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Article

19 Jun 2012

Author:
Sarah Murray, Financial Times

Textiles industry: How to be the solution, not the problem

[L]eading [textile] brands have been working to eradicate child labour, poor conditions and excessive overtime in supplier factories...Some progress has been made...Child labour is now less of an issue in many factories and health and safety standards have improved. But problems such as excessive overtime persist in many places. This is prompting some companies to look at their own practices...In its...corporate responsibility report, Nike admitted that this was the case...[Nike] found that...[in] 2011, more than two-thirds of the incidents of excessive overtime “were attributable to factors within Nike’s control”. The business practices of clothing brands put pressure on workers in a number of ways...Part of the problem lies in the way the fashion industry has evolved, with clothing treated as a throwaway commodity and design changes introduced with greater frequency. [refers to Burberry, Gap]