Can we be globally responsible consumers when buying clothes and shoes?

Define · Locate · Select · Organise · Present · Evaluate Define the task Look at the labels of the shirt/blouse, trousers/skirt, shoes/sandals that you are wearing. Where were they made? Chances are they were made in a developing country such as Fiji, China, Thailand or Sri Lanka. Globalisation, driven by improved technology and reduced trade barriers is rapidly increasing the connections between people around the world. There are new opportunities to address poverty but also increased awareness of human rights and environmental issues. Many developing countries are offering major manufacturers tax breaks, low cost land and labour to build factories in areas known as Export Processing Zones. This creates new employment opportunities and income for poor families and export income for the country but sometimes working conditions are exploitative. The Textile, Clothing and Footwear industry is labour intensive and factories in developing countries are often associated with the term 'sweatshop', meaning that the work conditions are very different to those in richer countries with labour, health and environment regulations - workers are treated poorly, with low wages, long hours and poor safety conditions. Fair trade campaigns have led to codes of conduct and certification of goods but also the closure of factories worsening the situation of poor people. The Scenario: You and your group are going to investigate the impact of globalisation on the textile, clothing and footwear industry and propose action that will enable young Australians to be responsible consumers when buying clothes and shoes. Team roles Form into five teams and take on one of the following roles: Clothing factory worker in a developing country Your farming family has suffered great hardship during several years of drought and so you are attracted to the possibilities of work in the new factories opening up in the capital city. It means you will be separated from your family but accommodation is provided and your regular wage will help you assist your family. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a multinational clothing company Shareholders are pushing your company to improve profits and so manufacturing off shore with cheaper labour and attractive tax deals is an appealing option. Environmentalist The production and manufacture of textiles and clothing and footwear have high environmental demands - water and energy, waste disposal, pollution. The long term impact on the environment is not always costed effectively. The development and implementation of codes of practice for sustainable production and protection of the environment are an important aspect in the expansion of the textile, clothing and footwear industry. Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) worker As the textile, clothing and footwear manufacturers try to meet tight deadlines and costs, unskilled people can be at risk of exploitation. Local Non-Governmental Organisations work with vulnerable people in the community to provide education and empower them to protect their rights. They also work with governments, businesses and other NGOs to assist in creating better working conditions for factory workers in developing countries. Activist Many people feel concerned about the economic, environmental and social problems resulting from some practices in the textile, clothing and footwear manufacturing industry and want to do something about it. Each person will work on locating, selecting and organising information about their particular role. If there are more than five students in a group, each role can be taken by two or more students, who should work together to gather to analyse the required information.

Locate resources You can find information about globalisation and conditions in the textile, clothing and footwear industry from a variety of sources including books, magazines, videos, television programs, news reports, online databases, websites, organisations and personal contacts. Remember that for this learning quest you are particularly interested in working conditions in the clothing manufacturing industry, and regulation and consequences of local actions. Libraries and databases Tips: When searching for resources note the two spellings of globalisation and globalization. Depending on your search facility, you may be able to use: - a wildcard search: globali?ation (or globali*ation) or - truncation: globali* (or globali?) Sweatshop (or "sweat shop") is a common term used to refer to factories where workers work long hours for low wages Use truncation to include the plural form: sweatshop* (sweatshop?) Keyword search sweatshops discrimination workplace wages working hours Phrase search "child labour" "exploitation of workers" "factory management" "forced labour" "right to organise" "workplace health and safety" Subject heading search Children Employment Clothing industry Moral and ethical aspects Commerce--Social aspects Employment conditions Moral and ethical aspects Free trade and protection Globalisation (note Australian spelling) Globalisation Economic aspects Globalisation Moral and ethical aspects Globalisation Social aspects Multinational companies [from SCIS Subject headings list] Websites A number of websites have been suggested under headings for each of the team roles on the Globalisation Learning Quest Resources page. http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/1815 Background resources: Globalisation http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/search?qt=globalisation+econom*+background&edna.sector=21299 Background resources: Industry http://www.edna.edu.au/search?qt=industry+background&edna.sector=23380 Clothing factory worker http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/search?qt=clothing+industry+factory+worker&edna.sector=23380 Clothing company Chief Executive Officer http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/search?qt=clothing+industry+management&edna.sector=23380 Environmentalist http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/search?qt=clothing+industry+environment&edna.sector=23380 Nongovernment Organisation Worker http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/search?qt=ngo+globalisation&edna.sector=23380 Activist http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/search?qt=clothing+industry+activist&edna.sector=23380

