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What you can do?

Be a critical consumer!
Support the CCC-Urgent Appeals!
Take Action!

Be a critical consumer!

This website does not provide a list of "clean" retailers or manufacturers - things are not really at the point yet where we would feel comfortable endorsing or recommending any companies (since they all have a long way to go). This website offers you information about the social performance of companies, which steps they have already taken and which improvements are needed to achieve better working conditions in their supply chains.

Inform yourself about the performance of your favourite brand!

Some companies have made progress on the policy level, for example by agreeing to have a code of conduct that refers to ILO standards. Of course companies also have to make sure that they put their code into practice and this is where it gets difficult. The Clean Clothes Campaign believes it is important that trade unions and NGOs, and ultimately the workers themselves, have a say in determining how codes are implemented. In that sense we believe the participation of companies in so-called Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSI) is an important step forward. There are several MSIs in operation right now which companies can join including the Ethical Trade Initiative in the UK, the Fair Wear Foundation in the Netherlands and the Fair Labor Association in the US. Being a member does not mean that the clothes the company sells are all OK. What it means is that companies have committed to a certain programme of work, and that workers and their organisations can file a complaint with the MSI if they believe the member company has violated the code.

Keep asking questions!

Keep asking questions in the store where you buy your clothes. Here are just some of the questions you can ask.

- Where does this garment come from?
- Do you know how much workers got paid for making this?
- Does this brand have a code of conduct?
- Are the freedom to join a union and a living wage guaranteed?
- Are the working conditions checked in a credible way?
- Are factory reports available to consumers?

If staff say 'yes' to any of these questions, ask them for proof and/or how they know. Most of the time store personnel will not know the answers, but if we keep asking, their managers must, at some point, try to get some answers from the brands, because they will be sick of being asked questions by their personnel to which they do not have the answers.

Boycotts?

No. The Clean Clothes Campaign wants workers to keep their jobs, so the worst thing that can happen is that companies decide to stop doing business with a factory or country and move somewhere else. What we do ask is production which does not put intolerable pressures on workers to deliver faster and on suppliers to deliver cheaper, both of which lead to poorer working conditions. We ask consumers to help us tell the industry to clean up its act and develop long-term, fairer trading relationships with suppliers.  

Support the CCC Urgent Appeals!

Developing and circulating appeals for urgent action (called “Urgent Appeals” for short) is one way that the Clean Clothes Campaign supports garment workers in specific cases where their rights have been violated.
An Urgent Appeal starts with a request from workers or their organizations that people take action (eg. write a letter or email of protest to a factory owner) and so demonstrate support for workers’ demands in a situation where their rights are not being respected.
The Clean Clothes Campaign frequently receives appeals from workers producing garments and sports shoes for major multinational brands and companies. These companies are vulnerable to public opinion regarding conditions at their suppliers, so concern expressed by activists and the public can have an impact on the action such companies take in relation to these cases. In recent years the campaign has taken up an average of 30 cases per year in nearly as many countries.

Support recent Urgent Appeal cases under: http://www.cleanclothes.org/appeals.htm

Take Action!

Although part of the work of the Clean Clothes Campaign is done in boring offices, meetings, telephone calls, e-mails, negotiations, etc, the Clean Clothes Campaign like every other campaign happens out on the street, in the form of numerous diverse actions by numerous diverse people and groups of people!

And these actions are at the very heart of the Clean Clothes Campaign! Without thousands of people doing hundreds of small actions on the street, in front of shops, in their home, office or club, the Clean Clothes Campaign would cease to exist, let alone have any success.

Actions are how you make the Clean Clothes Campaign work! And it doesn’t have to be big; it is much more important that you do something and that way contribute with thousands of others all over the world to fairer working conditions in the garment and sportswear industry.

You can organise an action alone, with a small group of friends or together with your youth group, football or chess club, party or trade union or with your colleagues at work. It just depends on what you want to do, with whom you like to work,  what scale you want this action to be.

Here are  some examples of what can be done:

- Collect signatures for a Clean Clothes Campaign petition at work and from friends
- Collect signatures in a shopping street
- Organise an ethical fashion show
- Organise a Clean Clothes Campaign fundraising party in your town, to raise funds for international solidarity purposes.
- Organise a protest in front of a store
- Promote urgent appeals among friends and colleagues
- Hold an information stand at an event

Don’t hesitate to get involved  or contact the CCC office in your country to be part of the next CCC action!

10 steps to a successful Clean Clothes Action

1. Planning your group
You can be a member of an organisation or an individual activist.
Try and get support from a professional campaigner and maybe from a representative of local government or another “local personality” as well as from people who are willing to help plan and put an action together.

It is advised to  provide a time schedule and allot duties and responsibilities. Write the minutes of each meeting for maximum clarity and to inform absent planning group members.

2. Identify your issue
This could be the latest Urgent Appeal of the Clean Clothes Campaign or an action for better working conditions in the garment industry in general. Maybe you can make use of an event taking place in your municipality (like a marathon) or an event in your church or club. Have a look at your national Clean Clothes website  [link] or at the international website www.cleanclothes.org to see what  Urgent Appeals, petitions, etc are on-going.

3. Target group
Who is your target group and how can you reach them? What appeals to them most? You will certainly choose a different  action and a different approach depending on whether you want to attract the attention of the general public in a shopping street or of the members of your own club or association.

4. Location
Where do you want your action to take place? What facilities will you find there? What equipment do you need to bring yourself?

5. Permission
Find out whether you need permission from the municipality or the owners of the  venue, to hold your action.

6. Date
When do you want the action to take place? Maybe you want to connect your action to a day of action of a specific event. Please keep in mind that for bigger actions involving different organisations, and requiring permits, you need to plan further ahead.

7. Materials
Think about how you will circulate the info and what materials and equipment you’ll need.
For example: invitations, flyers, posters, balloons, stickers, information boards, camera, information stands, banners, tents, electric generators, microphone, music, “emergency kit” (a pair of scissors, tape, band-aid, nails, hammer, screwdriver, writing utensils, string), food and drinks, etc

Think about transport to the place of the action and back! Ask your national Clean Clothes Campaign for information materials and other props.

8. Script
You'll need a detailed time schedule and a list of responsible persons for the action.

9. Test run
Rehearse your action before you appear in public. Invite your friends to play your audience.

10. Media work
It’s good to invite the local press to the action. Inform the appropriate journalists about the action and/or send out a press release including an appropriate picture and contact information.