Perhaps Mahatma Gandhi said it best. “There is no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes hunger and unhappiness.”

Key points

• 54% of Australians exclusively support brands that are transparent about their supply chains.
• “I don’t think any brand can claim to have achieved perfection in its supply chain, but that is certainly the aim,” says Outland Denim’s Erica Bartle.
• The World Baptist Aid Ethical Fashion Guide is a great place to start learning about your favourite brands, and their approaches to labour.
  

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No matter how beautiful a garment may be, when its back story is one of exploitation and the devaluing of human life, the ugliness overrides everything else.

Slavery has been an issue for millenia, and Aussies are listening now, more than ever – and we’re changing our spending habits accordingly.

“We found in recent research that Australians are increasingly prioritising sustainability and ethical practices when making purchasing decisions,” a McCrindle report says.

“Transparency is becoming an essential factor for today’s consumer.”

“The future consumer is reshaping the retail landscape, calling for accountability in their operations.

“A recent study commissioned by QIC Real Estate revealed that more than half of Australians (54%) exclusively support brands that are transparent about their supply chains.

“Consumers are no longer satisfied with merely purchasing products but are seeking to understand the origins and production process behind their chosen brands.

“Transparency is becoming an essential factor for today’s consumer.”

Aussie companies like Outland Denim have built their brand around valuing transparency, giving consumers the opportunity to purchase quality fashion, with an ethical storyline.

“People are the heart of Outland Denim,” explains Co-Founder and Head of Communications and Impact at Outland Denim, Erica Bartle.

“I don’t think any brand can claim to have achieved perfection in its supply chain, but that is certainly the aim,” Erica says.

“We started with a humanitarian bent and mission: to alleviate the circumstances of poverty that drive people into exploitation and modern slavery.

“So that’s the through-line with all we do and extends down our supply chain.

“We also desire for our customers to have confidence in spending their hard-earned money with us that they are purchasing a product that is full of integrity.

“So, this means ensuring living wages from our own factory floor down to our supply chain partners.

“Our aim is to create a full supply chain that is exploitation free.

“I don’t think any brand can claim to have achieved perfection in its supply chain, but that is certainly the aim.”

Baptist World Aid’s Australian Ethical Consumer Report found that while younger generations are the most active, when it comes to ethical consumption, as a whole, Aussie consumers “prioritise value for money, quality and affordability when making purchasing decisions.”

Nevertheless, awareness has increased, with 80% saying they’ve heard of forced labour or modern slavery and 63% disagreeing with the idea that slavery was eradicated hundreds of years ago.

“Modern slavery insidiously pervades the global supply chains of the products that we purchase, particularly fashion, electronics, seafood and palm oil,” the report says.

“Approximately 49.6 million people are currently trapped in modern slavery.”

“Positive trends in awareness and engagement with ethical fashion are emerging among Australians, with more than half (51%) now familiar with the term ‘ethical fashion’, a slight increase from 48% in 2021,” the report says.

“Approximately 49.6 million people are currently trapped in modern slavery.”

Baptist World Aid’s Ethical Fashion Guide empowers consumer choice, encouraging them to ask brands “to do better,” by the way they purchase fashion – and by contacting brands directly.

“Millions of workers in the global fashion industry face injustice, abuse, low wages, and modern slavery,” the Guide says.

“The way we produce clothes and shoes—and the endless demand for more—is having a detrimental impact on local communities, their lands and waterways, and even the air they breathe.

“With the industry is responsible for up to ten per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, it’s a problem that affects us all.

“So we’re lifting the lid on what’s happening in the supply chains of the biggest fashion brands, to create momentum for change.”

For Erica, it’s about adopting an attitude which aligns with Jesus’ teachings. “Jesus was first and foremost of and for the people: the downtrodden, the widow, the poor, the orphan, the vulnerable woman,” she says.

“We share His point of view.”

“Jesus was first and foremost of and for the people: the downtrodden, the widow, the poor, the orphan, the vulnerable woman. We share His point of view.” Erica says.

And with 1 in 8 people working in jobs connected to the fashion industry and only 2% receiving a ‘living wage’, the fashion industry is highly susceptible to exploitative practices.

“It was only in 2005 that the expiration of the Multifiber Arrangement opened up the world to a global textile and apparel trade,” Erica says.

“This came with some massive wins for developing countries, such as the provision of lower-skilled jobs, but also with some unintended consequences, such as the chasing of the “cheap needle”, which keeps lower-income countries in a perpetual competition to provide the cheapest labour to satisfy brand and retailer desire to produce goods for the lowest costs for our mass consumption.

“This has had terrible consequences such as keeping people in “working poverty” where a low wage ceiling is set by the government to keep jobs and investment within the country.

“All of this has been very opaque (we only see the shiny things in the stores!) until recently with many organisations, such as Oxfam and Baptist World Aid, shining a light on the plight of hidden garment workers, particularly since the Rana Plaza Disaster in 2013.”

“The people came first, the brand second,” Erica says.

Alongside her husband, CEO and co-founder James, the pair made some big decisions about the path Outland Denim would take.

“We were drawn to help a particular people group – vulnerable young women in Cambodia – as opposed to being a designer or brand-led company,” she said.

“The people came first, the brand second.”

If you’re wondering, where do I even start? Thankfully, the way forward is simpler than it has ever been.

“We are aware that so many people are suffering under cost of living pressures, but please spend a little more on one thing from an ethical brand rather than spending a lot on multiple cheaper things from brands or companies who are only paying minimum wages not sufficient to live on,” Erica says.

“Also check on brands’ credentials before parting with your cash!”

The World Baptist Aid Ethical Fashion Guide is a great place to start learning about your favourite brands, and their approaches to labour.

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Feature image: All photos supplied