Clean Clothes Campaign
Encyclopedia
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) is the garment industry's
largest alliance of labour unions
and non-governmental organization
s. The civil society campaign
focuses on the improvement of working conditions in the garment and sportswear industries
. Formed in the Netherlands
in 1989, the CCC has campaigns in 15 Europe
an countries: Austria
, Belgium
(North and South), Denmark
, Finland
, France
, Germany
, Italy
, Ireland
, Netherlands
, Norway
, Poland
, Spain
, Sweden
, Switzerland
and the United Kingdom
. The CCC works with a partner network of more than 250 organizations around the world.
s, human
and women's rights
organizations, researcher
s and activists. Representatives from each national campaign meet three times a year to coordinate international activities.
International Labour Organization
. The principles set forth in this code include, among others, a minimum employment age
, safe working requirements
, set working hours
and right to a living wage
. The CCC pressures retailers and manufacturers to adopt the Code of Labour Practices and ensure that the principles are upheld.
Successful campaigning by the CCC has led many businesses to adopt “codes of conduct,” a list of standards for suppliers. The CCC pushes companies to give these codes real meaning by reinforcing them with a commitment to monitoring conditions and resolving problems. The CCC also presses companies to ensure that their buying practices, such as pricing and delivery schedules, do no make it unfeasible for factories to provide decent work.
court to answer accusations of cybercrime
and criminal defamation, among others, against Fibres and Fabrics International and its subsidiary Jeans Knit Pvt Ltd. The charges stem from allegations that the organizations have illegally publicized information about labour rights violations committed by the company on their websites. The cases drew widespread international criticism and were dropped in 2008 following mediation.
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
largest alliance of labour unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
and non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s. The civil society campaign
Civil society campaign
A civil society campaign is one that is intended to mobilize public support and use democratic tools such as lobbying in order to instigate social change. Civil society campaigns can seek local, national or international objectives...
focuses on the improvement of working conditions in the garment and sportswear industries
Sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons....
. Formed in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1989, the CCC has campaigns in 15 Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries: Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(North and South), Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The CCC works with a partner network of more than 250 organizations around the world.
Structure
The national branches of the CCC are autonomous organizations of consumer groups, trade unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, human
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
organizations, researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
s and activists. Representatives from each national campaign meet three times a year to coordinate international activities.
Activities
The Clean Clothes Campaign educates and mobilises consumers, lobbies companies and governments, and offers direct solidarity support to workers as they fight for their rights and demand better working conditions.Retailers and distributors
The Clean Clothes Campaign insists that companies bear a responsibility and have the power to ensure that workers throughout their supply chains are treated fairly. The CCC has developed a "Code of Labour Practices for the Apparel Industry Including Sportswear" based upon the conventions of the United Nations'United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
. The principles set forth in this code include, among others, a minimum employment age
Minimum Age Convention, 1973
The Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, is an Convention adopted in 1973 by the International Labour Organization. It requires ratifying states to pursue a national policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and to raise progressively the minimum...
, safe working requirements
Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981
Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 is an International Labour Organization Convention.It was established in 1981, with the preamble stating:...
, set working hours
Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919
Hours of Work Convention, 1919 is an International Labour Organization Convention.It was established in 1919:Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the "application of the principle of the 8-hours day or of the 48-hours week"...- Ratifications:- External links :*...
and right to a living wage
Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970
Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 is an International Labour Organization Convention.It was established in 1970, with the preamble stating:...
. The CCC pressures retailers and manufacturers to adopt the Code of Labour Practices and ensure that the principles are upheld.
Successful campaigning by the CCC has led many businesses to adopt “codes of conduct,” a list of standards for suppliers. The CCC pushes companies to give these codes real meaning by reinforcing them with a commitment to monitoring conditions and resolving problems. The CCC also presses companies to ensure that their buying practices, such as pricing and delivery schedules, do no make it unfeasible for factories to provide decent work.
Support to workers
The Clean Clothes Campaign provides solidarity support in urgent cases of labor and human rights violations. The CCC communicates with companies and public authorities, requesting positive intervention and resolution. If companies fail to take adequate steps to resolve problems, the CCC mobilizes consumers and activists around the world to take action. The CCC has taken up more than 250 cases involving discrimination against union members and officials, unsafe working conditions, withholding of wages and social premiums, violence against workers, and violations of worker's human rights.Consumer education
The CCC publicizes through educational programmes, demonstrations, advertisement, debates, books, rallies and news outlets information related to the production of clothes and the misuse of garment workers.Legal advocacy
The Clean Clothes Campaign calls on the European Union and national governments to promote respect for international labour standards. It lobbies governments to be responsible consumers themselves by committing to the ethical procurement of government uniforms and work wear.Legal action against CCC
On June 25, 2007, the CCC and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) were jointly summoned before a BangaloreBangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
court to answer accusations of cybercrime
CyberCrime
CyberCrime was an innovative, weekly America television program on TechTV that focused on the dangers facing computer users. Filmed in San Francisco, California, the show was hosted by Alex Wellen and Jennifer London...
and criminal defamation, among others, against Fibres and Fabrics International and its subsidiary Jeans Knit Pvt Ltd. The charges stem from allegations that the organizations have illegally publicized information about labour rights violations committed by the company on their websites. The cases drew widespread international criticism and were dropped in 2008 following mediation.
See also
- United Students Against SweatshopsUnited Students Against SweatshopsUnited Students Against Sweatshops is a student organization with chapters at over 250 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In April 2000, USAS founded the Worker Rights Consortium , an independent monitoring organization that investigates labor conditions in factories that...
- Fairwear AustraliaFairwear AustraliaFairwear Australia is a community campaign which addresses exploitation of home-based textile and clothing workers in Australia. Made up of churches, non-governmental organisations, schools and community members, FairWear has worked since 1996 to achieve wage justice and fair working conditions...
- Labour lawLabour lawLabour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
- Labor rightsLabor rightsLabor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
- SweatshopSweatshopSweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
- International Labour Organization Conventions
- Child laborChild laborChild labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...