British Parliament committee hopes to see more companies join ACT

British parliament committee hopes to see more companies join ACT –

In an enquiry into the environmental and social impact of UK fashion brands, the Environmental Audit Committee, a select committee of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, highlighted which companies are lagging behind in ensuring living wages for garment workers.

“It’s disappointing that only a third of the retailers we wrote to are signed up to ACT, an important global initiative working towards getting a living wage for all garment workers. By publishing this information, customers can choose whether they want to spend money with a company that is doing little to protect the environment or promote proper wages for garment workers.”

MP Mary Creagh, Environmental Audit Committee Chair. Source: UK Parliament 31.01.2019

In its interim report, the Committee finds that “the current exploitative and environmentally damaging model for fashion must change.” The committee also states: “We believe retailers have an obligation to engage with these issues and recommend that they show leadership through engagement with industry initiatives.”

The report is based on the responses by sixteen leading UK fashion retailers on their efforts to reduce the environmental and social impact of the clothes and shoes they sell.

Commenting on the report, Member of the British Parliament Mary Creagh expresses hope to see more companies take responsibility for their workers in the future.