Monday, May 13, 2013

Tell the clothing companies: Never again.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Green America" <noreply@greenamerica.org>
Date: May 11, 2013 9:00 AM
Subject: Tell the clothing companies: Never again.
To: <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Cc:

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Economic Action For a Just Planet
Dear Daniel Stafford,

Today is World Fair Trade Day -- a day to re-affirm the rights of workers and farmers around the world.

The collapse at the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh, where more than 1,000 workers lost their lives, reminds us there is still much work to be done to make global trade fair.

In honor of World Fair Trade Day and the 3.5 million workers in Bangladesh's more than 4,000 garment factories, we're calling on all clothing companies to work to make this tragedy the last of its kind.

We're asking clothing manufacturers doing business in Bangladesh to sign on to the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement, a legally binding agreement that will require the largest clothing brands to make immediate safety improvements to their supplier factories. The deadline to sign up is May 15. Four days away!

Please take our action to send a message today »

So far, almost all major clothing brands have refused to sign on to this agreement.   Walmart, JC Penney, Benetton, The Children's Place, Dress Barn, and Cato Fashion were just a few of the brands connected to manufacturing at Rana (by taking our action, your message will go directly to decision-makers at these companies).

However, any brand manufacturing in Bangladesh has the responsibility to ensure that workers who sew their products have a safe place to go to work. The tragedy at Rana is only the most recent of a series of preventable disasters, including the Tazreen factory fire last fall that killed 112 people.

Your voice can make the difference.  The leaders of these companies need to hear from you that you value the lives and livelihoods of workers overseas, and that you demand they respond to this latest tragedy with meaningful change -- no more business as usual.

Together, we can work to make this the last garment-factory disaster of its kind.

Thanks for all you do,

LIZ
Alisa (signature)
Elizabeth O'Connell,
Fair Trade Program Director
Green America

P.S. How can you find ethical clothing?  The "Three Shades of Green" article from our recent Green American magazine points you toward more responsible choices, including companies from the "clothing/accessories" category of our GreenPages.org. The "Sustainable Clothes: From Field to Store" article from that same issue points you toward labels that tell you how closely a brand is monitoring its supply chain (best labels: Fair Trade or union-made).  If you don't already receive the Green American, please join us today to get your copy (digitally or in the mail) and to support our green-economy work.

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