Where can I get a list of all the companies that are good and bad to buy from?
No definitive list of good and bad shops exists – but good sources of information about the clothing industry include;
- Ethical Consumer Magazine
- Labour Behind the Label
- Clean Clothes Campaign
- Specialist websites such as getethical.com and ethical junction.
- 'Ethical Shopping - Where To Shop, What to Buy and What To Do To Make A Difference’ is an excellent book written by William Young and Richard Welford. The authors carried out a survey of 66 of the clothing retailers in the UK, checking out whether their clothes are produced in developing countries, and if their operations are covered by a code of conduct.
And of course, you can always check out our Ethical Directory!
A list of companies that have signed up to the Ethical Trading Initiative can be found at the Ethical Trade website www.ethicaltrade.org
Is boycotting a good idea?
Labour Behind the Label and Tearfund do not support boycotts apart from those that are led by workers themselves. The reason for this is that if we in the UK stop shopping in a certain store, the lower demand for clothes items may cause factories producing clothes to close – forcing workers out of jobs.
Any job is better than no job for these workers, who, without the low income their job provides would be placed in a more desperate position of poverty. It is much more effective to decide to not shop quietly and ask questions when you shop – to keep up the pressure on companies to make changes to benefit the poor!
The more customers talk about the issues, the more companies will have to listen.
However, if workers decide themselves that they need to have their voices heard and organise a boycott, then boycotts can be productive – and consumers can show their support for workers by writing letters to managers and letting them see that they need to take the issue seriously - or their business could suffer.