tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78324772246872146912024-03-13T18:03:31.770+00:00planB4fashionPromoting a welfare state in the third world and in europe, by making it a condition of low import tariffs.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.comBlogger971500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-80813483025736761192022-03-09T19:22:00.003+00:002023-08-14T18:56:30.294+01:00<p><strike>https://www.stop-russian-propaganda.com/</strike> used to be a web site about over-loading Russian propaganda websites with requests from browsers, as well as harder sites to crack like MIL.RU and commercial sites.<br /><br />It's good to have revived an old blog and published a page with that link just in case it helped.<br /><br />Sites like stop-russian-propaganda probably made a very slight difference, specially to enemy web sites that weren't used to defending themselves with the likes of Cloudflare. There was probably a morale-reducing or morale-boosting effect to either side. Imagine if you work in IT and are asked to help defend a Russian web site against individual activists from all over the world. Wouldn't you think that it's time to emigrate?</p><p><a href="https://www.uahelp.me/help/">https://www.uahelp.me/help/</a> is where I found the stop russian propaganda link with various ways that people can help - mainly adding money to what taxpayers in the UK have already contributed. <br /><br /><b>Another idea: tanks and military hardwire.</b><br /><br />I don't understand why donor countries like the UK want to donate lots of reserves of equipment, but not the whole lot. The idea seems to be to keep essentials like recently-made tanks, but donate what we can spare like the previous model. I don't get this idea. What are the tanks for if not to stop Russia and China invading? Russia is already invading power lines on sea beds; it is already invading with assassins to kill people in Salisbury. Russia funds daft politicians, if I understand right, in order to make democracy fail. Russia and China will not stop at some treaty line like the Minsk agreement that said they would stop after Crimea. If they win, and win, and win, it is only a matter of time before they annexe the UK or countries so close that we have to be close to the buffer zone and ignore what they do while moving closer and closer. Finlandization used to be the jargon word.<br /><br />I don't understand the argument the other way. Maybe I have missed it. Why would we not donate every single tank to Ukraine (or whatever other piece of hardware)? You cannot do much else with most of this hardware. You cannot hoover the carpet with it, or generate electricity for a town, or </p>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-7915607298234736442022-03-07T18:59:00.006+00:002022-03-07T20:00:28.776+00:00<h1><a href="https://www.uahelp.me/help/" title="how to help people in Ukraine">Uahelp.me/help/</a></h1>
A balding man with a laptop gets grandiose when given power, whether it is a power to write this little-read blog, or a power to command conscripts to kill. The balding little man in Moscow looks pretty unwell, mentally and physically, which is bad for the careerists who endure him face to face and try to carry out his orders.
<br /><br /><a href="https://www.uahelp.me/help/" title="how to help people in Ukraine"><b>Uahelp.me/help/</b></a> looks a good link for ways of trying to help people in Ukraine. One of them is free to do, but I have not worked out how to do it. Maybe there is some online service for checking whether some Russian sites like banks and Gasprom and Kremlin.ru are still down due to other people checking. I have not worked out how to use the more intense software suggested, but somebody reading this might get it going straight away. As it's likely that the Kremlin will find a way of closing down the internet in Ukraine. I guess that any outside help is welcome.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-81100670071874331742021-08-09T19:40:00.004+01:002021-08-12T10:15:44.830+01:00Free trade has made Vietnam factory workers poorer when not linked to national insuranceThis post will change a bit as I get the facts together but here's a start<br>
<A Href="https://tradingeconomics.com/vietnam/wages-in-manufacturing">https://tradingeconomics.com/vietnam/wages-in-manufacturing</A><br>
says that wages in Vietnamese manufacturing have not much risen recently; the bar chart shows a big peak and then a fall.<br>
https://tradingeconomics.com/vietnam/wages-in-manufacturing says that people in Vietnam have benefited from a recent free trade deal with the UK. The link is to a consulation document which states this as a fact. The same consultation process leaves-out any questions on wny the UK is paying other countries to under-cut UK manufacturers; consultations on each deal, such as the recent mexico deal consultation, are silent on the subject and give no clue that a subsidy to the other side might exist.
<hr>
It turns-out that I'm wrong: Vietnam has a firtility rate of about two, and some kind of national insurance and welfare state. I don't know if it's a good one, but it's enough to stop the firtility rate going as high Mexico (where the UK wants to pay to get a trade deal!) or Nigeria, where women have about four children and I expect that women in poor families have more, boosting the unemployment queue and lowering wages however many cut-rate products westerners buy from there. Also, I forget where I got the firtility rate figures, but welfare / national insurance information is here -<br>
<a href="https://ww1.issa.int/country-profiles">https://ww1.issa.int/country-profiles</a>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-15375576885048970522021-08-08T19:01:00.021+01:002021-08-12T10:40:37.921+01:00Low cost of reducing evil: Afghanistan Iran and PakistanI was going to write a review of the sneakers exhibition at the Design Museum in London.<br><br>Instead:</br>
<h2>Afghanistan and the rounding-up of wives</h2><br>
Wikipedia says that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_National_Army" title="Afghan Army size">Afghan Army payroll has varied over decades and is quite low at the moment, for a country that is always at war.
AFN 717,857 or GBP 6,600 is an average salary, a bit below average salaries overall in the country but with a pay-rise promised out of despiration.<br><br>
<S>To fund an Afghan soldier you need to work well and hard or have £6,600 x 10 invested at 10%: £66,000 or half the cost of the cheapest house in the UK. If you have the cheapest house in the UK, and no costs or debt and somewheere else to live, you have the money to fund two Afghan soldiers if you can invest at 10%. Ask me how. You need an expert intemediary or to trust whatever the Afghan embassy suggests.<br><br>
There might be someone who could add noughts on the end of that figure and is looking for something to do with their money, other than funding political parties of sponsoring the Olympics. Suppose that politicians in the UK declared a halt on all party funding, and urged donors to fund other causes instead, that might release one who could fund a lot of Afghan soldiers. If the situation is too dire in the non-taliban parts of Afghanistan for many soldiers to be recruited or trained and show value for money, there may be a way of paying for help from over the border if the Pakistani government is forced to allow.</S> I crossed those paragraphs out as US and European taxpayers already pay a bit towards the Afghan army, according to an Al Jazerrah article on my phone today<br><br>
There is another problem. People in Pakistan and Iran are doing exactly the same thing, individually and via their governments I suppose. There is no way to hold Taliban prisoners in a more stable country like Pakistan, so there's a risk of their prisons being in areas where they are released and allowed to kill more people and round-up more wives. Countries like Pakistan Iran are run for monotheists who has no respect for other opinions and minorities; it's obvious that a proportion of people there will go further, and be the crusaders or the violent puritans or just fund such people from beige living rooms while watching MTV<br><br>
<b>if the UK's new tariff system fined countries where this happens, such as Iran and Pakistan, the problem would be made more obvious and there would be bit of tax revenue coming-in from tariffs. It might even fund something good in whatever country</b><br>
<A HREF="https://www.gov.uk/search/policy-papers-and-consultations">https://www.gov.uk/search/policy-papers-and-consultations</A> often has pages where you can put a reasonable point of view on record, maybe informed by facts, and demonstrate how little I have done the same. I thought there was one on the general direction of UK trade deals for example, but can't even find it, for all my talk of funding Afghan soliders.
