Most and least ethical clothing companies

[violaine]

Can anyone tell me which clothing labels (both designer and high street) are the most and least ethical in their employment practices and son on, so I know which ones to avoid?

[kahunabean]

What a great question. I think there is a market for people to (reputably) put his kind of onfo on the web in a systematic way. Consumers in this country need more information - if they subsequently choose to ignore that info (regarding margins, ethics, or whatever) then fine. I read once that a "jermyn st" quality shirt costs 1 pound to make. So when they offer them half price for 26 quid they are still ripping your eyeballs out. I am a committed capitalist but consumers in this country are so poorly informed. In the US there are opportunities to pay too much for badges (like here) but then every level of discounting is supported - all the way down to rock bottom.

[mikewith]

Gap and Nike are both the focus of the Global Exchange campaigners: http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/corporations
/ Sadly, it's harder to track down the companies that are held to be *more* ethical...

[geofbob]

The truth is that most clothing whether designer, high street or market stall is made very cheaply, either in the UK (where hopefully the workers are being paid the minimum rate) or in the Third World (where however little they are paid, it is better than being unemployed). The only choice the consumer seems to have is how much or how little money they want to put into the pockets of factory bosses, designers, importers, wholesalers, retailers etc. Incidentally, it is noteworthy how so many of the trendy, "lifestyle" products - like designer clothes, luxury hotels and expensive restaurants - are associated with lousy pay for the actual workers in those industries -a hundred quid for a meal for two, but you're still expected to tip the waiter because "that's how they make their living"!

[blackfive]

"Ethical" and "Clothing Label" are contradictory terms!! The short answer to your question is that an ethical clothing company cannot exist in nature - maybe in a parallel universe????

[stripeymog]

This is something that I've been trying to find out but I recently found a good article from The Ethnical Consumer website which might be of help to you. It has a table of several high street stores and ranks them in terms of things like workers rights and use of animal testing. http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/magazine/buyers/clo
thes/clothes.pdf