#whomademyclothes? – Boden Responds!

Two years on from the tragedy of the Rana Plaza building collapsing, a new report from Behind the Barcode shows that within the fashion supply chain, ethically there are still many grey areas. One of the key issues is transparency, 75% of companies, in the report, don’t know the source of their fabrics and a shocking 48% haven’t traced where their clothes are being made. This is why On #fashionrevolutionday my family asked @Topshop, @Next and @Boden #whomademyclothes? The only store to respond were Boden, here’s what they said:

Hi Karen

Thank you for your email.

I am pleased to confirm that the t-shirt was made by one of our factories in Zhejiang, China. We have been working with factory since 2013. For more information on our Ethical programme: http://www.boden.co.uk/en-GB/help/our-ethical-policy.html

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further queries.

Best wishes

Now Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People’s Republic of China with a population of 54.63 million*, the area covers nearly 40,000 square miles so I thought a little more detail was required! I asked Boden for some more information. They provided a photo of the factory where mum’s T Shirt was made, which can be seen below.

They also advised that in July of this year they will be implementing the HER project at the site pictured above. The BSR HER Health Project is a women’s health and empowerment programme. Many women who work in clothing factories in China are young, uneducated migrants who move to the city for work, from rural communities. We take for it for granted that we know about sex, babies, STD’s and how to prevent them, however globally there is a huge unmet need for contraception. According to BSR** the leading cause of death and disability in young women, is due to pregnancy and childbirth complications. This programme seeks to give them access to services for general and sexual health, and also to educate and raise their awareness.

So I say, well done Boden for; responding to your customer, being transparent about where my mum’s T Shirt was made and for caring about the people who make our clothes. Now we just need a few more retailers to follow suit.

* National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2011.

** BSR is a global nonprofit organization that works with a network of 250+ companies to build a just and sustainable world. Visit www.bsr.org for more info.

I am linking this post with the wonderful mummy blogger Jenny at Let’s Talk Mommy.