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The Clean Clothes Campaign
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Categories of activity

The Clean Clothes Campaign

A 1989 demonstration in front of a Dutch clothing store protesting against poor working conditions in the Philippines where the clothes were actually produced, grew into an ongoing campaign in the Netherlands, called the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC). The campaign, focused on improving working conditions in the global garment and sportswear industries, is now active in 12 other European countries: Austria, Belgium (North and South), Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Each of the European Clean Clothes Campaigns is a coalition of NGOs and trade unions. They work autonomously at the national level, and come together to work jointly at the European level. This European campaign network is backed up by a broader, international network that includes trade unions, NGOs and individuals in countries where garments are produced (in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central America). The Clean Clothes Campaign also cooperates with similar campaigns in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Outside Europe, the Clean Clothes Campaign operates more as an informal network - organizations or individuals do not become official members - but all those involved in the Clean Clothes Campaign network are committed to actively working in cooperation with other network members to improve conditions in the garment and sportswear industries. This means seeking to raise conditions up to the labor standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and also to lessen the environmental impact of garment production. Because a high percentage of workers in the garment industry are women, the Clean Clothes Campaign takes gender issues into account when its formulating strategies. The Clean Clothes Campaign also recognizes that currently, the global production of garments is largely carried out by informal workers and that significant use is made of migrant labor. These factors bring special challenges that the Clean Clothes Campaign seeks to address.

The Clean Clothes Campaign aims to improve working conditions and to empower workers in the global garment industry, in order to end the oppression, exploitation and abuse of workers in this industry, most of whom are women.

The Clean Clothes Campaign has four broad categories of activity that ultimately aim to move us closer to our main goals.

- Putting pressure on companies to take responsibility to ensure that their garments are produced in decent working conditions.

- Supporting workers, trade unions and NGOs in producer countries.

- Raising consumer awareness by providing accurate information about working conditions in the industry, in order to mobilise citizens to use their power as consumers.

- Exploring legal possibilities for improving working conditions and lobbying for legislation to promote good working conditions and to compel governments and companies to themselves become ethical consumers.

Putting pressure on companies to take responsibility to ensure that their products are made in decent working conditions:

We choose major retailers and the major brands as the focus of our campaigns because they are strategic players in the garment and sportswear industry. They are big and they set the standards for the industry. We often focus on sportswear companies because the consumer link is even stronger – as, for example, when they sponsor events. The Clean Clothes Campaign demands from retailers and brands that they adopt codes of conduct based on ILO standards and procedures to put the code into practice  (implementation), regularly monitor whether suppliers comply with the code and have the findings independently checked (verification). The Clean Clothes Campaign has developed a model code as a guideline and is currently involved in several projects to get a better understanding of what would actually constitute a good monitoring and verification system. We also pressure companies to adopt ethical buying practices - for example in relation to pricing and delivery deadlines  – without which suppliers will not be able to improve workplace conditions. Besides making these demands for structural improvements, the Clean Clothes Campaign, through its Urgent Appeals system, also pressures companies to take action on individual instances of violations of workers’ rights.

Supporting workers, trade unions and NGOs in producer countries:

The Clean Clothes Campaign supports workers, for example, via its Urgent Appeals system. Through this system, it receives, checks, disseminates and follows up on specific requests for help where workers’ rights have been violated.  The demands which we make public and pursue are those made by the workers themselves. They take risks when they approach us (in terms of their own personal safety and loss of jobs) and should therefore  be the ones to decide if and how their case is presented to the companies involved, the public and the media.

We also organise research, exchange programmes and international seminars that help create a forum to debate and develop international strategies.

Raising consumer awareness by providing accurate information about working conditions in the industry, in order to mobilise the public:

Multinational corporations (MNCs) spend millions of dollars each year on advertising and marketing campaigns to get consumers to buy the products they are selling. Brand name companies compete intensely for consumer loyalty, which means that consumers can influence how these companies operate. The Clean Clothes Campaign is a public campaign which harnesses the power people have to push for positive, social change. We gather information and present it to consumers in a variety of ways (educational programmes, demonstrations, ads, debates, books, rallies, internet) so that they know the truth about how clothes are produced (low wages, long hours, repression of trade union rights, sexual discrimination, etc.). Armed with this information we encourage citizens to pursue a variety of ways to take action to improve working conditions in the garment industry.

Exploring legal possibilities for improving working conditions and lobbying for legislation to promote good working conditions and to compel governments and companies themselves to become ethical consumers:

Most recently the campaign has explored legal possibilities for improving working conditions. This includes for example investigating the possibility of lawsuits against companies in their home countries for violations of workers’ rights in other countries and lobbying for legislation that would promote good working conditions. The Clean Clothes Campaign believes that governments have an important role to play in ensuring that good labour standards are enforced. In many countries where garments are produced there is good legislation, but enforcement is lax.

The campaign is also actively lobbying for laws that would compel governments to become ethical consumers. Governments - at the local and national levels - spend millions on uniforms, for example, and the Clean Clothes Campaign believes that these should all be produced in workplaces that respect workers' rights.