Where Was Fashion at COP26?

Where Was Fashion at COP26?

Friday, 26 November 2021

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By now, we all know that COP26 was a failure. It feels almost astounding how little it managed to achieve apart from the extent to which it highlighted our world leaders are the major climate hypocrites that they are.

But where was the fashion industry in all this?

At the entrance of the Blue Zone, where all the politicians and official representatives attended and took part in events, panels, and talks, the fashion industry was centre stage with an exhibition created by Sustainable Fashion Scotland Beira and ZWD. This installation, titled Generation of Waste, consisted of eight caged pillars highlighting the textile waste created at each stage of a garment’s life cycle, from design all the way through to its end-of-life. Acting as a parallel to the way national growths and economies are often measured and displayed with these pillars acting as a bar chart together to highlight the urgent need for degrowth and the full extent of fashion’s waste problem. And it is a big waste problem: 144 million tonnes of textile waste generated globally every year. That’s enough to fit 2975 Hydro buildings (COP’s venue).

Not only have Generation of Waste put fashion’s waste crisis directly in front of high-profiled COP-delegates from around the world, they have also been sharing more detailed information on their website (which was linked via a QR code on the exhibition) and social media platforms. For example, did you know that $5.6 million worth of textile waste is generated globally every year as a direct result from the distribution of clothes and that that is the equivalent of employing an additional 400 garment workers in the USA every year? Or can you imagine if the money used to manufacture those clothes in the first place was instead used to play the workers who made them a decent living wage? So many problems would be solved. The figure of only 2% of garment workers worldwide being paid a living wage could be radically transformed if brands took ownership of the waste crisis and pumped the money they spend on clothes that ultimately end up in landfill into the wage packets of their workers. The solution are there waiting for us, we just need them to be set in motion.

Credit: Lateral North

The UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change Progress Report was also launched with updates from its original 2018-iteration at the conference. This pledge signed by +180 brands (notably not by major-offender brands like Boohoo and Shein). One significant part of the pledge includes a commitment for brands to reach net-zeros no later than 2050 and to half their emissions by 2030. As George Harding-Rells highlighted in a recent panel with XR Fashion Action, a lot of brands who have signed the UNFCCC have done so as a means to further greenwash themselves. We see the same brands who time and time again are signing these voluntary agreements but in reality making very little change. Yes, you guessed right, the H&M Group have signed it but are still producing clothes at an astronomic rate. What we’ve not seen with these voluntary commitments is major offender brands like Boohoo and Shein showing any willingness whatsoever to even try to lessen their environmental impacts – and they’re the types of brands we desperately need to be doing more. He also pointed out that many of the signatory brands have made their own net-zero claims in previous years and have done very little to demonstrate their actions are aligning with such commitments, especially around degrowth. If clothing production has more than doubled in the past 15 years, then we need drastic collective action to prevent production rates from escalating even further, let alone reducing them. Even if all the clothes were made using the most sustainable fabrics possible, it would all mean nothing if we continue to produce our clothes at such a high rate.

On the same XR Fashion Action panel, Bel Jacobs looked at the broader greenwashing net-zero pledges allow throughout all industries and government, as a term and commitment which is there to make people feel better about themselves while still emitting carbon at the same or similar levels. We don’t need any more net-zero pledges for 2030 or 2050, we need as little carbon emitted as possible, as soon as possible.

There were also many less formal events organized by grassroots groups all across the city, from information events and open studios, to clothes swaps and mending workshops. Fashion Revolution also had bloc at Global Day of Action March on the first Saturday of the event and were present in the main venue. We know that big fast fashion brands aren’t going to give us the solutions, but the people who were connecting and organising in the outskirts of the venue are the ones who give me hope and energy and who are the ones from whom change will come.

At a recent XR Fashion Action panel event it as highlighted that ‘while some elements of fashion had a large presence at COP, the industry’s enormous reliance on fossil fuels is being consistently ignored by our global political leaders and corporations’. Somehow, COP26 was the first time that the need to put an end to fossil fuels was formally and explicitly recognized by world leaders. Yep, somehow they didn’t think to recognise that at the first COP in 1992. Seems pretty obvious to me but we move. Congrats to world leaders for just managing to realise that fossil fuels are bad. Pat on the back for you.

What we need now is the delegates with power at COP26 to take that now-formal need to dismantle the fossil fuel industry into action – implementing and enforcing legislation around both the fossil fuel and fashion industries and severely limiting how much polyester is manufactured (if any) by fashion brands, as one of the most popular fabrics currently used that just so happens to also be made plastic aka fossil fuels.  At COP, this supposedly came through Textile Exchange Trade Policy Request through which over 50 fashion brands and textile companies called on national governments to take action to encourage the use of environmentally-friendly fabrics and materials, with a particular push against polyester. There is no doubt that we need to cut out polyester from our lives. The fashion industry at the moment uses over 700 million tonnes of oil to go towards the production of polyester – that means there’s more oil used for the production of polyester in fashion than Spain uses as an entire country. However, like the UNFCCC, workers and the people (mostly women) at the heart of the fashion industry are not mentioned. They need to be at the forefront of change.