<hr><br>
Update: people who are better-informed than me in Afghanistan do this:<br>
<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/11/sanction-pakistan-twitter-trend-afghanistan-taliban">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/11/sanction-pakistan-twitter-trend-afghanistan-taliban</a>
Meanwhile the UK<br>
<a href="https://www.gov.uk/search/policy-papers-and-consultations?keywords=trade&content_store_document_type%5B%5D=open_consultations&order=relevance">https://www.gov.uk/search/policy-papers-and-consultations?keywords=trade&content_store_document_type%5B%5D=open_consultations&order=relevance</a><br>...shows open consultations on trade, and with a bit of a search I see that there's an open consultation for India and for "developing" countries. It think there has also been a UK government trade sanction on Belarus, but no mention of it on the trade pages. Sanctions and trade deals are worked-out in different offices, and in different parts of the brains of the people who make these decisions in government. UK government trade pages write about deals with Myanmar and probably even Belorus as though sanctions didn't exist<br><br>
A better scheme would mix the two. Sanctions on Myanmar have not much effect, I think, because the regime there is past caring. Sanctions on Pakistan would have an effect because civil society, the economy, and the thing goverment says when it is trying to sound western, all might influence decisons there.<br><br>
One such sanction could be a low extra tariff on countries that promote monotheism in schools. The UK might have to sanction itself, but it's still a good idea. That way of thinking can justify anything; the reward is in heavan. In someone on the borderline of violence, it is an added factor, like heroin use and a peer pressure, which can over-ride concience. In the Pakistan religious acadamies, boys might have all three. According to Al Jazeera - <br><i>"<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/25/the-taliban-explained">The Taliban militia emerged as a substantial player in 1994. Many of its members had studied in conservative religious schools in Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan</a>."</i>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-53316621556512802972020-12-22T14:08:00.003+00:002020-12-22T14:27:47.607+00:00Ethical credentials for free, scraped-together from the country where a product is madeExampes<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://veganline.com/made-in-albania" target="_blank" title="6.30 out of 10 on Human Rights Index 2019 (news: HRW ; Amnesty )
5.89 out of 10 on Democracy_Index
.658 units of CO2 International Energy Agency shows made / unit of electricity
Albania Social Security system from an SSA.gov list
6.7% Health expenditure
4.0% Education expenditure">made-in-albania</a></li><li><a href="https://veganline.com/made-in-uk" target="_blank" title="8.13 out of 10 on Human Rights Index 2019 (news HRW ; Amnesty )
8.52 out of 10 on Democracy_Index
1.08 units of C02 International Energy Agency shows made / unit of electricity
Social Security - International Social Security Associon (Wikipedia)
09.6% Health expenditure
05.5% Education expenditure">made-in-uk</a>
</li><li><a href="https://veganline.com/made-in-france" target="_blank" title="7.79 out of 10 on Human Rights Index 2019 (news: HRW & Amnesty )
8.12 out of 10 on Democracy_Index
.632 units of C02 International Energy Agency shows made / unit of electricity
France Social Security System link from an SSA.gov list
11.3% Health expenditure
05.4% Education expenditure">made-in-france</a>
</li><li><a href="https://veganline.com/made-in-italy" target="_blank" title="7.28 out of 10 on Human Rights Index 2019 (HRW & Amnesty )
7.50 out of 10 on Democracy_Index :
1.00 unit of CO2 International Energy Agency shows made / unit of electricity
Italy Social Security system from an SSA.gov list ; The Italian Welfare State on Wikipedia.
08.8% Health expenditure
03.6% Education expenditure">made-in-italy</a>
</li><li><a href="https://veganline.com/made-in-poland" target="_blank" title="7.60 out of 10 on Human Rights Index 2019 (news: HRW & Amnesty )
6.62 out of 10 on Democracy_Index
1.95 units of CO2 International Energy Agency shows made / unit of electricity
Poland Social Security system from an SSA.gov list or Wikipedia
06.5% Health expenditure
04.6% Education expenditure">made-in-poland</a></li><li><a href="https://veganline.com/made-in-spain" target="_blank" title="7.57 out of 10 on Human Rights Index (HRW; Amnesty)
08.9% Health spending
04.2% Education spending
Spain Social Security system (Wikipedia)
8.29 out of 10 on Democracy_Index
.957 units of C02 per unit of electricity">made-in-spain</a>
</li><li><a href="https://veganline.com/made-in-portugal" target="_blank" title="8.45 out of 10 on Human Rights Index 2019 (news: HRW & Amnesty )
8.03 out of 10 on Democracy_Index
.910 units of CO2 International Energy Agency shows produced / unit of electricity
Portugal Social Security system from an SSA.gov list and a Wikipedia page on healthcare
09.0% Health expenditure
04.9% Education expenditure">made-in-portugal</a>
</li><li><a href="https://veganline.com/made-in-china-pr" target="_blank" title="Among the least democratic regimes with least human rights by all accounts.
hrw.org/asia/china-and-tibet Human Rights Watch
Amnesty International is not allowed to have an office in China
Off the bottom of the scale at Human Rights Index 2019
2.18 out of 10 for democracy says Democracy_Index
1.39 units of CO2 per unit of electricity in 2018 (China country page)
China Social Security System link from SSA.gov and Wikipedia page.
