I have just printed off my letter to Dorothy Perkins asking them about their commitment to ethical trade and the treatment of their workers in developing countries. On their website there is no ethical policy and they are not members of ETI (the Ethical Trading Initiative) which is disappointing. In the ‘Lets Clean up Fashion’ report by Labour behind the Label they are classified as a ‘New Starter’, a poor verdict given that they are a long established brand.
These are the questions I have asked them:
In which countries are clothing for Dorothy Perkins made?
In general, what percentage of the retail price of a garment goes to the worker who made it?
How do you determine how much to pay workers?
Do your workers have a contract with you and know that they can rely on a steady level of income?
Do you pay your workers in cash or through a bank? Do they have the opportunity to save money in a bank account that earns interest?
About cotton: Are you able to determine the conditions and pay that workers in the cotton factories are given? How about the cotton pickers?
How often do you visit your factories and assess the conditions in them?
Once I receive a reply from them I will post it on this website. I already have responses from Next, Boden and Boots and you can find them on their respective pages listed on the left.
There is also a blacklist of retailers that have ignored my letters and questions. So far Adams childrens’ wear and Asda/George are on it.
Filed under: Clothes, Clothing, Ethical, Fair-trade, Fashion, Shoes, Workers rights | Tagged: Account, Adams, Asda/George, Bank, Blacklist, Boden, Boots, Brand, Cash, Clothing, Conditions, Contract, Cotton, Cotton Factories, Cotton pickers, Countries, Developing Countries, Dorothy Perkins, Ethical, Ethical policy, Ethical Trading Initiative, ETI, Factories, Fashion, Garment, Ignored, Income, Interest, Labour behind the label, Lets clean up fashion, Letter, New Starter, Next, Pay, Questions, Retail price, Retailers, Save, Trade, Worker, Workers