We have seen time and time again governments ignore calls from campaigners to create change and enforce better workers’ rights standards and take a meaningful stand for the planet. The UK Government has refused to take action in preventing the exploitation of garment workers several times, most recently with Priti Patel claiming that the reason there wasn’t any intervention in the Boohoo sweatshops in Leicester was because of the fear police would be seen as ‘racist’ if they did. Over a year before those allegations came to the mainstream news, the Government failed to implement policy suggestions made in the Environmental Audit Committee’s Fixing Fashion report, published in February 2019. Action then could have prevented further exploitation of marginalised garment workers in Leicester at the very beginning of the pandemic.

In order for true impact to be had on the global stage, governments need to be taking climate justice issues seriously on the domestic level. Host states cannot be preaching about their apparent climate leadership while time and time again proving they are not committed to taking meaningful actions themselves. Fashion needs to be discussed more prominently in conferences like these, and workers’ rights need to be at the forefront of negotiations. The next COP should prioritise unions of workers in previously colonised countries and the voices of indigenous people who are most affected by the climate crisis instead of allowing fossil fuel companies to perpetuate their greenwashing as the largest delegation in attendance.

If you like my work and have learned something from it, please consider helping support me (so I have more time to write posts and articles like these!) by buying me a virtual cuppa! 

If you liked this post you might like: My Experience with #NoNewClothes and Slow Fashion Season

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25 Ways to Take Climate Action After the IPCC Report

25 Ways to Take Climate Action After the IPCC Report

Wednesday, 18 August 2021

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Climate news is incredibly overwhelming right now. All regions of the Earth are either burning or flooding right now, at rates we’ve never seen before. The IPCC report that came out last week only confirmed everything we already knew, but with all of that information in one place combined with the events of this year, it impresses the situation more urgently on us. We all need to be taking action in whatever capacity we can. Here are 25 things you could be doing to help tackle the climate crisis. These aren’t necessarily things that are accessible to everyone, but the point is to do whatever you can. Maybe pick 3-5 to know that you can do and commit to ensuring you do them. Many of the actions I have included on this list aren’t things that should be done once and forgotten about once you’ve given yourself a pat on the back. Make sure you’re continuously doing things and make that as easy for yourself to do (however that may be). The important thing is that we all do something.

 

1. Sign the Stop Cambo open letter (UK)

 

Oil giant Shell are currently trying to seek approval from the UK Government to build a new oil field off the coast of Shetland - as you might have guessed, the field would be called Cambo. These plans are currently going ahead, with apparent approval by the Government (despite claims of ignorance by the Prime Minister). It is expected to extract up to 170 million barrels of oil from 2025-2050. 2050 is the year the UK has pledged to be net carbon neutral. This proposal goes against all the environmental pledges the UK has made, including its signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015 and declaring a climate emergency in 2019. If Cambo went ahead, it would be catastrophic. 

 

Check out all the links in their linktree, which contains loads of information, resources, and ways to take action. These include the open letter, emailing representatives, and joining protests. 

2. Email your MPs

 

This one gets brought up all the time but honestly, if you have political representatives you need to be communicating with them. They are the ones with the potential for influence and to make larger impacts, let them know you want them to act and act now. Email them constantly, badger them, hold them to account and fill their inboxes. They should being doing more, they should be doing better – they need to be doing better.

 

If you’re not sure what to do or how to contact your MP, you can check out the websites Write to Them for their contact details (as well as those of your councilors), and They Work For You for their voting records and previous offices held.

 

3. Support the Stop Line 3 Campaign (USA)

 

Over the years there have been many, often and frustratingly successful, attempts to build new or expanded oil pipelines through indigenous lands in North America. You might have heard about the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines in this context? Well the new pipeline on the block is Line 3, which is proposed to run from the Alberta Tar Sands in Canada through to Wisconsin, USA. In the same vein as Cambo, we cannot be extracting any more fossil fuels. This needs to stop urgently – it needs to have stopped already. 

 

Head to their Instagram and campaign website for ways to get involved. 

 

4. Join Green New Deal Rising

 

Green New Deal Rising are a youth campaigning group aiming for the implementation of a Green New Deal in the UK. It’s aims are: to decarbonise, fast; jobs and a just transition; transform the economy; protect and restore; and to promote global justice. For more detail on all of these points and what they entail, they included detailed explanations on their website. 

 

Their strategies are to disrupt the political system, force politicians to choose a side (cough, Keir Starmer, cough) reach out into our communities, and to elect inspiring green new deal champions. They have already been doing this, with amazing work holding politicians like Nicola Sturgeon and Keir Starmer to account and challenging them directly in-person on issues such as Stop Cambo and the Green New Deal. 

 

It’s free to sign up and they have regular welcome calls to help get you involved. And you don’t have to be a young person to get involved with the campaign for a Green New Deal – have a look here for ways to get involved. 

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5. Donate to get Unite for Climate Action to COP26

 

Unite for Climate Action are a group of young people from Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, who have been either directly or indirectly affected climate change trying to get to COP26. These are the people we need at the decision-making table. They need to be at the heart of the discussions and to be leading the way in strategies to tackle this crisis. 