5.2% Health expenditure
N/A Education expenditure">made-in-china-pr</a></li></ul>The pages are set-up already by my shopping cart software which expects them to be used for brands or manufacturers, but I don't have much for sale with a known brand name on it, so the pages were going spare. Under each list of scores I write <br /><ul><li><i>"more than a vegan shoe brand, but these costs reduce what's left for brand advertising, PR & packaging for smart retail, rapid style changes and air freight, new moulds, or fiddly sewing. You can draw your own brand, like a smiley face or a black spot or something if you want."</i></li></ul>This is a great relief to someone who is used to getting ethical credentials for free just by writing <i><b>"vegan"</b></i> on a product on a home made web site, next to <i><b>"wash at 40 degrees"</b></i> or <i><b>"postage three pounds"</b></i>. Other producers have always had a tougher job trying to justify one factory in Bangladesh as being a better employer than another factory in Sri Lanka. If we know where a product was made we can compare free information about each country, just so long as someone has done the work already and put some kind of number on it. Not that there is a number for human rights in China because that country is off the bottom of the scale, but most countries have a number.<br /><br />For a long time, I didn't know that a human rights index existed and I think it's quite new. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Creagh">Mary Creagh</a> mentioned it on a video of the Environmental Audit Committee that I sat-through, and I immediately stole the idea. Another came soon after on a Make it British virtual trade show where Mr Nieper of David Nieper Ltd gave a video speech about his company's carbon emissions, as reported by Nottingham University who realised that electriciy units take more CO2 to make in China than in the UK. The <a href="https://press.davidnieper.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/UON-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">UK v China CO2 emmission report is buried on the David Niaper Ltd web site</a>, but after some googling I found the International Energy Agency. It shows each country scored on a few boxes. The ratio of electriciy output to CO2 produced making electricity is a simple number, in some unit or other. <br /><br />SSA.gov in the USA was a previous google discovery. It publishes a concise guide to the social security system, if any, in each country and adds a list of government spending on headings like health and education. The guide seems to come from the International Social Security Association, who have a permanant link for each country but a much slower web site and a series of drop-downs for each one that makes it impossible to glance at; you have to know what you're looking for before you can find it. So I have stuck to SSA.gov and their information pages called a "world factbook", published by the CIA.<br />
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-19880006676294721662020-03-23T10:28:00.001+00:002020-03-30T17:24:44.902+01:00UK government forms for medical and emergency procurement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The UK government has no database of UK manufacturers.</div>
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<div>
They have two forms to show interest in providing medical or emergency goods and services.</div>
<ul>
<li>The first is general including personal protective equipment like face masks</li>
<li>The second is for ventilators. I guess that manufacturing quickly in the UK is what they're most interested in; there is a "where" box next to each item on the second form.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Goods and Services Assistance: COVID-19 - <a href="https://smartsurvey.co.uk/s/l5b32s">smartsurvey.co.uk/s/l5b32s</a> or</h3>
<h1>
<a href="https://is-tracking-link-api-prod.appspot.com/api/v1/click/4835845119672320/4576026558464000" rel="veganlinecom" target="_blank">bit.ly/covidhelpuk</a></h1>
<h3>
GOODS</h3>
<ul>
<li>Food</li>
<li>Hotel Rooms for any use</li>
<li>Hotel Rooms for lodging</li>
<li>Manufacturing equipment</li>
<li>Medical Equipment -</li>
<li>PPE Medical Equipment -</li>
<li>Testing equipment Medical Equipment -</li>
<li>Other Office space for any use</li>
<li>Warehouse/Industrial space</li>
<li>Other (please provide a description of these goods):</li>
</ul>
<h3>
SERVICES</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Community Support </strong></li>
<li><strong>Consultancy for Medical Equipment </strong></li>
<li><strong>Design Consultancy - other </strong></li>
<li><strong>Construction expertise </strong></li>
<li><strong>Engineering expertise </strong></li>
<li><strong>IT services expertise </strong></li>
<li><strong>Manufacturing expertise </strong></li>
<li><strong>Medical expertise </strong></li>
<li><strong>Project management / procurement expertise </strong></li>
<li><strong>Social Care </strong></li>
<li><strong>Transport - logistics or courier </strong></li>
<li><strong>Transport - people </strong></li>
<li><strong>Other (please provide a description of these services)</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
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<h2>
<a href="https://ventilator.herokuapp.com/">VENTILATOR PARTS</a></h2>
<a href="https://ventilator.herokuapp.com/">https://ventilator.herokuapp.com/</a> - form; <a href="https://engineersassemble.tribe.so/">https://engineersassemble.tribe.so/</a> - end-product spec. </div>
</div>
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<h3>
GOODS</h3>
</div>
</div>
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<ul>
<li><strong>Do you already produce regulated ventilators</strong> that are used in a UK clinical setting i.e. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), approved with a CE mark?</li>
<li><strong>Have you made parts or systems for ventilators:</strong></li>
<li>for human use in clinical setting? Yes No</li>
<li>for use in veterinary setting? Yes No</li>
<li>use in any other setting? Yes No <strong>If you answered yes to any of the above, please provide further details. Please indicate whether you design, manufacture or supply any of the following medical devices or component parts </strong><strong>and, if so, where.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
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Category: Design / Manufacture / Supply / Location</div>
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<ul>
<li>Air Compressors / Pumps</li>
<li>Bellows</li>
<li>Self-inflating bags</li>
<li>Gas mixing valves</li>
<li>Pressure Regulators</li>
<li>Flow Control valves</li>
<li>Solenoid valves</li>
<li>Pressure relief valves</li>
<li>Check valves / one-way valves</li>
<li>Industrial Automation components (Safety Relays, PLCs)</li>
<li>Power Supplies</li>
<li>Electric Motors, and motor controllers</li>
<li>Linear actuators and controllers</li>
<li>Tubing and fittings</li>
<li>Pressure Sensors and Indicators</li>
<li>Oxygen Sensors and Indicators</li>
<li>Flow Sensors and Indicators</li>
<li>Manometers</li>
<li>Heat and moisture exchanging filters (HMEFs)</li>
<li>Air Filter, HEPA Filters</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div data-block="true" data-editor="bskvg" data-offset-key="ehoov-0-0">
<div data-offset-key="ehoov-0-0">
<h3>
SERVICES</h3>
</div>
</div>
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6. Please indicate in <br />
<ul>
<li>which of the following activities your organisation has <strong>relevant skills</strong>,</li>
<li>which is your <strong>specialism</strong>, and</li>
<li><strong>where</strong> these activities take place.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
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Category: Relevant skills / Specialism / Location</div>
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<ul>
<li>Design / specification</li>
<li>Rapid prototyping</li>
<li>Manufacturing (manual)</li>
<li>Manufacturing (automated)</li>
<li>Machine Shops/sheet metal/tool manufacture</li>
<li>Pneumatic part manufacturers/suppliers</li>
<li>Contract/Product Assembly</li>
<li>Certification/regulation/testing</li>
<li>Logistics</li>
<li>Medical Training</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
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7. Please indicate which enabling resources are you able to provide in service of this initiative.</div>
</div>
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<ul>
<li>Suitable space</li>
<li>Equipment</li>
<li>Trained personnel</li>
<li>Other</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://www.theengineer.co.uk/uk-government-manufacturers-ventilators-nhs/">theengineer.co.uk/uk-government-manufacturers-ventilators-nhs/</a> - posts in <em>The Engineer </em><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/coronavirus-ventilators-uk-new-dyson-order-government-shortage-nhs-a9426561.html">independent.co.uk/news/business/coronavirus-ventilators-uk-new-dyson-order-government-shortage-nhs-a9426561.html</a> - post in <em>The Independent</em> mention a GTech contract and that GTech will make the plans open source. Headlines seem to go to party donor Dyson instead. <br />
<a href="https://www.gtech.co.uk/ventilators">gtech.co.uk/ventilators</a><br />
This one from a college doesn't mention a manufacturer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IMaYFNB9tA&feature=emb_rel_end">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IMaYFNB9tA&feature=emb_rel_end</a> There is also an open source design project in Ireland which I don't understand - it's about slack channels and github for those qualified to help.<br /><br />
<a href="https://www.ventilatorchallengeuk.com/">https://www.ventilatorchallengeuk.com/</a><br />
has been promised orders<br /><br />Party donor James Dyson has been promised orders, with no web page findable yet<br /><a href="https://hexus.net/ce/news/general/141073-everything-know-dyson-covent-ventilator/">https://hexus.net/ce/news/general/141073-everything-know-dyson-covent-ventilator/</a><br /><br /></div>
</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-24100079834963823422020-02-20T20:00:00.002+00:002020-03-03T18:34:30.873+00:00Have your say on the UK Global Tariff<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is emotive. People have to write positive, simple reasons why<br />
(a) tariffs can help prevent the next Syria by taxing badness.<br />
