'Fairwear' campaign active in Adelaide

'Fairwear' campaign active in Adelaide

By Melanie Sjoberg

ADELAIDE — Shoppers in Adelaide's Rundle Mall on July 20 were exposed to the appalling working conditions of outworkers providing garments for the fashion industry as part of a national day of action around the "Fairwear" campaign.

The action, initiated by the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union, was organised through a collective with Dale Street Community Centre and other supportive women and groups.

Protesters dressed in white shirts painted with the words: "You paid $70. Outworker paid $2." Information and postcards were distributed, and many shoppers signed a petition calling on the industry to clean up its act.

The main emphasis is to encourage fashion distributors to sign an industry code of conduct committing them to purchase only garments produced by workers on award wages. Protesters moved along the mall, cheering outside stores which have signed the code (such as Target and Just Jeans), and booing those which have not (such as Sussan).

TCFU organiser Enza told Green Left Weekly that it is difficult to organise outworkers in the fashion sector, so the campaign is focusing on the large fashion outlets.

Outworkers are usually insecure, sometimes because they speak little English, sometimes because they fear government intervention. She said that unscrupulous contractors also threaten workers if they speak out.

From GLW issue 283