China Catches the Flame

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The Olympics, Free Tibet, environmental pollution and an economic growth of 10% per year: China is full of contradictions. But when it comes to ethical production, China surprises us with some exciting developments.

First up is the April launch of the Sustainable Fashion Business Forum (SFBF); eleven Hong Kong clothing manufacturers have teamed up with the Clothing Industry Training Authority (CITA) to share information and devise new ways to make the trade more environmentally friendly. The group supplies big brands such as Marks & Spencer, Gap and H&M and has several essential items on the agenda. One of them is to set up a carbon accounting standard in collaboration with WWF Hong Kong.

Of course, child labour is one of the first things that comes to mind when one thinks of garment production in China. The recently awarded documentary film China Blue gives a face to these anonymous 130 million Chinese child factory workers. The main protagonist, Jasmine, cuts the loose threads of jeans for the Western markets, earns $0,06 per hour and works seven days a week. She lives with 12 other girls in a room and the filthy food she gets is automatically taken off her wage. However, this bleak picture is slowly starting to change; driven by customer demand and the growing interest in ethically made products, some organizations and companies are establishing new pathways for transparency. The Control Union (former SKAL) has built an easily accessible database of Chinese certified textile manufacturers. Other websites that can be visited for information are SA8000 and the Business Social Compliance Initiative. With the help of these organizations and a desire to create affordable ethically made sustainable fashion, companies such as HT Naturals and Terra Plana have come up with their own systems to insure ethical production standards.

The big players are also starting to heed the call: amidst the Olympic frenzy, it’s good to mention that Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Umbro and Speedo have caught the flame of improving labour conditions. The leading sports brands have responded to repeated pressure on supplier factory conditions from the PlayFair 2008 campaign. Together with trade unions and NGO’s they will explore how to promote trade unionism and collective bargaining as well as improving wages across the sector. Only last year, scandal erupted when four Chinese factories that were producing clothing and gadgets with the Olympic logo, were accused of underpaying and mistreating their workers. The joint effort for which PlayFair has been fighting for over five years is an important step in the right direction.

Aside from the issue of manufacturing, China is also the biggest producer of some important green fibres such as soy, hemp and organic cotton. Soy is considered a sustainable fabric because it consists of by-products left over from processing tofu, soybean oil and other soy products. It’s biodegradable, doesn’t wrinkle and has the look and feel of silk. LA based designer Linda Loudermilk was one of the first to use this luxurious material in her collections.

Hemp is another quality material mainly produced in China. Hemp fibre has been used for textile production for thousands of years because of its great resistance to pests. The fibres are naturally bright so no bleach is required. Today, some of the hippest eco brands such as THTC and Nomads Hemp Wear use this amazing material for their street wise clothing.

According to the Organic Exchange China is now the third biggest organic cotton producer after Turkey and India. The organization advises textile companies to agree on long-term contracts that reduce risks for cotton farmers and stimulate them to switch to organic. Clothing labels belonging to the Made-By network have been importing Chinese organic textiles since 2007. Dutch NGO Solidaridad has also been investing in finding reliable partners in the cotton province of Xinjang. As a result of this initiative, one big farmer turned 220 hectares of soil into an organic cotton field.

While hemp, soy and organic cotton production are quickly expanding, the Chinese government is also funding research on fabrics made from byproducts of major crops like peanut and rapeseed. This will surely keep China at the forefront of fibre production.

So can it be eco to buy “made in China” today? Why not? China’s economic importance in the garment industry cannot be ignored, if you like fashion, you’re bound to have your share of Chinese made garments in your closet, the key is to find out how they’re made! With a $ 60 billion garment industry, China’s involvement in the organic textile trade is likely to push down prices for these premium-priced products globally and help take them mainstream.

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