(b) tariffs can help Bangladesh by giving it a reason to introduce National Insurance, and help the UK at the same time.<br />
(c) talking of clothing and footwear, consumers in the UK can benefit from less throw-away thin cotton, which they often pay a lot for in M&S even if it is cheap at Primark, while there is a landfill problem just getting rid of all this stuff because it is too thin to sell secondhand.<br />
<br />
There is more similar.<br />
<br />
I will transcribe the questions and have a go online before sending-off my answers. Meanwhile, search <i>"Have your say on the UK Global Tariff" </i>to see the kind of thing the civil service asks.<br />
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Tariff</h1>
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<span style="color: red;">The rule applies unless you have a customs agreement with a specific country or are part of a customs union</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red;">so the rule can be "if you are bad you pay" to all WTO members "without any regard to size or economic development"</span><br />
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To inform the development of the UK Global Tariff, the Government has launched a four-week public consultation on the UK Global Tariff policy, beginning on 6 February 2020 and closing on 5 March 2020. The Government encourages everyone with an interest to take part and provide their views.</div>
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This consultation will provide the opportunity for you to provide:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">views on a potential series of amendments to the Common External Tariff to create a bespoke UK tariff regime;</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">specific feedback on individual products or commodity codes of importance to you, including on the corresponding tariff rate; and</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">information on your interactions with Most Favoured Nation tariffs, and the importance of tariffs to sectors that are important to you.</li>
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Throughout the consultation respondents are encouraged to provide evidence to support their view, including the possible impact (costs and benefits) of amending or not amending the tariff on businesses, consumers and the economy.</div>
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ambitious, transparent and inclusive UK trade policy that takes account of the views of all sectors of society and international stakeholders; including the general public, devolved administrations and the regions, businesses, civil society groups, consumers, associations and any other interested stakeholders.</div>
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In line with this, the Government has launched a 4-week public consultation on the UK’s future tariff schedule.</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">to design an effective UK specific Most Favoured Nation Tariff (the UK Global Tariff),</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">to ensure that the UK Global Tariff captures the views of its stakeholders,</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">to enable HM Government to follow up on the points raised in the consultation.</li>
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Section 2 Tariff Rates<br />
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Consultation on the UK Global Tariff</h1>
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Section 2 : Tariff Rates</h3>
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Tariffs are duties or taxes paid on imported goods entering a country.</div>
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Those who import the goods into the UK pay the tariff, which is collected by HM Revenue & Customs.</div>
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The new UK Global Tariff will apply to all goods imported into the UK on 1 January 2021, unless an exception such as a preferential arrangement or tariff suspension applies. In particular, <span style="color: #a64d79;">this tariff will not apply to goods coming from developing countries</span> that benefit under the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/trading-with-developing-nations-during-and-after-the-transition-period" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">Generalised System of Preferences</a>, or to goods originating from countries with which the UK has negotiated a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-trade-agreements-with-non-eu-countries" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">Free Trade Agreement</a>. The Northern Ireland / Ireland Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement provides for certain specific arrangements as regards Northern Ireland. It will be designed specifically for the UK economy and will replace the EU’s Common External Tariff which is currently applied on imports into the UK.</div>
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The UK is required to apply the same tariff rates to all goods imported from countries with which the UK does not have a preferential arrangement in place. This is in line with the World Trade Organisation’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle.</div>
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In this section you will be able to provide:</div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">specific feedback on products or commodity codes of importance to you, including on the corresponding tariff rate; <br /><br /><span style="color: #a64d79;">sewn cotton knit from Bangladesh</span><br /><br />and</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">information on your interactions with Most Favoured Nation tariffs and the importance of tariffs to sectors that are important to you.</li>
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<span style="color: #a64d79;">Slippers and all goods discouraged in the 1930s onwards and 1979-2009</span></div>
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Please note: this consultation is asking for views on applied tariffs only. It does not cover any other import duties or measures, including anti-dumping, <br />
countervailing or <br />
safeguards duties, <br />
or any other form of restrictions on imports.</div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Were you aware of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) applied tariffs prior to hearing about this consultation?</b></div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Which of the following sectors are important to you when considering the current applied tariffs (the EU's Common External Tariff)? </b><br />
<i style="box-sizing: border-box;">For example, for importing, producing and/or consuming.</i><br />
<i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Please select all that apply.</i></div>
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<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-5-label" choiceid="5" class="checkbox QR-QID285-5 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.5.Selected" id="QR~QID285~5" name="QR~QID285~5" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.5.Selected" for="QR~QID285~5" id="QID285-5-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Other energy and mining</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<li class="ChoiceGroup" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; padding-bottom: 10px;"><span data-runtime-html="runtime.ChoiceGroups.cg_4.GroupLabel" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red;">Manufacturing</span></li>
<ul class="ChoiceGroupStructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-6-label" choiceid="6" class="checkbox QR-QID285-6 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.6.Selected" id="QR~QID285~6" name="QR~QID285~6" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.6.Selected" for="QR~QID285~6" id="QID285-6-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Aerospace</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-7-label" choiceid="7" class="checkbox QR-QID285-7 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.7.Selected" id="QR~QID285~7" name="QR~QID285~7" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.7.Selected" for="QR~QID285~7" id="QID285-7-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Automotive</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-8-label" choiceid="8" class="checkbox QR-QID285-8 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.8.Selected" id="QR~QID285~8" name="QR~QID285~8" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.8.Selected" for="QR~QID285~8" id="QID285-8-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Chemicals</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-9-label" choiceid="9" class="checkbox QR-QID285-9 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.9.Selected" id="QR~QID285~9" name="QR~QID285~9" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.9.Selected" for="QR~QID285~9" id="QID285-9-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red;">Clothing and Textiles</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-10-label" choiceid="10" class="checkbox QR-QID285-10 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.10.Selected" id="QR~QID285~10" name="QR~QID285~10" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.10.Selected" for="QR~QID285~10" id="QID285-10-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Food, Beverages and Tobacco</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-11-label" choiceid="11" class="checkbox QR-QID285-11 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.11.Selected" id="QR~QID285~11" name="QR~QID285~11" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.11.Selected" for="QR~QID285~11" id="QID285-11-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">ICT and Electronics</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-12-label" choiceid="12" class="checkbox QR-QID285-12 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.12.Selected" id="QR~QID285~12" name="QR~QID285~12" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.12.Selected" for="QR~QID285~12" id="QID285-12-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Machinery and equipment</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-13-label" choiceid="13" class="checkbox QR-QID285-13 