they are not treated properly and enter into the water system.

N

Natural dyes are made from animal or plant extracts. Although this seems like a great idea, in practice a huge amount of natural produce is needed to create these dyes. The produce is not necessarily obtained from sustainable resources, plus harmful heavy metal mordents are often used to ‘fix' the dye. There are also some questions surrounding the ability of these dyes to be a viable ethical alternative to mainstream dyes. 

Natural coloured cotton has a pigmented fibre that means it naturally grows in shades of brown, green and beige. While there is definitely a market for natural coloured cotton, this fibre is not a competitor within the mainstream promotional clothing market as it cannot reproduce the bright colours that are required in the industry.

Natural fibres include cotton, hemp, bamboo, tencel, soy, silk and wool. However, the term ‘natural' can be deceptive as some natural fibres are produced in a way that is extremely harmful to the environment - non organic cotton is one example of this . 

Continues next month...

For more information contact: juliet@eponaclothing.com or go to the Epona website: http://www.eponaclothing.com/

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