Ethical Clothing Australia has scored three major coups in its bid to make sweatshop labour unfashionable, with womenswear giants Cue, Bardot and Mr K now accredited under its scheme.
The government-funded organisation, formerly known as the Homeworkers Code of Practice and producer of the No Sweat Shop label, is undergoing a major revamp to ensure more fashion brands embrace ethical manufacturing in the new year and beyond.
Ethical Clothing Australia ensures minimum legal rights are met for homeworkers/ contractors employed by fashion businesses, with Collette Dinnigan among the first designers accredited under the system.
The organisation officially rebranded in December, consolidating both the Homeworkers Code of Practice and No Sweat Shop label under one title: Ethical Clothing Australia.
The move was prompted by a market research program which indicated its label in particular was seen to be “negative and confronting”.
National marketing manager Tommy Clarke has exclusively revealed the new look label (pictured here) to Ragtrader magazine. It can be sewn onto garments to promote accredited companies’ ethical production methods.
“For fashion brands, their label is their god so we really didn’t want to distract from that when developing the concept,” he said. “The new label is quite flexible in terms of size, style or how it’s used, so designers like Collette Dinnigan can use it without taking away from [their] $5000 garment or trademark.”
Clarke also revealed a new pricing structure for fashion businesses seeking to become accredited under the scheme. Fees range from a minimum of $300 for sole traders through to a maximum of $6600 for larger businesses outsourcing $10 million or more of their production.
The developments will be publicised on the organisation’s new look website, www.ethicalclothingaustralia.org.au.
“It’s part of our overall marketing strategy for 2010 which also includes a major promotional campaign targeted at consumers later this year,” said Clarke.
“Cue, Bardot and Mr K completed the accreditation process at the end of 2009 and we’ll be discussing options for using the Ethical Clothing Australia trademark on their Australian-made garments moving forward.”
Assia Benmedjdoub