 

Unite for Climate Action are aiming to change whose voices are heard at COP26, as previously most young people at these international conferences have been from the Global North – not representative of the people who are most affected by the climate crisis. They are also starting a new educational series which I for one am looking forward to taking part in – knowledge is key to tackling the climate crisis! 

 

They need £70,000 to get to COP26. If you can please support them to get there.  

 

6. Turn up to protests in your local area

 

Direct action has been proven to work time and time again throughout the years with so many different causes. In fact I don’t think you can say any cause has achieved anything without the use of direct action, in whatever form. Protest and direction are crucial to tackling the climate crisis and ensuring governments listen. Countries like the UK claim to be democracies but fail to act when citizens call for change. We must make them listen and act. Join in wherever and however you can. 

 

Before Covid you would regularly see protests in city centres on all sorts of issues, particularly the climate crisis. These included the regular Friday school strikes started by Greta Thunberg. Now, they’re a bit rarer but still happening. Covid has still changed things – I would frequently turn up to protests before Covid but haven’t attended one since the pandemic as it’s a prospect that’s still pretty terrifying to me – even though I am hoping to be able to attend protests in a few months depending on case levels. If your mental health and capacity to other actions will be compromised through being around a large group of people, skip this and focus on other ways to make change. But still support protestors, stand up for the right to protest whenever it is under threat (as it is in many countries all over the world, including the UK), and attend whenever it is accessible for you to do so. 

 

7. Demand fashion brands sign the Bangladesh Accord

 

On 24^th April 2013, the Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed, killing +1,330 people and injuring over 2,500. It was the worst industrial disaster the fashion industry had ever experienced. In its aftermath, over 200 brands, along with several workers’ organisations and trade unions, signed the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety. The Accord is legally binding and ensures basic health and safety measures in garment factories in Bangladesh. It is huge and makes real impact on the welfare of garment workers. It is the bare minimum and it is also under threat. 

 

The Accord is due to expire on 31^st August, and the progress we have seen since Rana Plaza could go down the drain. Workers’ rights and the environment are intrinsically linked, and garment workers deserve to know they are safe in their workplaces. So far, only 12 brands have committed to renewing the Accord. That’s an unacceptable number. Brands who still refuse to renew the Accord include H&M, Zara, Primark, American Eagle, M&S, Aldi, Matalan and a whole load more. 

 

To take action, tag them in social media posts, comment on their social media posts about it, and send them emails directly asking why they haven’t renewed the Accord. For more information and ways to take action, head to Remake and Clean Clothes Campaign. 

 

8. Donate to Choose Earth

 

Choose Earth is an offshoot campaign from Earthrise and Choose Love – an organisation you’ve probably heard about who do loads of amazing work with displaced people. Choose Earth however raises funds specifically for indigenous Environmental Human Rights Defenders in Brazil. It’s a great way to directly support those on the front lines of climate change, and those who know how best to take care of the Earth and to live in harmony with it. Head to the Choose Earth website to donate as well as to find more educational resources on the climate and indignenous rights. 

 

9. Talk to the people around you about the issue

 

While everyone is somewhat aware of the climate crisis, I don’t think everyone truly gets how far it has gone and how much needs to be done to lessen its damage. Talk about it to literally everyone – friends, family, flatmates, grandparents, a random person in a coffee shop, on a first date, teachers, students, anyone and everyone you can. Talk about it, spread awareness of the facts and encourage everyone you can to take action. 

 

This can also count with sharing articles, magazines, books etc. with people in your life. Even if that is sharing an online article with those people on Facebook, or casually suggesting someone can borrow a magazine on climate issues (like Shado Mag, Atmos, and It’s Freezing in LA) that you’ve finished reading. 

 

10. Challenge mainstream media depictions of the climate crisis

 

Lots of mainstream media are getting their climate coverage incredibly wrong. Specific cases come to mind of BBC Newsbeat interviewing Boohoo CEO John Lyttle about the fashion industry’s polluting nature only for him to defend his horrifically toxic company, and on coverage of the recent heatwave in the UK, asking how we get used to this heat with little mention of its causes. 

 

Reporting like this is not okay. We need to be shouting at every moment that this is down to the climate crisis and to hold our governments and billionaire CEOs accountable for their actions. Call media outlets out for their portrayals. Write to them demanding better. We deserve better. We deserve for the climate crisis to be covered like the emergency it is. It should be on the front cover of every newspaper every week if not every day and should be highlighted in every news reel.  

 

11. Support legal campaigns like Paid to Pollute

 

Legal challenges tackle our governments head on, and the Paid to Pollute case gives me so much hope and motivation. It is currently going to the High Court, and the UK Government has made many attempts to quash it, but has so far failed. This case, brought forward by claimants Mikaela Loach, Jeremy Cox, and Kairin van Sweeden, says that the UK Government is not living up to the promises it made by signing the Paris Agreement in 2015. They are using the evidence of public payments to big polluters such as Shell and BP, and the proposals of new oil fields such as Cambo (which I mentioned in number 1). 

 

To show your support, follow them on social media, donate to the case, spread awareness of the case, sign the petition, and write to your MP telling them they have your support. The Paid to Pollute is something to celebrate and has the potential for huge impact.  

