life in the desert: This Just in.... H o l y C r u d

Saturday, July 09, 2005

This Just in.... H o l y C r u d

Poverty wristbands manufactured 'unethically' Hugh MuirMonday May 30, 2005The Guardian Wristbands purchased by British charities as part of the Make Poverty History campaign have been manufactured in conditions that breach international ethical standards, it emerged yesterday.
Chinese companies responsible for wristbands worn by thousand of charity supporters, celebrities and politicians, including Tony Blair, have been accused of indulging in forced labour and of paying less than the official minimum wage. An audit also discovered breaches of health and safety regulations.
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Officials from three major charities, Cafod, Oxfam and Christian Aid, say they have been negotiating with suppliers in an attempt to improve working conditions.
A Cafod spokesman said: "We are disappointed this situation has arisen. However, we are now engaging with the supplier to improve conditions within the factory. Under the Ethical Trading Initiative standards, when we find out a supplier isn't in line with those standards we don't just pull away. We attempt to engage with the supplier and work with that supplier to improve conditions so they are in line with the Ethical Trading Initiative standards."
The audit reports focus on two factories heavily involved in manufacturing white wristbands, which sell in Britain for £1 each, 70p of which goes to the charities concerned.
Tat Shing Rubber Manufacturing Company, in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, was accused of "forced labour" because employees were obliged to provide a deposit against future possible breakages of machinery. It was also accused of poor health and safety provision. Tat Shing supplied 120,000 wristbands to Cafod.
An audit report on Fuzhou Xing Chun Trade Company, in Fujian province, said workers were paid below the local minimum hourly wage of 2.39 yuan (16p), to as low as 1.39 yuan (9p). They were insufficiently rewarded for overtime work, had no paid annual leave and suffered pay deductions for disciplinary reasons.
Oxfam bought 10,000 silicon wristbands from Tat Shing in November last year, none of which have been sold. The charity then ordered 1.5m wristbands from Fuzhou Xing Chun on the basis that the failings highlighted in its audit had been addressed. An Oxfam spokesman said: "We can reassure people wanting to support the campaign that all white bands sold in Oxfam shops meet the standards of our ethical purchasing practices."

# Posted by Marybeth @ | 1:15 PM

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