FSD's support for Solidaridad's Good Clothes Fair Pay Petition
The race to the bottom must stop
Last week's Black Friday opened the sales season with huge discounts on clothing and other products. Solidaridad calculated that despite rising inflation in the Netherlands, the purchase prices for clothes and shoes from Asia fell to €2.53 in 2021, less than the average consumer price of a loaf of bread. "It's a race to the bottom," says Solidaridad's director Heske Verburg. "As clothes from Asia become cheaper, there is even less room to reward the makers of clothes decently."
Higher retail prices for clothes are not caused by clothing producers, but by rising energy and personnel costs in the Netherlands. The choice of shops, fashion brands and consumers for ever cheaper clothes has severe consequences for makers and the environment. Consumers buy more clothes, but the quality is often poor due to low purchase prices. The downside of low unit prices is the short period clothes are wearable.
European petition for living wage textile workers
In global clothing, textile and footwear production, millions of textile workers do not receive a living wage, while fashion brands and retailers make billions in profits. This needs to change! Therefore, FSD's partner Solidaridad joined the Good Clothes Fair Pay campaign, a European citizens' initiative for a living wage for textile workers. During Black Friday, the FSD Spearhead visited Solidaridad's Signastore, which was set up to increase publicity.
This petition asks the EU for new European legislation. Such legislation is a first step towards living wages. According to Heske Verburg: "Only European legislation can stop the downward spiral of low prices, low quality and poor production conditions. We want to put that on the agenda in Brussels. Getting your signature is a very powerful way to demand change." Read more about the campaign and sign here.
Relevant links
Also read
-
Brightlands Circular Space focuses on integrated approach to entire plastic value chain
Construction has officially started today in Limburg of Brightlands Circular Space, a demonstration facility that accelerates the transition to circular plastics.
-
Living the dream (job)
When Nina Gormanns was cleaning out her house in Canada, she found some old folders containing notes from a career workshop she had followed as a student at Maastricht University. “There was a sheet of paper where I’d written down the three things I really wanted to do later. I thought: Ha, I have...
-
Professional growth the European way
Many former students have fond memories of time spent abroad during their degree, whether they spent a semester in Italy or went to Latvia for an internship. Stays abroad are possible for university staff as well, for example, as part of YUFE Staff Development Programmes.