Image source

 

12. Read, learn, take in information on the climate

 

In order to tackle an issue effectively, you need to understand the issue properly. I’m not saying I’m perfect when it comes to knowledge on the climate. I have specialist knowledge to the fashion industry in particular, but I’m trying to have more basic understandings of other areas. But ultimately we don’t all need to be experts on every single factor, we just need to know the basics. 

 

Books I’d recommend include This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein, We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer, and Stitched Up by Tansy Hoskins. There are loads others, but those are some of the ones I’ve recently read and would recommend. I’m also particularly looking forward to Aja Barber and Leah Thomas’ upcoming books! 

 

As I mention earlier, I’d recommend also reading magazines such as Shado Mag, It’s Freezing in LA, and Atmos who have lots of detailed articles both online and in print on these issues. 

 

There are a whole host of podcasts to listen to as well. Some of my favourites include Idealistically, The Yikes Podcast, Drilled, Outrage and Optimism, and Remember Who Made Them. Reasons to Be Cheerful have also started a series of episodes on the climate crisis in the run up to COP26. 

You can also check out documentaries such as Earthrise's The Breakdown series and Remake's 'Made In' series. There are so many relevant documentaries out there so see what you can find.

With everything, make sure you're thinking critically about the documentaries, books, podcasts, etc. you're consuming. Research what other people (especially more marginalised people) are saying about them - for instance, think twice whenever David Attenborough mentions overpopulation.

Image source

 

13. Donate to support people displaced by extreme weather events

 

Thousands of people have been displaced by the recent extreme weather events. As well as campaigning for their international protection (see number 17), it you have the funds, give to support people in the immediate aftermath of losing their homes. They need direct and urgent support. Organisations seeking donations to support people are often shared after these disasters occur so if you see them and have the means, please do support them. Sometimes they get shared by larger accounts too. Basically keep your eyes open and support where you can.

 

Places currently dealing with the aftermath of climate disasters include: Greece, Turkey, California, Algeria, and Haiti, along with a whole load more. If you have any fundraisers or organisations seeking donations you want to recommend, please share them in the comments of this post so other readers can access them. Similarly, if you know of fundraisers having more direct impact than the ones I've shared please contact me so I can highlight fundraisers with the most possible impact.

 

14. Change your bank to a more ethical one

 

This is something that can be relatively easily done by most people. Most of the big banks are awful, with investments in fossil fuels, arms trades, and a whole host of other all-round bad things. Not something we want to be supporting and not something that’s good for the planet. Have a research of your current bank’s ethics and of those of prospective banks. I would also recommend reading Besma’s post on ethical banks as a shortcut! 

 

*Note for people with student/graduate accounts!* You may have more restrictions on changing banks if you have these kinds of accounts. In the months leading up to my graduation, I was researching more ethical banks and was hoping to switch from Santander (we all love the free railcard with that one) to Nationwide. I was then told that I couldn’t switch to their graduate account as I’d not had an account with them previously and that to change my student account to another student account I would need to do so while I was still in the first 18 months of my course. This was when I was 2 months from completing it. As I still want to keep my free overdraft that comes with a graduate account, I have to stay with Santander for a bit longer, but I’ll be changing completely as soon as I feel like I can do without it. 

 

15. Sign the Make My Money Matter petition

 

Make My Money Matter is a campaign which aims to make pension funds kinder for both people and planet. I’ve just graduated, I don’t have a pension right now, but it’s something that a huge number of people do have and a way that you can have significant impact. Just like big banks, many pension funds are invested in industries such as fossil fuels, tobacco, and weapons without us ever really realising. Not great. With so many pensions in existence, they have the potential to help change where gets more money. 

 

As well as signing the petition, check out the Make My Money Matter website for help on how to take control of your own pension and more information on the issue itself. 

 

16. Slow down your fashion consumption

 

This is something I have written extensively about, both on this blog and in articles elsewhere. Have a look through my slow fashion posts to learn more about how and why the fashion industry is currently so damaging to both people and planet. You could start with this one, or this one, or this one. After you’ve informed yourself a bit more through those posts, try and ensure you wear your clothes for more times than usual and think more closely about how often and where you’re buying clothes. 

17. Show your support for migrant and refugee rights

 

Out of basic human empathy this is something you should be doing anyway, but this issue is going to become more prominent as the climate crisis worsens. We are already seeing climate refugees, as thousands are displaced by extreme weather events all over the world. Kiribati, an island in the Pacific, has almost been submerged by rising sea levels and a recent case in New Zealand denied someone from Kiribati asylum there last year. However that case did leave potential for change in future cases once the situation has worsened. The issue of refugee and migrant rights was already essential and urgent, but with the climate crisis steadily worsening and displacing more and more people, it will only become more so. We need to stand up for people to have the right to live somewhere safely and to be given provisions. Everyone deserves safety. 

 

We also need to change what we think determines someone to be a refugee – the climate crisis is not currently a factor considered, conflict is the main factor recognised when granting asylum. In addition to being displaced by extreme weather events, the climate crisis is also known to increase the likelihood of war and conflict in regions most affected. In fact it has already impacted current and previous wars. The rights of people fleeing these areas in order to survive need to be protected. To achieve climate justice, we need to ensure the people most directly affected by the climate crisis are at the heart f our actions, strategies, and policies. 