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.13.Selected" id="QR~QID285~13" name="QR~QID285~13" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.13.Selected" for="QR~QID285~13" id="QID285-13-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Metal products</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-14-label" choiceid="14" class="checkbox QR-QID285-14 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.14.Selected" id="QR~QID285~14" name="QR~QID285~14" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.14.Selected" for="QR~QID285~14" id="QID285-14-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Pharmaceuticals</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-15-label" choiceid="15" class="checkbox QR-QID285-15 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.15.Selected" id="QR~QID285~15" name="QR~QID285~15" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.15.Selected" for="QR~QID285~15" id="QID285-15-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Wood, Paper and Printing</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-16-label" choiceid="16" class="checkbox QR-QID285-16 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.16.Selected" id="QR~QID285~16" name="QR~QID285~16" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.16.Selected" for="QR~QID285~16" id="QID285-16-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Other manufacturing</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<li class="ChoiceGroup" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #333333; padding-bottom: 10px;"><span data-runtime-html="runtime.ChoiceGroups.cg_5.GroupLabel" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Construction services</span></li>
<ul class="ChoiceGroupStructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-17-label" choiceid="17" class="checkbox QR-QID285-17 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.17.Selected" id="QR~QID285~17" name="QR~QID285~17" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.17.Selected" for="QR~QID285~17" id="QID285-17-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Construction services</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<li class="ChoiceGroup" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #333333; padding-bottom: 10px;"><span data-runtime-html="runtime.ChoiceGroups.cg_6.GroupLabel" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Business services</span></li>
<ul class="ChoiceGroupStructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-18-label" choiceid="18" class="checkbox QR-QID285-18 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.18.Selected" id="QR~QID285~18" name="QR~QID285~18" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.18.Selected" for="QR~QID285~18" id="QID285-18-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Architecture</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-19-label" choiceid="19" class="checkbox QR-QID285-19 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.19.Selected" id="QR~QID285~19" name="QR~QID285~19" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.19.Selected" for="QR~QID285~19" id="QID285-19-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Audit or accountancy</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-20-label" choiceid="20" class="checkbox QR-QID285-20 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.20.Selected" id="QR~QID285~20" name="QR~QID285~20" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.20.Selected" for="QR~QID285~20" id="QID285-20-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Financial services and insurance</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-21-label" choiceid="21" class="checkbox QR-QID285-21 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.21.Selected" id="QR~QID285~21" name="QR~QID285~21" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.21.Selected" for="QR~QID285~21" id="QID285-21-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Legal services</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-22-label" choiceid="22" class="checkbox QR-QID285-22 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.22.Selected" id="QR~QID285~22" name="QR~QID285~22" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.22.Selected" for="QR~QID285~22" id="QID285-22-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Real estate</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-23-label" choiceid="23" class="checkbox QR-QID285-23 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.23.Selected" id="QR~QID285~23" name="QR~QID285~23" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.23.Selected" for="QR~QID285~23" id="QID285-23-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Other business services</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<li class="ChoiceGroup" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #333333; padding-bottom: 10px;"><span data-runtime-html="runtime.ChoiceGroups.cg_7.GroupLabel" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Broadcasting, creative and digital sectors</span></li>
<ul class="ChoiceGroupStructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-24-label" choiceid="24" class="checkbox QR-QID285-24 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.24.Selected" id="QR~QID285~24" name="QR~QID285~24" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.24.Selected" for="QR~QID285~24" id="QID285-24-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Broadcasting</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-25-label" choiceid="25" class="checkbox QR-QID285-25 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.25.Selected" id="QR~QID285~25" name="QR~QID285~25" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.25.Selected" for="QR~QID285~25" id="QID285-25-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Digital and information technology</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-26-label" choiceid="26" class="checkbox QR-QID285-26 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.26.Selected" id="QR~QID285~26" name="QR~QID285~26" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.26.Selected" for="QR~QID285~26" id="QID285-26-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Creative industry</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-27-label" choiceid="27" class="checkbox QR-QID285-27 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.27.Selected" id="QR~QID285~27" name="QR~QID285~27" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.27.Selected" for="QR~QID285~27" id="QID285-27-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Other broadcasting, creative and digital sector</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<li class="ChoiceGroup" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #333333; padding-bottom: 10px;"><span data-runtime-html="runtime.ChoiceGroups.cg_8.GroupLabel" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Transport, storage and distribution services</span></li>
<ul class="ChoiceGroupStructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-28-label" choiceid="28" class="checkbox QR-QID285-28 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.28.Selected" id="QR~QID285~28" name="QR~QID285~28" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.28.Selected" for="QR~QID285~28" id="QID285-28-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Air transport</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-29-label" choiceid="29" class="checkbox QR-QID285-29 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.29.Selected" id="QR~QID285~29" name="QR~QID285~29" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.29.Selected" for="QR~QID285~29" id="QID285-29-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Water transport</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-30-label" choiceid="30" class="checkbox QR-QID285-30 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.30.Selected" id="QR~QID285~30" name="QR~QID285~30" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.30.Selected" for="QR~QID285~30" id="QID285-30-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Storage and distribution</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-31-label" choiceid="31" class="checkbox QR-QID285-31 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.31.Selected" id="QR~QID285~31" name="QR~QID285~31" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.31.Selected" for="QR~QID285~31" id="QID285-31-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Other transport</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<li class="ChoiceGroup" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; padding-bottom: 10px;"><span data-runtime-html="runtime.ChoiceGroups.cg_9.GroupLabel" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: orange;">Public Services</span></li>
<ul class="ChoiceGroupStructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-32-label" choiceid="32" class="checkbox QR-QID285-32 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.32.Selected" id="QR~QID285~32" name="QR~QID285~32" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.32.Selected" for="QR~QID285~32" id="QID285-32-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Education</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-33-label" choiceid="33" class="checkbox QR-QID285-33 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.33.Selected" id="QR~QID285~33" name="QR~QID285~33" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.33.Selected" for="QR~QID285~33" id="QID285-33-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Health and social care</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-34-label" choiceid="34" class="checkbox QR-QID285-34 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.34.Selected" id="QR~QID285~34" name="QR~QID285~34" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.34.Selected" for="QR~QID285~34" id="QID285-34-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Other public services</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<li class="ChoiceGroup" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #333333; padding-bottom: 10px;"><span data-runtime-html="runtime.ChoiceGroups.cg_2.GroupLabel" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Retail and hospitality</span></li>
