Made in Europe. Online-Talk with Gertrude Klaffen­boeck, Clean Clothes Campaign

AFA Community

Is "Made in Europe" really a guarantee of more humane working conditions and better wages in the fashion industry? What are the production conditions like in different Eastern and Southern European countries? And what exactly does the Clean Clothes Campaign do?

27.04.2022, online

We discussed these and other questions related to “Made in Europe – the clean alternative in fashion production?” during the AFA Community Talk with Gertrude Klaffenböck.

Gertrude Klaffenböck studied agricultural economics at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna and completed her master’s degree in environmental management and ecotoxicology at FH Technikum Wien. She was involved in the research project “Cultural Landscape Research on the History and Present of the Textile Landscape of Upper Mühlviertel” and led the St. Pölten office of Südwind in Lower Austria from 1998 to 2004. She then worked as the coordinator of the Austrian section of FIAN, the international human rights organization for the right to food. Since September 2016, she has been working at Südwind in Vienna as an international project manager and coordinator of the Clean Clothes Campaign Austria.

Link for the Online-Talk

Interview

Please briefly introduce yourself: Who are you, and what do you do?

My name is Gertrude Klaffenböck (DI Agricultural Economics, MSc Environmental Management), and I work as the coordinator of the Austrian Clean Clothes Campaign (CCK) at Südwind. As a member of the CCK, Südwind also serves as the coordinating organization for the Austrian members of the CCK coalition.

Please briefly explain what the Clean Clothes Campaign is.

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) works to improve working conditions in the clothing industry and collaborates with members and partner organizations in production countries across Asia, Europe, and the Americas within the international CCC network.

We provide support through casework and urgent actions for workers whose rights have been violated. Our campaigns address systemic violations of labor and human rights in the clothing industry. The goal is to highlight these issues and use lobbying efforts with companies to improve the situation for workers. Our informational and public outreach efforts aim to raise awareness among citizens and consumers, encouraging them to become supporters and join us in advocating for improvements in production facilities and structural changes.

What methods do you use? How do you gain insights into the issues and abuses?

At the core are the workers who produce the clothing in factories and supplier companies of fashion or apparel brands. In collaboration with local partners, cases are investigated, documented, and the approach is agreed upon. This work is further supported through cooperation with scientists, researchers, journalists, and human rights organizations. The documented cases often concern fundamental workers’ rights, such as freedom of association, stable and well-regulated employment, fair wages, the right to collective bargaining, workplace violence, health and safety, or non-discrimination. Market-leading fashion companies are often in the spotlight because, on one hand, they have a significantly higher number of suppliers, and on the other hand, their practices strongly influence or shape the practices of their competitors.

Is it justified to feel better about buying clothing labeled as “Made in Europe” compared to “Made in Bangladesh”?

No, definitely not justified. We often refer to the myth of “Made in Europe,” which is based on the assumption that the “order of the labor world” surrounding us is the same in other European countries. However, upon closer inspection, this assumption is proven to be false. “Made in Europe” typically refers to the production of clothing in Eastern, Southern, or Southeastern European countries, which, just like elsewhere, attract businesses with their low-wage policies and cost-cutting strategies. Most workers in the European garment industry face similar issues as their counterparts in Asia or the Americas: low wages that don’t cover living costs, unhealthy working conditions, extreme work pressure, excessive overtime, harassment, discrimination when engaging in union activities, and often a social environment that offers few alternatives to this type of exploitation.

Why are locations in Europe by no means a guarantee of more humane working conditions and better wages?

The search for ever-cheaper production costs has led to the increasing globalization of companies’ supply chains. With low wages and cost-cutting practices, exploitation and pressure on workers also rise. Governments have little interest in protecting workers’ rights or enforcing social standards. In fact, low wages and minimal worker protection (and often environmental regulations) are viewed as competitive advantages in the international market.