 

In the UK specifically, this means challenging the racist policies trying to be implemented by Home Secretary Priti Patel. Patel has several bills currently going through Parliament which would be incredibly harmful to people seeking asylum as well as all migrants. Her Nationality and Borders Bill goes against many human rights set out by the UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and the UN Refugee Convention 1951. Particularly under threat is the principle of non-refoulement which essentially means that it is against a person’s human rights to be sent back to a country they have fled where they are under threat. Just basic human kindness and empathy, right? Well that’s what our Home Secretary and entire government are lacking. This bill is one of the most horrendous pieces of legislation to be put to Parliament, and it needs to be challenged. It is currently still in the committee stages in the Commons, so add this to your list of things to write to your MP about and to challenge in protests. It is not okay. 

Image source

 

18. Check the sustainability of your energy suppliers

 

Energy is a common topic of discussion when it comes to the climate crisis – whether that’s on larger scales or the individual brands we use in our own homes. And it’s important to discuss. 

 

This is not an area I can claim to be an expert in by any stretch of the imagination, but it is something I want to learn more about. Octopus Energy is a name that gets brought up regularly, and has People’s Energy and Bristol Energy. Have a bit of a dig, question your current suppliers to ask what they’re doing to reduce their impacts, and try and find a supplier you’re happier with. And yes, this is something I’m going to try and make more time to research myself. 

 

19. Sign the petition for a Wellbeing Economy

 

We need to move away from an emphasis on GDP to evaluating our state success in terms of the wellbeing of the people and planet. What’s the point of having a shit tonne of GDP if 4.3 million children are living in poverty? We need to rethink the way we see success. Ultimately that would mean moving away from the capitalist system all together, and while that is a bit of big step for the next few months, this is something that might help.

 

This petition is spearheaded by the likes of Caroline Lucas MP and seeks to change our focus on growth to a focus on ‘health and wellbeing of people and planet’. It currently has +40,000 signatures, and while the government has responded with something a bit vague and non-commital, it would need 100,000 before the 26^th September to be debated in Parliament. Help get this debated in Parliament and bring it to the attention of friends, families, and your local MPs. In discussions with people you know, bring up the idea that would should be prioritizing health over growth and profit, start changing attitudes on a smaller level as well as bringing up on a national one. 

 

20. If you can, try and eat fewer animal products and eat more plant-based

 

This is something that gets brought about time and time again when discussing individual action, and while it’s not accessible for everyone to do completely, it’s something that is important as we do know that eating fewer animal products is better for the environment. As someone who has been vegan now for over 3 years (!), I can tell you there is lots of very tasty vegan food out there for you. Cutting out meat and dairy doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavour. If you’re still not convinced, have a read of We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer. 

21. Call out greenwashing wherever you see it

 

In the past year greenwashing has reached new heights. Honestly, it’s ridiculous. Particular offenders include Amazon, H&M, Shell, and now Boohoo are upping their game too. If you want to learn more about the new tactics of fashion brands, check out this article I recently wrote for Remake!

 

As I’ll go into in more depth in a future bog post, greenwashing is essentially when a brand spends more time, money, and resources on marketing its products as sustainable than actually making its products sustainable. Take H&M for example. They launched their Conscious Collection in 2012 and have recently launched a new campaign highlighting child climate activists, and yet there is no proof they pay their workers a living wage, they have refused to renew the Bangladesh Accord, and at the beginning of this year 21-year-old garment worker Jeyasre Kathiravel (who made clothes for H&M) was raped and murdered by her factory supervisor after months of sexual harassment from him. What was that about being ‘Conscious’ H&M?

 

Green-trolling is our friend here. Call them out online. Brands care about their reputation. Their reputation has a lot of impact on keeping their profits high. Drag them down publicaly, in private conversations, in emails, share that article about their latest ethics scandal to family and friends. Express your outrage in whatever way you and encourage the people around you to boycott them if they can (spoiler alert: many people can, or can at least start slowing down their consumption). Again, express this outrage to your MPs and call for legislation about what brands can claim in advertising campaigns. Currently it’s like the Wild West when it comes to sustainability claims. 

 

22. Sign the petition to prevent oil giants from attending COP26

 

While groups like Unite for Climate Action should be the ones leading the conversation, the main instigators of the climate crisis should not. Frankly, they shouldn’t be driving the narrative as that way they avoid accountability. They need to be interrogated, face consequences, and ultimately forced to change. Not attending a COP summit should be part of this wake up call for them. 

 

23. Look for local organising groups for you to get involved with

 

There are so many climate activist groups out there, and within those so many roles as well. There truly is a role for everyone, even if, as Tolmeia Gregory says, that’s simply making tea in meetings. Search something like ‘climate action group’ and the name of your local area. Try different variations and see what comes up. There are lots of different larger organisations who will have regional groups as well, and ask around people that you know either in person or online for information about how to get involved. Hey, you could always create your own group! 

 

If you’re a student, check out what societies are at your uni. Groups like People & Planet are doing great work targeted specifically for students to hold universities accountable. 