<ul class="ChoiceGroupStructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-35-label" choiceid="35" class="checkbox QR-QID285-35 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.35.Selected" id="QR~QID285~35" name="QR~QID285~35" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.35.Selected" for="QR~QID285~35" id="QID285-35-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Retail</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-36-label" choiceid="36" class="checkbox QR-QID285-36 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.36.Selected" id="QR~QID285~36" name="QR~QID285~36" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.36.Selected" for="QR~QID285~36" id="QID285-36-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hotels and restaurants</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-37-label" choiceid="37" class="checkbox QR-QID285-37 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.37.Selected" id="QR~QID285~37" name="QR~QID285~37" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 791px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.37.Selected" for="QR~QID285~37" id="QID285-37-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Other retail and hospitality</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID285-38-label" choiceid="38" class="checkbox QR-QID285-38 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Choices.38.Selected" id="QR~QID285~38" name="QR~QID285~38" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="checkbox" value="Selected" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="MultipleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.38.Selected" for="QR~QID285~38" id="QID285-38-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Prefer not to say</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="clear zero" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 0px; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="Separator" data-runtime-show="runtime.SeparatorDisplayed" id="QID298Separator" style="background: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.3); box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; margin: 5px 20px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="QuestionOuter BorderColor TE QID298" data-runtime-remove-class-hidden="runtime.Displayed" id="QID298" posttag="QID298" questionid="QID298" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-y: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 5vh;">
<div class="Inner BorderColor ESTB" style="border: 2px solid transparent; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="InnerInner BorderColor" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<fieldset aria-describedby="QR~QID298~VALIDATION QR~QID298~SDPVALIDATION" style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; max-width: none; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 801px;">
<legend style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 801px;"><label class="QuestionText BorderColor" for="QR~QID298" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 24px; width: auto !important; zoom: 1;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Based on your selection(s) in the previous question, please explain why the current UK applied tariffs (the EU's Common External Tariff) are important to these sectors.</b></label></legend><br />
<div class="QuestionBody" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: default; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px auto; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 20px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; user-select: none; z-index: 1;">
<div class="ChoiceStructure" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Would you like to provide comments on specific tariff rates?</b></div>
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<i style="box-sizing: border-box;">This will involve selecting commodities at the 8 digit commodity code level by searching either by code or description.</i></div>
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<i style="box-sizing: border-box;">If you are unsure of the commodity code for the good you wish to comment on, please refer to the <a href="https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/sections" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">tariff look-up (opens in a new window).</a></i></div>
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<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID143-3-label" choiceid="3" class="radio QR-QID143-3 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID143~3" name="QR~QID143" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="3" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.3.Selected" for="QR~QID143~3" id="QID143-3-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">No</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Please provide any further comments on the UK Global Tariff.</b><o:p style="box-sizing: border-box;"></o:p></div>
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<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #cd1632; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Section 3 : UK Global Tariff Principles</h3>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Policy objectives</b></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
In setting the tariff rates, the Government will have regard to the following principles set out in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018:</div>
<ul style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">the interests of consumers in the United Kingdom,</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">the interests of producers in the United Kingdom of the goods concerned,</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">the desirability of maintaining and promoting the external trade of the United Kingdom,</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">the desirability of maintaining and promoting productivity in the United Kingdom, and</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">the extent to which the goods concerned are subject to competition.</li>
</ul>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
The Government will also seek to balance strategic trade objectives, such as the delivery of the UK's trade ambitions and FTA agenda, including maintaining the Government's commitment to developing countries to reduce poverty through trade.</div>
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<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Proposed changes</b></div>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
The Government is seeking views on a series of potential amendments as the UK moves away from the EU’s Common External Tariff. These are set out below:</div>
<ol style="box-sizing: border-box;" type="1">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Simplifying and tailoring the tariff. The Government is considering:<ol style="box-sizing: border-box;" type="a">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Removing tariffs on goods with particularly low tariffs currently (less than 2.5%).</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Rounding tariffs down to the nearest standardised band.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Taking steps towards agricultural tariffs that are applied as single percentages.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Removing tariffs on key inputs used in the production of other goods.</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box;">Removing tariffs where the UK has zero or limited domestic production.</li>
</ol>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">These principles, alongside the strategic objectives outlined above, represent considerations the Government is inviting views on; they do not represent final decisions.</b></div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Please refer to the <a href="https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/CP/File.php?F=F_ewzUCbMxtHQpcbP" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">Statement of Direction</a> and <a href="https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/CP/File.php?F=F_0fySkOR2G3i9zi5" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">Information Pack</a>regarding the proposed tariff changes.</b></div>
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In this section you will be able to provide views on a potential series of amendments to the Common External Tariff to create a bespoke UK tariff.</div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Government is considering removing comparatively low tariffs, commonly known as "nuisance tariffs", of 2.5% or less which in some instances could reduce the administrative burden on UK businesses.</b></div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Should the Government remove tariffs on goods of 2.5% or less?</b></div>
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<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID286-3-label" choiceid="3" class="radio QR-QID286-3 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID286~3" name="QR~QID286" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="3" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.3.Selected" for="QR~QID286~3" id="QID286-3-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Don't know</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Developing a bespoke tariff schedule provides the UK with an opportunity to simplify the tariff schedule it applies, so that it is both easier for businesses to understand and use.</b></div>
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<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">The UK is considering rounding tariffs down to the nearest standardised band which would be:</b></div>
<ul style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; float: none; padding: 0px;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">2.5% for tariffs currently under 20% (e.g. a 19.2% tariff becomes 17.5%, a 12.3% tariff becomes 10%),</b></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; float: none; padding: 0px;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">5% for tariffs currently between 21% and 50% (e.g. 48% tariff becomes 45%, 22% becomes 20%),</b></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; float: none; padding: 0px;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">10% for tariffs currently above 51% (e.g. a 68% tariff becomes 60%).</b></li>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Should the Government round tariffs down to the nearest standardised band?</b></div>