For several decades, this neoliberal economic and financial policy has become the dominant factor for governments. The Eastern expansion of the EU was primarily intended to bring economic benefits, while the protection and enforcement of labor and human rights were largely disregarded, as evidenced by the low-wage policies. Similarly, in non-EU countries, the creation of jobs itself was seen as an economic benefit. However, this economic benefit has largely been reserved for companies, while low wages perpetuate poverty instead of improving workers’ living conditions. The premises of such location policies in Europe are quite comparable to those of countries outside Europe, and they have led to a situation where, for example, in Europe the gap between the legally mandated minimum wage and a living wage is generally wider than in many Asian countries.

Which European countries have clothing manufacturing facilities? And what are the working conditions like there? Could you provide a few examples?

The CCC works with members and partners in 15 countries in Southern and Eastern Europe, which doesn’t include all countries with garment manufacturing facilities. However, the research and reports from these 15 countries provide valuable insight into the practices of fashion companies. The countries we are referring to include Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Croatia as EU member states, and Georgia, Turkey, Moldova, Ukraine, Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Albania as non-EU countries. The CCC has conducted research in the garment sector for each of these countries and published them in country profiles.

How much do the people working there earn? What is the relationship between the minimum wage and the living wage, or the cost of living? Are there gender-specific differences in pay?

In nearly all of these countries, there is a legal minimum wage, but it is always below the poverty line, meaning that despite having a job, workers cannot escape poverty. The average wage of workers in the 15 Eastern, Southern, and Southeastern European countries is about 25% of a living wage, so the minimum wage would need to be four times higher to cover the cost of living. This can be made clearer through a comparison of how long a worker in each country would need to work to afford 1 liter of milk: In Germany, they would need to work just under 7 minutes, in Albania, North Macedonia, or Bulgaria around 40 minutes, and in Ukraine, it would take up to one hour. In European production countries, the gap between the minimum wage and a living wage is higher than in Asian production countries. How net wages compare to the minimum wage and living wage in these countries is outlined in the country profiles created by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC).

The ILO (International Labour Organization) defines a work relationship in which overtime is necessary to reach the agreed contractual quota (e.g., piecework) and thus earn only the minimum wage as forced labor. So, when pieceworkers can only reach the minimum wage with overtime, it qualifies as forced labor. Therefore, for many years, the CCC has been advocating, together with partner and member organizations, for the implementation of a living wage in European production countries. A living wage includes the costs of food, clothing, housing, education, healthcare, transportation/mobility, and modest reserves for life’s contingencies for the worker and their family. Of the approximately 2.31 million employees in the textile sector in these 15 European production countries, around 70-80% are women. Many of the production facilities are located in regions with few alternative employment opportunities, and women are expected to perform caregiving work in the family and household in addition to their factory jobs.

Many fashion corporations choose to produce in places where it is financially most advantageous for them. As a result, producing regions and countries end up undercutting each other in terms of costs. Is it even possible to convince these large clients to rethink or adopt more socially responsible actions?

Both in Asia and Europe, there are initiatives by trade unions, labor, and human rights organizations that have developed the model of a basic living wage for their respective regions: the Asia Floor Wage and the Europe Floor Wage.

This model calculates a living wage basis for the region, from which the economic situation and living costs of each country are inferred. The basic living wage thus provides a solid foundation on which the wages paid by companies can be assessed, and it counters the race to the bottom between countries driven by low-wage policies. The respective basic living wage for Asia or Europe could already serve as a calculation basis for companies today. This would be an important step toward changing their purchasing practices, and paying a living wage would also be a strong indicator of how seriously a company takes its human rights due diligence obligations.

Based on observations and experiences over the last few decades, it is to be expected that large fashion companies, as major clients, will not change their profit-maximizing practices by reducing labor costs voluntarily or on their own. Here, politics and legislation are called upon. In various European countries and at the EU level, there are initiatives for supply chain laws that aim to hold companies accountable for human rights due diligence. A few weeks ago, the EU presented a proposal for a directive on sustainable corporate governance, which should regulate obligations for human rights due diligence in supply chains. Unfortunately, the proposal still has significant gaps, such as in terms of its scope, liability issues, depth in the supply chain, and other factors. A large group of civil society and trade union organizations is working to convince policymakers to make this directive an effective tool against labor and human rights violations.