Select information Focus questions to investigate roles and responsibilities Each group will research the information that their role requires in order to work effectively as a member of the team investigating the global textiles, clothing and footwear industry. There are some focus questions posed to assist you in your reading, understanding and reporting back to the team about your role. Make notes and record where you found your information. You can use the bibliography framework template available online: http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/page1873.html Background · Clothing worker · CEO multinational · Environmentalist · Worker in NGO · Activist Background questions Does globalisation improve living conditions? If so - how? If not - why not? Does globalisation encourage developing countries to underbid each other without truly accounting for the social and environmental costs? Is globalisation widening the gap between rich and poor? How does globalisation affect human rights around the world? How can human rights and the environment be protected while obtaining the benefits of globalisation for all people? Who is making the decisions that are driving globalisation? (Are multinational corporations supplanting elected governments as world decision makers?) What scope is there for Australians as global citizens to influence the working conditions of people in developing countries? Clothing factory worker in a developing country What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in the clothing industry for a multinational company? How do your working conditions - pay, hours, safety etc compare to other work places in your country? How do your working conditions compare to those in industrialised countries? Why are many factory workers women and children? If there are problems in your factory with the way in which you are treated, what could you do about it? Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a multinational clothing company How do factories in developing countries assist the local community? What is a code of conduct and why is it important? What are the implications for your business of maintaining a responsible code of conduct in factories in developing countries which manufacture your products? Environmentalist In what ways might globalisation affect the environment? What environmental problems does the textile, clothing and footwear industry contribute to? What suggestions could you make to businesses to improve their environmental records? Worker in a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) What activities have NGOs undertaken to try and negotiate fairer work conditions for clothing workers? How do NGOs support the labour rights of factory workers in developing countries? Activitist What are the main problems in the clothing manufacturing industry in developing countries? What are the consequences of the closing down factories? Which protest methods are the most effective?

Organise your response Once all the information has been collected and analysed for your role you should use your notes to prepare a code of conduct to guide Australians in their involvement in the fashion industry. At first you should write your code of conduct solely from the point of view of your character. Then the whole group should meet to share their codes of conduct and to discuss the preparation of a group code of conduct that takes into account the concerns of all these people as well as your own concerns as an Australian. Each team member should ask questions of each other to make sure everything is clear and easy to understand. What is the best information we have? Where are the gaps in our information? Do we need more ideas? How will we find this information? Which of our information needs deleting? What needs re-checking? How could we organise our code of conduct? How will we organise our code of conduct? Check that everything the group records as information to use in the presentation is backed up by evidence. How does your group answer the global question: Can we we globally responsible consumers when buying clothes and shoes? Part of your task is to promote your code of conduct to other people. Brainstorm some ways of presenting this information and getting your message across to students, teachers, parents, consumers, shops, companies, the community and governments. In conjunction with your teacher decide which method(s) your group will use to present your code of conduct. Present your findings Here are some suggestions for presenting your code of conduct and explaining the reasons behind it to others. Create a visually interesting poster and put it up around your school and community Create cards or flyers that you can distribute to students or members of the community Prepare a presentation for assembly, student meeting or parents and friends meeting Write a letter to appropriate community or government members to accompany your code of conduct Set your code of conduct to music or rap and perform it Write an essay using your code of conduct to discuss whether Australians care more about fashion or about global issues Create a dance or drama performance that gets across the key messages of your code of conduct Create a webpage to support your code of conduct Interview a range of people about the issues raised in your code of conduct Make a movie Insert your good idea here Evaluate and reflect on your learning During the presentation stage of this global learning quest you should have had the opportunity to consider a number of codes of conduct for being part of a responsible fashion industry. You should reflect on what you have learned, not only about global issues in the clothing and footwear industry but also about well you worked with each others as part of a team. You may also have experienced a number of different means of taking action and informing others about this issue. There is a rubric to guide your self-evaluation available on the Global Learning Quest Evaluation page. http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/page1921.html

Task: This Global Learning Quest focusses on the use of factory labour in developing countries and asks you to explore and question how the clothes and shoes you buy are produced. You will examine this issue from the point of view of one of the 'players' in the production of clothing and footwear, and then develop a code of conduct for use when purchasing clothing and footwear based on your understanding of the issues. Learning Areas: Studies of Society & Environment Geography Economics   Year levels: Lower secondary / Upper secondary   Duration: Minimum of four 50-minute lessons   Tools needed: Access to library resources and the Internet