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<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID288-1-label" choiceid="1" class="radio QR-QID288-1 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID288~1" name="QR~QID288" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="1" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.1.Selected" for="QR~QID288~1" id="QID288-1-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Agree</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID288-2-label" choiceid="2" class="radio QR-QID288-2 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID288~2" name="QR~QID288" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="2" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.2.Selected" for="QR~QID288~2" id="QID288-2-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red;">Disagree</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID288-3-label" choiceid="3" class="radio QR-QID288-3 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID288~3" name="QR~QID288" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="3" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.3.Selected" for="QR~QID288~3" id="QID288-3-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Don't know</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID288-4-label" choiceid="4" class="radio QR-QID288-4 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID288~4" name="QR~QID288" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="4" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.4.Selected" for="QR~QID288~4" id="QID288-4-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Prefer not to say</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
</ul>
<div class="clear zero" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 0px; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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<fieldset aria-describedby="QR~QID289~VALIDATION QR~QID289~SDPVALIDATION" style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; max-width: none; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 801px;">
<legend style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 801px;"></legend><br />
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Government is considering taking steps towards applying agricultural tariffs that are applied as single percentages.</b></div>
<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Should the Government consider moving in this direction?</b></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="QuestionBody" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: default; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px auto; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 20px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; user-select: none; z-index: 1;">
<ul class="ChoiceStructure" style="border-spacing: 10px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; zoom: 1;">
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID289-1-label" choiceid="1" class="radio QR-QID289-1 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID289~1" name="QR~QID289" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="1" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.1.Selected" for="QR~QID289~1" id="QID289-1-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Agree</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID289-2-label" choiceid="2" class="radio QR-QID289-2 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID289~2" name="QR~QID289" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="2" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.2.Selected" for="QR~QID289~2" id="QID289-2-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Disagree</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID289-3-label" choiceid="3" class="radio QR-QID289-3 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID289~3" name="QR~QID289" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="3" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.3.Selected" for="QR~QID289~3" id="QID289-3-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: red;">Don't know</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID289-4-label" choiceid="4" class="radio QR-QID289-4 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID289~4" name="QR~QID289" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="4" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.4.Selected" for="QR~QID289~4" id="QID289-4-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Prefer not to say</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
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<div class="clear zero" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-size: 0px; height: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</fieldset>
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<legend style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 801px;"></legend><br />
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Inputs are goods which businesses import for the use in production and manufacturing of other goods. The Government is considering removing these tariffs with the aim of reducing input costs for UK producers to support UK manufacturing.</b></div>
<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">To assist identifying which goods are classified as inputs to production, the Government may consider the non-exhaustive goods listed in the following documents:</b></div>
<ul style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; float: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/CP/File.php?F=F_dikY9eCKonC8TEp" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">Broad Economic Categories (BEC) list</a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; float: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/CP/File.php?F=F_2ofhHGckT1WHJCl" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">List of tariff suspensions that currently apply on inputs to production</a></li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; float: none; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/CP/File.php?F=F_1GnjdX3DolOLKnj" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">List of goods that have applied for Inward Processing</a></li>
</ul>
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Please note that these documents are not exhaustive.</b></div>
<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Should the Government remove tariffs on key inputs to production and manufacturing?</b></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="QuestionBody" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: default; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px auto; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 20px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; user-select: none; z-index: 1;">
<ul class="ChoiceStructure" style="border-spacing: 10px; box-sizing: border-box; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; zoom: 1;">
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID290-1-label" choiceid="1" class="radio QR-QID290-1 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID290~1" name="QR~QID290" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="1" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.1.Selected" for="QR~QID290~1" id="QID290-1-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Agree</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID290-2-label" choiceid="2" class="radio QR-QID290-2 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID290~2" name="QR~QID290" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="2" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.2.Selected" for="QR~QID290~2" id="QID290-2-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Disagree</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
<li class="Selection reg" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID290-3-label" choiceid="3" class="radio QR-QID290-3 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID290~3" name="QR~QID290" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="3" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.3.Selected" for="QR~QID290~3" id="QID290-3-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Don't know</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
</li>
<li class="Selection alt" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; list-style: outside none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><input aria-labelledby="QID290-4-label" choiceid="4" class="radio QR-QID290-4 QWatchTimer" data-runtime-checked="runtime.Selected" id="QR~QID290~4" name="QR~QID290" style="color: black; float: left; font-family: Poppins, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; height: 0px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; width: 0px; z-index: -1;" type="radio" value="4" /><span class="LabelWrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin: 0px auto 8px; width: 801px;"><label class="SingleAnswer " data-runtime-class-q-checked="runtime.Choices.4.Selected" for="QR~QID290~4" id="QID290-4-label" style="background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding-bottom: 13px; padding-left: 40px !important; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 13px; position: relative; transition: background 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: 1px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Prefer not to say</span></label></span><div class="clear" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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</li>
</ul>
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</fieldset>
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<fieldset aria-describedby="QR~QID291~VALIDATION QR~QID291~SDPVALIDATION" style="border-color: initial; border-style: none; border-width: initial; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; max-width: none; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 801px;">
<legend style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 801px;"></legend><br />
<div class="QuestionText BorderColor" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 24px; zoom: 1;">
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">The UK is considering removing tariffs on goods where there is zero or limited UK production with the aim of benefiting UK consumers by lowering the cost of these imports.</b></div>
