Designer Banks under fire in labour row

from IC Wales

Rin Simpson and Tim Lewis, Western Mail

WELSH fashion designer Jeff Banks was strongly criticised last night over his claims that stories of clothing firms using cheap Third World labour are exaggerated.

And the 64-year-old, from Ebbw Vale, suggested using cheap labour in fashion production may not be as unethical as it seems.

But last night Plaid Cymru’s social justice spokeswoman Leanne Wood said Banks’s comments were equivalent to the reasons given by 19th century factory bosses against limiting the working hours of child labourers.

In his regular column in Media Wales’ quarterly magazine WM, the designer said, “I would like to put into perspective the very valuable role that the clothing industry plays in the lives of emerging economies.

“The sewing machine is a vital tool in Third World development. It’s a bit like the revolution of Gandhi’s hand spinning-stick.

“It is easy to teach and within six to eight weeks an adept pair of hands can be taught to make a living. The riches that a sewing machine can bring to a struggling community are limitless.”

He also urged people not to believe everything they read in the media about child labour and poor wages.

Responding to a number of recent newspaper and magazine articles questioning the ethics of buying cheap, imported clothes, he said, “The implications are that if it’s cheap it’s been made by children or some horrendous abuse of civil or human rights has taken place to get the items onto the shelves.

“I fear the reality in a lot of cases is that journalists (and I use the term loosely) have gone off to the Indian sub continent or to the Far East, possibly with an expense account signed off by a commissioning editor, and have to come back with a story.

“Often this need to justify the commission appears to have clouded their judgement.”

Comparing these developing nations to Britain in the post war era, Mr Banks added, “The term ‘sweat shop’ originated in the East End of London where factories were full of young labour.

“The Jewish community in the East End, many of whom didn’t speak English and were fleeing depression in Eastern Europe, used their skills to carve out a living. Sure, they were packed into a tough working environment and the work was hard but through their industry they hauled themselves out of poverty and made a life.

“The reality is that I am proud of all levels of the clothing community around the world who have helped Third World communities enormously to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”

Leanne Wood hit back at Banks’ claims, stating, “The same points were made in the 19th century, when capitalists said that restricting children to 10 hours a day would mean ‘the mills must stop’ and society would grind to a halt. We’ve heard it all before in arguments against the minimum wage and the granting of workers’ rights.”

Banks made it clear he did not condone the use of child labour.

But Ms Wood said that much of the clothing industry was still guilty of using young people in their factories.

“Child labour is an inevitable consequence of unregulated free-market capitalism. When profit maximisation is the primary goal, social and environmental concerns can be dispensed with.

“There is growing poverty and inequality in both the developed and developing world. The gap between rich and poor grows everywhere. This is the result of globalisation, which is led by a few hundred transnational companies, not subject to national regulation.

“Children provide a source of cheap labour and big profits. A T-shirt produced for £3 by a child can be sold in Europe for £20. Capitalism requires exploitation. Child labour is exploitation.”

Charity Save the Children urged consumers to be aware that despite advances in working conditions, poorly managed sweat shops and the unethical use of child labour is still a big problem.

Eleri Thomas, Save The Children’s interim programme director for Wales said, “Child labour in clothing manufacturing is still a persistent problem. Almost all child labour occurs in developing countries, in agriculture, domestic service, factory production and backstreet workshops.

“Not all products that we see in shops today are produced in these environments – but the potential exploitation of children remains a serious concern.

“Consumers need to be aware that this is still prevalent and exercise responsibility by way of asking questions about the origins of the goods they purchase.

“They should shop ethically and also support organisations working towards the eradication of child labour.”

Plaid Cymru’s child poverty spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins also urged vigilance.

She said, “There is no denying that child labour and the trafficking of children is a very real concern, and should not be disregarded in relation to the fashion industry and its worldwide influence. More often than not, in the current climate of the free market economy, companies are choosing to move jobs away from Britain to make fast profits, using cheap labour. Child labour is intrinsically linked to poverty, and unless Governments across the globe are willing to put policy into practice, and work together to ensure that children’s rights are respected, then they will continue to be undermined.”

Several big-name High Street brands have been criticised in recent years for their use of child labour and factories with poor working conditions.

A spokesperson for Gap, who were forced to review their production policy after evidence of child labour use and who now boast some of the better working conditions, said, “What we find is that offering people jobs in developing countries does help build the infrastructure and stability for the communities over time.

“With our Red collection for example – which raises money to tackle HIV/AIDS in Africa – we manufacture as much of the product as we can in Africa itself.”