Aside from compensation, are there other issues in European manufacturing facilities?

Yes, there are indeed other issues. Frequently, irregular working hours, such as excessive overtime, weekend work, and limited vacation time, are mentioned. In addition, there are also reports of discrimination, insults, harassment, and even dismissals when workers raise concerns or demand improvements/changes. Many workers also report poorly ventilated factories, where it is extremely hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, inadequate sanitation facilities, or a lack of emergency medical services.

What impact have the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine had on the mentioned production facilities?

The COVID pandemic led to significant disruptions in the garment industry, particularly in Asia. Factory closures occurred, partly because of a lack of orders, but also because completed orders were not paid for. During closures and reopenings, as well as the rehiring process, there were often efforts to dismantle trade unions. In the factories that remained active during the pandemic, workers had to perform tasks under immense pressure. Often, there were no protective measures against infections, sickness cases were not insured, and there was no medical care. Mass layoffs occurred, and the most severe cases involved dismissals without pending severance pay or salary payments. Workers were left without income from one day to the next, as saving money was impossible due to low wages. Workers had to go into debt, and they could no longer afford daily food or housing. In Asia, wage losses from workers alone were estimated between 3.9 and 5.8 billion USD from March to May 2020.

In Ukraine, before the war, around 200,000 people worked in garment production and were only paid about one-fifth of a living wage. This situation was worsened by the COVID crisis and dramatically worsened by the war. In recent years, many internally displaced people from eastern Ukraine began working in the garment industry in western Ukraine. The latest wave of refugees from the east to the west of Ukraine, as well as to neighboring countries like Poland, Moldova, and Romania, raises concerns that the desperate situation will lead to even more exploitation as people search for work and income. Therefore, the Clean Clothes Campaign urges companies that previously sourced from Ukraine to increase their due diligence. This includes ensuring compliance with wage payment and compensation obligations, respecting all workers’ rights, and even paying wages or orders in advance.

What can fashion brands do to promote more humane working conditions in European production facilities?

First and foremost, companies must take responsibility for their actions. This includes fulfilling their human rights due diligence obligations, which means analyzing and reorganizing everything from corporate policies to purchasing practices and taking responsibility for the negative impacts of their production. Their practices should be regularly reviewed and improved to ensure they are promoting decent work. This should not only apply to their immediate operations but to the entire supply chain.

It is also important that companies disclose their supply chains and report incidents, complaints, and issues transparently. They should take responsibility for these issues and, where appropriate, be held liable. Some concrete steps that can be taken immediately include fundamentally changing purchasing practices, planning production within realistic timeframes, ensuring cost calculations are based on living wages, setting realistic quotas, producing in safe factories with formalized labor relations that respect fundamental workers’ rights, providing (or at least contributing to) social security, focusing on medium- and long-term collaborations, and making an appropriate contribution to improvements.

And what should consumers pay attention to? Is there anything that end consumers can actively do to improve the situation of workers in the mentioned factories?

End consumers can shop mindfully and be informed, for example, by considering how long they can and want to wear a garment, and by asking stores or companies if the worker who made the garment can actually live off the wages. Just as important as consumer behavior, however, is becoming an active citizen and recognizing the possibilities for political action. Politics plays a significant role in determining the conditions under which the clothing sold was produced. Consumers can support campaigns, advocate for fair procurement in their communities, participate in discussions within their circles, and challenge politicians to push for legislation that holds clothing companies accountable for respecting basic labor rights.

Which fashion brands produce fairly, and which brands should consumers buy from? Can you provide examples?

When a living wage is taken as a hard indicator of fair production, unfortunately, leading fashion brands do not fare well. The most reliable labels are ones like Fairtrade or GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), which include a living wage in their standards. A good reference point is also the Fair Wear Foundation, whose members are companies that commit, with the guidance and under the scrutiny of the Foundation, to systematically improve working conditions and wages within their supply chains.

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