The Facts Behind Fashion
Urgent Appeals Annual Review 2012
The Clean Clothes Campaign acted on urgent appeals to support workers in the garment industry throughout 2012. We did this together with many organisations and thousands of individuals, and we are proud of the positive impact of our collective actions. In some cases workers' demands were met, such as the outright victory in the Kizone case early 2013. In others, our work strengthened the position of workers - even if their legitimate demands have not yet been met.
Urgent Appeal?
An Urgent Appeal is a request for support from workers whose rights are not being respected. Sometimes this included consumers taking action to show support for these workers’ demands and urges the factory management or global brands to act. But in many cases support is given behind the scenes. Since the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) was launched over two decades ago, Clean Clothes activists have supported garment and sportswear workers in some 400 cases in 40 different countries where their rights were violated.
Larger-scale effects
Many of the urgent appeal cases that have been successes for workers locally have also set precedents that have a significant potential spill-over effect towards improvements on a larger scale: victories gave inspiration to workers facing similar issues in other workplaces.
Methods
Urgent Appeals activities pressure companies or governments to take positive action. These activities include:
- launching global petitions, social media campaigns and street actions
- writing letters of solidarity to workers and their organisations
- lobbying and legal assistance
- awareness-raising events such as speaker tours, press conferences and public events to draw attention to cases of rights violations
Cases in 2012
As in previous years, we have taken on approximately 30 cases in 2012. Not all of them can be published on the world map where we present the cases and the results of the Urgent Appeal actions. We can only publicise cases when local partners and the workers concerned agree to do so. In some cases, premature publicity might harm the vulnerable condition of workers or worsen their situation.
Labour right violations encountered in 2012
A wide range of violations was found:
- Freedom of Association violations
- Payment and contract issues
- Health, Fire & Safety
- Persecution and other threats
The Clean Clothes Campaign strives to ensure that the rights of all workers in the garment and sports shoe industries are respected. However, the fact that the majority of these workers are women means that ultimately our work is largely about the empowerment of women.
The Clean Clothes Campaign aims to help women garment workers raise their voices and achieve positive change in their lives.
See also:
Made by Women
Spotlight: The Kizone case
An interactive timeline taking you around the globe in a landmark case for global solidarity
EU Support
The work of the Clean Clothes Campaign is supported by the European Union under the European Instrument of Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). The contents of this website are the sole responsibility of the Clean Clothes Campaign and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.