 

24. At job interviews, ask what your prospective employer is doing to be more sustainable

 

If you’re like me and feel like your life is mostly made up of job applications right now, this will be relevant to you! If you get interviews at some of the jobs you’re applying for, ask your interviewer what the company is doing to tackle the climate crisis? Even if they don’t have a good answer, it will bring the issue onto their agenda and show that this is something jobseekers care about. I saw someone mention this on a Facebook group and honestly think it is brilliant.  

 

25. Ensure you have joy in your life

 

If there’s no dancing in the revolution, I don’t want it. I can’t remember who I’m paraphrasing there but the point is true. We need joy in whatever world we live in, and ultimately an ideal world would not be ideal unless it had joy. Joy is what sustains us, if that’s in the form of a late night dance party, our favourite takeaway, or laughs with friends. We need joy, otherwise none of this will be worth it. Have joy to keep on going. 

If you like my work and have learned something from it, please consider helping support me (so I have more time to write posts and articles like these!) by buying me a virtual cuppa! 

If you liked this post you might like: 5 Quick Ways To Learn About Fast Fashion When You Don't Have Much Time

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Boohoo and the Welfare of Migrant Garment Workers in Leicester

Boohoo and the Welfare of Migrant Garment Workers in Leicester

Wednesday, 4 August 2021

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This was originally written as part of my BA English Literature and Politics and has been adapted as a blog post. 

Garment workers have been a long exploited group, with only an estimated 2% paid a living wage worldwide, and significant and regular events of workplace violence and neglect (such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in 2013, and more recently workers being forced to work through lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in unsafe conditions). For migrant garment workers, a large proportion of this workforce worldwide, this precariousness is only increased. 

According to a recent report by NGO Labour Behind the Label - which the Ethical Trading Initiative stated it ‘believes to be an accurate summary of the challenges facing the industry’ -  the average wage of garment workers in Leicester is only £3 per hour, well below the National Minimum wage. Irregular migrant workers have been reported to be paid even less, with some cases at just £1 per hour. Government policies such as the ‘hostile environment’ result in the removal of the agency of migrant workers to challenge their employers and as they are unable to bring formal complaints against their employers, unionise or ask for support from their MPs for fear of being arrested or deported. Migration status therefore affects the workers’ conditions greatly as factory owners are able to further reduce the working conditions and wages without receiving any legal consequences.  

Additionally, young women are overrepresented this area, with women aged 18-24 making up 80% of garment workers worldwide, meaning most are more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation as a result of the intersection of their gender and migrant status. 

The UK’s garment factories are mostly concentrated in Leicester. There are several fast fashion brands who dominate the Leicester factories, notably Boohoo Group Ltd., which sources 80% of its stock from Leicester and accounts for an estimated 80% of the total production in the city (a figure which increased from 60-70% during the first few weeks of the pandemic). The issue of garment workers’ rights, particularly migrant garment workers’ rights, has been raised to authorities and the government many times in recent years and has been largely ignored. Home Secretary Priti Patel based this lack of response on “cultural sensitivities” and authorities not acting for fear of being ‘labeled as racist’ despite it being her job to uphold the law.

These issues have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which raised the issue to as a part of a wider public health crisis. Garment workers being forced to continue to work throughout the first national lockdown has been closely associated with Leicester becoming the first area in the UK to be put into local lockdown. The welfare of migrant garment workers in the UK is therefore a crucial part of policy within the government’s COVID-19 response which also affects the local population drastically. This similarly impacts the British state through the loss of tax income, as these migrants’ employment is undocumented and reported. Indeed, one factory has already been charged with a tax avoidance strategy. If factories’ finances were closely monitored and workers’ paid ethical wages, tax could be more accurately collected. 

Main image source from LBTL 2020 report

Context

The specifics of the migrant garment worker population in Leicester are mostly uncertain, due to the irregular nature of their immigration status and illegal practices of employers. However, as there are one thousand known garment factories in Leicester, each having around ten to twenty-five workers and roughly 33.6% of these workers are migrants, it can be estimated that there are anywhere between 3,300 - 8,300 migrants working in Leicester’s garment sector. That means migrant garment workers make up 0.94-2.3% of Leicester’s overall population of 355,218.

              

Similarly, the exact nature of their migration is also uncertain, although we have some rough information. For example, many migrant garment workers are irregular, however this has diverse meanings. Some have arrived irregularly, while others are in the UK regularly but do not have the right to work, so became irregular migrants once they started work in these factories. This emphasis on the right to work highlights that while migrant garment workers in Leicester voluntarily for economic reasons, others may be part of other groups, such as asylum seekers, who do not have the right to work in the UK until and if they gain refugee status. It is this irregular status which has significant impact on migrant garment workers and the wider effects of such treatment. 

There are various reasons why garment workers may migrate to work in Leicester (if they are migrating voluntarily) including better legal protections for workers in the UK, such as the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and a higher minimum wage than in other garment producing countries. For example, the minimum wage in Bangladesh is 8,000 takas a month, the equivalent of 85 euros. A worker could earn the same amount after less than nine hours on the UK National Minimum wage of £8.72 per hour. However, these legal protections are not always enforced and therefore do not meet the expectations of migrant workers. Indeed, Leicester has been referred to as being outside UK employment law.

