Ethical Clothing Australia has announced a new social media campaign that will launch during their signature event in October, Ethical Clothing Australia Week 2024.
The social media campaign, entitled “Worker Stories” features video interviews with workers from Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney in businesses accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia – including machinists, embroidery technicians, patternmakers, production supervisors and alterations specialists.
The campaign will also feature transcripts of conversations with de-identified outworkers who have chosen to share their stories with representatives from the Textile, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Union.
The inclusion of outworkers in the campaign is essential in recognising often-unseen workers in supply chains and some of the complexities they face, says Rachel Reilly, National Manager at Ethical Clothing Australia.
“Currently, there are thousands of workers in the TCF industry in Australia, many employed as garment workers in manufacturing,” says Ms Reilly.
“77% identify as women, with many from migrant or refugee backgrounds with English as an additional language. Some work in-house in factories or as outworkers, which means they work from home.”
Outworkers are contracted as part of a supply chain and can be incorrectly paid as piecework (where they are paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced). Ms Reilly says they can be pressured to meet unrealistic deadlines, with income as little as $4 per hour, irregular payment of what little income they do receive, no entitlements such as leave and no superannuation, all of which is illegal under the Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries (TCFAI) Award.
“They can often be reluctant to speak out about their working conditions and experience of exploitation for fear of losing current or future work,” added Ms Reilly.
One component of Ethical Clothing Australia’s accreditation program sees Outworker Outreach Officers – many of whom have lived experience as garment workers and are often from similar cultural and language backgrounds – dedicated to engaging outworkers and building trusting relationships, allowing the outworker to safely seek support.
“It is through this on-the-ground work by subject matter experts from the TCF Union, and their ability to break down physical, cultural, psychological and systemic barriers, that the accreditation and outreach programs can reach the often-invisible people in supply chains to inform them of their rights and support them to advocate for themselves,” said Ms Reilly.
Ms Reilly says the Ethical Clothing Australia team is excited to launch this campaign during Ethical Clothing Australia Week and hope that it contributes to educating and informing consumers, industry, government and other stakeholders.
“It is a critical part of our work to centre the voices and experiences of Australian TCF workers, and to offer a platform for these workers to tell their stories,” she said. “We’re very proud to have created a platform to share these stories and we thank these workers for trusting us with their experiences.”
“We hope that, in hearing the stories of some of these workers through this campaign, the public can also see just how critical our work is at Ethical Clothing Australia as we continue to protect and uphold their workplace rights through our rigorous accreditation program,” said Ms Reilly.
Ethical Clothing Australia Week 2024 will run from 7 - 13 October and will launch on Thursday 3 October with an industry night in Melbourne. Now in its fourth year, the week-long celebration will see the not-for-profit and their community of accredited businesses host a variety of events in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, plus online. The in-person and digital events offer consumers, industry and government the chance to go behind the scenes and learn more about the Australian textile, clothing and footwear industry and, most importantly, the people who make our clothes in local supply chains.
For more information about Ethical Clothing Australia Week and to keep up to date with the campaign, follow @EthicalClothingAustralia and #ECAStoriesofWorkers. You can also register for events at ethicalclothingaustralia.org.au/ethical-clothing-australia-week-2024-events.
Background
Ethical Clothing Australia is an accreditation body. It is a joint business-industry and union initiative that has protected and upheld the rights of thousands of garment workers through our accreditation program for nearly 25 years.
Ethical Clothing Australia’s accreditation program sees businesses sign on to a voluntary Code of Conduct, which requires them to open up their complete local supply chain to the TCF Union. An annual in-person audit of their local supply chains from design to dispatch is conducted, ensuring they are meeting their legal obligations under the Textile, Clothing, Footwear, and Associated Industries (TCFAI) Award, as well as relevant Australian workplace laws.
These subject matter experts bring both their lived experience and earned knowledge to the program to benefit workers and businesses, ensuring a process that is collaborative, industry-specific and, most importantly, prioritises and centres the rights and voices of workers.
Once a business is accredited, they can display Ethical Clothing Australia trademark, indicating that they have completed the audit with the TCF Union and are meeting their legal obligations under the TCFAI Award, as well as other relevant Australian workplace laws.
Ethical Clothing Australia Week 2024 has been made possible due to grants from the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources and the Victorian Government Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions. We are grateful for the continued support of Ethical Clothing Australia.