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On Saturday March 8th, York University President Mamdouh Shoukri made a commitment to introduce a No Sweat licensing policy at the university by April. This promise came in response to a 45 hour sit-in by York students, members of the Sustainable Purchasing Coalition (SPC), a student group lobbying to reform York purchasing policy to more sustainable standards. If this pledge goes through as promised, York will bring the number of Canadian Universities with No Sweat policies to 17.
Threads of Justice draws attention to the exploitation that takes place in the Canadian garment industry. It uses interviews and footage to illustrate the conditions in factories and the abuse that homeworkers face. This video also looks at some actions that have taken place against sweatshops, and some examples of companies that work to ensure their products are made sweatshop free.
This CBC report explores the working conditions of garment workers in Toronto and Vancouver. It profiles two women who work in garment workshops that only employ immigrants who are unable to find work elsewhere. This video shows footage from inside the workshops and, through the stories told by the women, recreates the conditions experienced by workers.
Beyond McWorld takes a look at the ways in which governments have lost power to corporations and the movement that has emerged to challenge corporate rule. Democracy, globalization, and free trade are some of the themes covered.
In this issue:
New corporate accountability initiatives in Canada; MFA Forum meets in Toronto; Mexico's 'Espacio'; Life after the maquila
Download Update Vol. 12.1 here
A series of Canadian government-sponsored roundtables on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the extractive industries sector (e.g. mining, oil and gas) has resulted in a set of recommendations that could raise the bar on Canadian government oversight of corporate actions.
The consensus recommendations, outlined in a report from an Advisory Group made up of industry, trade union and civil society representatives, include measures to increase industry transparency and tie government assistance to performance on human rights standards.
Canadian t-shirt manufacturer Gildan Activewear is closing two factories in Mexico, two Montreal textile plants and a cutting operation in New York. An estimated 1,365 Mexican and 465 Canadian and U.S. workers will be laid off. Workers at the Mexican factories were particularly hard hit, as the region is already reeling from Hanesbrands' laying-off of 1,700 workers in December 2006. With MSN’s assistance, our local Mexican partner organization in Monclova, SEDEPAC, put forward a series of proposals to Gildan.
Revealing Clothing, ETAG's second Transparency Report Card, picks up where Coming Clean on the Clothes We Wear left off. It assesses and compares public reporting on labour standards compliance by 30 top apparel retailers and brands selling clothes in the Canadian market, including Levi Strauss, Nike, adidas, H&M, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Roots, La Senza, Reitmans and 22 others. This year's report also discusses worker involvement, purchasing practices and sustainable compliance.
Coming Clean on the Clothes We Wear assesses and compares 25 retailers and brands based on the information they provide to the public on their efforts to address labour rights issues in their global supply chains.
The Ethical Trading Action Group's proposal for factory disclosure regulations gets the cold shoulder from Canada's Industry Minister.
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