It is also important to highlight the wider global context of the garment industry amid the Covid-19 pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic many fashion brands withheld payment from suppliers for orders which had already been placed and, in many cases, had already been produced or partly produced, leaving many garment workers and their dependents without an income. This sparked public outcry and the start of non-profit Remake’s #PayUp campaign, which remains ongoing over nine months after its launch.

Critique of Policy

The unethical working conditions and breaches of employment law in garment factories in Leicester have been known for several years and been reported on several times in the past decade, in so far as the exploitation in the city has been referred to several times as ‘an open secret’. These include reports by BBC and Channel 4 in 2010 and 2017, a 2015 report by University of Leicester and ETI, and later the issue being brought directly to the UK Government through the Environmental Audit Committee’s report, Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability in February 2019. Despite these reports and awareness of the issue, the UK Government has done very little in direct response to migrant garments workers in Leicester. NGO Fashion Revolution highlights how ‘[m]inisters essentially rejected each and every recommendation in the [Fixing Fashion] report, often citing alternatives courses of action for the issues in question, without committing to any tangible policies’. By responding to the report in a vague and non-committal way, the Government ‘appears to be concerned and engaged,’ yet there is no policy change being made at all. Home Secretary Priti Patel has stated that the reason many of these illegal factories have not been investigated is due to ‘cultural insensitivities’. This highlights how the Government’s willingness to act on this issue, either through the creation of new policies or the enforcement of pre-existing policies, is due to the cultural and ethnic background of this group of migrants.

Whilst there have been no direct policies made in regards to this migrant demographic, there are two main areas of policy which do impact them: immigration policy and labour policy. The most notable aspects of these policies are the ‘hostile environment policy’ – a campaign against irregular immigration which began in 2012 and includes legislation such as the Immigration Act 2014 and Immigration Act 2016 - and the Modern Slavery Act 2015. These policies are in tension with each other, as the Modern Slavery Act 2015 seeks to uphold human rights and dignity of workers, whereas the ‘hostile environment policy’ seeks to remove that dignity in a ‘race to the bottom’ in order to deter (officially irregular) immigrants from coming to or staying in the UK.

The ‘hostile environment policy’ is key to the welfare of migrant garment workers in Leicester, as it is a key driver in the deterioration in working conditions of migrant garment workers in Leicester, and as a consequence also impacting on the working conditions of garment workers who are British citizens. The main aim of this policy is to ‘deny illegal immigrants access to work, housing and services, even bank accounts’, and as a result deter them from immigrating to the UK or force them to return to their country of origin. 

This policy means that irregular migrants are at a higher risk of exploitation and abuse as they frequently feel unable to come forward to report their exploitation or bring their employers to court for the fear that they will be incarcerated, separated from their families, or deported. Similarly, it means that irregular migrant workers are more likely to accept illegal wages where payment is cash-in-hand in order avoid official channels where they may be arrested by authorities. There have also been cases where factory owners have held documents proving that someone has the right to work in the UK from their employees, meaning that although they are regular migrants they have lost the means to prove so and would thus likely be treated by authorities as if they were irregular. Garment factories have frequently been the subject of immigration raids.  This further increases psychological trauma for the workers as well as heighten their anxiety around coming into contact with authorities. There are also migrant workers who, although they are in the UK regularly, do not have the entitlement to work and thus become irregular migrants through this decision to work. This would suggest that it is likely there are some migrant garment workers who are also asylum seekers – an already incredibly vulnerable group who are dependent on the government for their entire welfare and survival. Indeed, a state’s labour market can be seen as a key component of aiding integration, as a way for migrants to meet locals, make friends, foster a sense of belonging, learn about local attitudes and culture, and contribute to the economy.

These effects of these policies have not been uniform. The degree to which workers are affected is dependent on their migrant status, gender, and educational background (especially in terms of their English language abilities). As has already been established, migrant status is key due to the impacts of the ‘hostile environment policy’, first implemented in 2012. The causes of this restrictive policy are quite diverse, and are can be seen as echoing public anti-immigrant sentiment, as evidenced by Dempster and Hargrave (2017, 10), who highlight that the UK public has often favoured restrictive policies. This sentiment can be seen as exacerbated through the effects of the 2008 financial crash, Brexit, and the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the threat perception of immigration is thought to be a state of the nation issue, and the nation is undeniably in severe crisis. 

The impacts of the lack of response are felt more acutely depending on gender. As women are also much more likely to be discriminated against as a result of pregnancy, and are also subject to increased risk of sexual harassment and assault. Any reporting measures they could have taken have been made inaccessible to them as a result of the hostile environment and their likely precarious status. This is especially relevant as the garment industry has a very gendered workforce.

In addition to the issues caused by the ‘hostile environment policy,’ there are intersecting issues caused by the enforcement of the labour policies such as the Modern Slavery Act 2015. There have been concerns ‘raised by the Public Accounts Committee that the Government does not monitor whether statements made under the Modern Slavery Act comply with the legislation and has never used its powers to penalize companies that do not comply’. Without effective enforcement, the Modern Slavery Act cannot achieve its main aim ‘to tackle slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking’. This affects all workers in the UK, not only migrant garment workers, however this demographic are more vulnerable to employers exploiting this lack of enforcement. This lack of enforcement of this law means that exploitation is normalized, not only for migrant workers but local workers too.

The Government’s response to this issue has also had previously unseen effects on the security of this group of migrants through the way they have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, it emerged that garment factories in Leicester had been open throughout the first national lockdown along with ‘numerous reports of furlough fraud, workers being forced to come into work while sick with COVID-19, workers wishing to isolate being denied pay, factories operating illegally throughout lockdown, and of workers being forced to work in conditions of modern slavery’. This has been linked by many parties, including NGOs, campaigners and politicians, to Leicester having high rates of COVID-19 earlier on in the year and being the first city to go into lockdown. Indeed, as people from ethnic minorities, particularly South Asian people, are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 - largely as a result socioeconomic factors such as the ability for workers to stay at home, housing quality, geographic location (e.g. in urban areas), this means that garment workers in Leicester are also disproportionately impacted as most are from ethnic minorities and a significant proportion of migrant garment workers in the city are from South Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. 

Had the UK Government taken the appropriate measures in 2019, when the Fixing Fashion report was brought to them, to ensure that garment factories in Leicester were complying with ethical standards of working and that brands, such as those in the Boohoo Group, were more transparent about the standards in their supply chains, their subsequent COVID-19 control strategy may have been more effective in the city and surrounding areas. By acting to support migrant worker populations in the UK and ensure safe working conditions, the health and safety of the local population is also more protected. 

Conclusions 

Migrant status is key to the labour conditions of migrant garment workers in Leicester as the restrictive policies included as part of the hostile environment prevent them from participating in unions, from reporting their working conditions to authorities, from appealing their wages, etc., for the fear they would be deported. As many of these workers are women, they are similarly unable to report incidents of sexual harassment or even assault in their workplaces for the same reasons. This therefore removes them of their agency. The perceived cultural differences of this migrant group are also a key factor in the lack of action by local authorities and national government, for the fear of being perceived as ‘racist’ and not being a seen as a priority compared to British citizens.

Policy Recommendations

• Change policies of the 'hostile environment' which mean that public bodies (NHS, social services, etc.) would no longer be obliged to report irregular migrants to authorities and are able to offer their services fully. This would reduce the fear linked with accessing healthcare  and would reduce the absolute power many garment factory owners in Leicester have over their migrant employees.
• Change the law so that asylum seekers have the right to work and kept separate from their asylum status – this has the potential to reduce the number of migrant garment workers working irregularly and therefore provides them with the opportunity to challenge exploitative practises of their employers without the fear of having their asylum claim denied or being deported back to the country they have fled.
•  There are several legislative options to tackling the working conditions within fashion supply chains. One is a ‘Fit to Trade’ licensing scheme proposed by the British Retail Consortium and put to the Home Secretary in an open letter with signatories including many parliamentarians, as well as organisations from business, civil society and investors. This would ensure a minimum standard of protection for workers and have an emphasis on protecting legitimate and ethical businesses in the sector.
•  In addition to this, new legislation needs to be created to ensure full transparency across all supply chains.  This would include details of working conditions and pay levels, names of suppliers and factory owners, and the date the brand last carried out an inspection of the production site. This would include severe fines for brands found to have modern slavery in their supply chains or who do not publish their supply chains, encouraging them to be more transparent and strict with their suppliers. A precedent has been set for this in new proposals put out by the Foreign Office that would impose sanctions on brands who are found to be buying and producing goods in the Uighur region of China. Making supply chains mandatorily transparent, similar instances of modern slavery better hidden elsewhere in the UK would be discovered and forced to change, in addition to holding factories account globally.
•  New legislation should also ensure that all garment factories are registered with local authorities so that they can be more closely monitored.
• Ensure that the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is enforced by ensuring that all brands, factories and producers are in compliance with ethical standards both in terms of pay and working conditions. For example, one method could be surprise inspections. This does not only apply to the fashion industry, but across all sectors. This could come in the form of new legislation similar to the new draft EU human rights due diligence law published this year/
•  Create a more explicit hierarchy in who is responsible for dealing with these issues of exploitation. This would create less confusion between bodies such as the local police, local authorities, Home Office and CPS and provide clear means of holding both businesses and relevant public bodies to account for the oversight of these issues.
• Increase the living wage and enforce it as a new minimum wage, so that consumers are less reliant on products produced through exploitative and slave labour.
• In line with the UK Parliament’s declaration of a climate emergency in May 2019, to change public messaging around consumerism, to encourage members of the public to buy less and use more, therefore shifting from ‘fast fashion’ to ‘slow fashion’ and reducing the pressure on garment suppliers to produce thousands of new garments a day.
• Change the way local authorities and police forces check the compliance of COVID-19 regulations, so that there are in-person inspections (with full PPE) to ensure all workers are safely distanced, all bodies are complying with lockdowns when they are in place, and to prove the legitimacy of furlough claims.

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If you liked this post you might like: 5 Easy Ways You Can Show Support to Garment Workers

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