<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">To help identify which goods are classified as having zero or limited domestic production, the Government may consider the non-exhaustive goods listed in the following document: <a href="https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/CP/File.php?F=F_2ofhHGckT1WHJCl" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #c32432;" target="_blank">List of tariff suspensions that currently apply on inputs to production</a>. Please note that this document is not exhaustive.</b></div>
<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">These goods, by definition, represent areas of low production in Europe. The Government may consider these goods when identifying areas of limited to no production in the UK.</b></div>
<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
<div style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px;">
<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Should the Government remove tariffs where the UK has zero or limited domestic production?</b></div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-21278180688924360882020-02-16T11:43:00.000+00:002020-02-17T14:17:01.962+00:00UK research and innovation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Research_and_Innovation">UK Reasearch and Innovation funding from taxes</a><br />
was the conversation on the next bus seat last night; I wish there were some way I could have joined-in, but I learned a lot just by listening. Our taxpayer-funded research councils have informal meetings with some of the most active researchers, like research departments at Imperial College, and exchange ideas about what's a priority for research. The research councils know already, and the broad headings are probably set for them by ministries I suppose, but there is some informal contact. Then the formal requests for research are decided. Nothing about UK manufacturing such as clothing and footwear was mentioned specifically; UK government would not piss on a manufacturer if on fire, even though manufacturers pay taxes. UK government is interested in running a carbon neutral state in which everything is made in China and we all work in services like being servants for cabinet ministers and their party funders I suppose.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">
Gas combi boilers</span></h4>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A big deal because we have boilers already. Can they be retro-fitted to work on hydrogen or helium? Maybe a region could have one of these options available? This is thinking ahead a long way because hydrogen production is currently done in a way that produces carbon, but in future there might be hydrogen or helium with a low carbon footprint. I wanted to but-in to a strangers' conversation here. Modern boilers have cheap plastic pipe fittings, usually, so the instructions warn against piping-in hot water, for example from a solar panel. A small scheme to subsidise and promote boilers with a hot water input, or instructions for easy conversion, would make a big difference here. The other but-in is that hot water solar panels don't work well in a cold country; they'd be more viable if simpler, without the need for pumps. If the water tank was above the sloped panel, then hot water would rise there naturally. All that's needed is a change to planning law to allow hot water tanks on top of solar panels on my roof.</blockquote>
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">
Cars </span></h4>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
are a big deal, as we know already. They might run on batteries, allowing the electricity to be made in some less carboney way. Lorries? asked the other person on the bus seat. No. Energy storage density in batteries is not good enough for long distance heavy loads, or lorries in other words. If this were a but-in session I would have said something about trains, but I was on the next seat along.</blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<h4>
<span style="color: red;">
Air travel. </span></h4>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
At the moment there are frequent flyer schemes to reward people who take a lot of trips, including short trips. Maybe a tax could reverse these, so that the people who take the odd holiday by plane do not have to pay more, but the people who travel by plane all the time do have to pay more.</blockquote>
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">
Worries about more harm than good. </span></h4>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Chemical engineers worry about government taking some quick-fix measure, like the change from free plastic carrier bags in big shops to paid-for longer-lasting carrier bags. The effect is for people to pay for the bigger bag and then use it once, which is worse than the situation before. Also, there is a general move of fashion against plastic. Now, if people move from throw-away plastics to tuppaware-like plastic, that's a huge gain, but out of fashion. If they move to glass, it has to be re-used thousands of times before the carbon footprint is better, but glass trendier than tuppaware because it's not plastic. And the disposable card containers used in takeaways maybe aren't too bad,</blockquote>
<br />
<hr />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Academic Footnote:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/37 from <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/bus/stop/490003071E/belvedere-place?lineId=37">Lidl</a> to <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/bus/stop/490001069C/clapham-junction-station?lineId=37">Clapham</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">12 midnight, 15th of Februrary 2020</span></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-49531945224309281082019-12-03T19:22:00.001+00:002020-02-16T18:37:23.021+00:00Trump solves a big bit of the Hong Kong crisis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-50581862">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-50581862</a><br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">
Human rights & democracy in Hong Kong</span></h2>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
US tariffs will rise on Chinese goods if conditions are not met for Hong Kong independence, according to a known set of requirements that will be considered annually with a formal process. Everyone exporting from China will have a chance to think about this in advance and Chinese dictators know this; they're thinking about the same thing. You can tell because they have issued very rude statements and are trying to retaliate in ways that don't matter for such a vital issue. They will stop US navy ships using Chinese ports. Maybe they will put tariffs on US goods. Or not send a christmas card. Whatever they do will not matter as much as human rights and democracy. Even if you don't think about human rights and democracy in Hong Kong, it's useful to stop the spread of dictatorship from the country where so much economic activity takes place; what happens to hong kongers will spread to the rest of us.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is something so blindingly obvious that only an economist or a foreign office expert could quibble. If the Chinese government wants to do something bad, there is no way that any other trading block of government can stop it, but adding a tariff is easy and doing it with well-known polite and clear rules set in advance is the best way, and might even work. It makes a bit of money in tariff payments too.</blockquote>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">fashion manufacturing in Bangladesh - similar point</span></h2>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If the government of Bangladesh wants to introduce national insurance and benefits to people who don't contribute, the population there will stop growing so fast .Girls will stay a little longer at school. The chances of a baby surviving into adulthood will increase. The fear of growing old without children will decrease. All of this is vital to people in the UK who need fairer imports, less money spent on aid or wars, and less inward migration. And vital to people in Bangladesh as well, although it seems a bit rude for me in the UK to say how some country on the other side of the planet should be run.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If a government in Bangladesh wants to remain scared of being the second cheapest country next to Sri Lanka or Vietnam, there's very little it can do. The kind of people who run things in Bangladesh aren't very keen anyway, if I they are anything like ex-pats who come back from those countries and are used to doing very well by being rich amongst poor people. Why introduce national insurance when it would increase the cost of your servants? You might have to use a car wash or a washing machine. These people would react rather like the Chinese government if their exporters were forced to pay tariffs until the country met some set of standards for national insurance and benefits to people who don't contribute. They might do exactly the same set of rude things that don't matter compared to poverty and over-population. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Even if you don't think about human rights and democracy in Hong Kong, it's useful to stop the spread of dictatorship from the country where so much economic activity takes place; what happens to Bangladeshis will spread to the rest of us.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
At a lecture about Bangladesh, I asked an economist whether tariffs could be used to make national insurance possible in that country and charge a tariff if not. The lecturer was from London School of Economics which gets about the lowest satisfaction ratings from students of its Economics courses. That what posh economics courses are like. She disagreed and came back to the point at the end of the lecture, The quote was something like this:</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="color: red;">"for me, it is for the people of Bangladesh whether they have national insurance, and not for the people of the UK"</span></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: red;">Arse.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
People in countries like the UK can help get national insurance into Bangladesh for our own sake and for Bangladeshis' sake. They have no more chance of doing on on their own than the people of Hong Kong have of standing up against China. If they don't do it. their goods will under-cut goods made with the costs of a welfare state and democracy built-in, from countries like the UK. That's how it works. That's the kind of thing that people called <i>"economist" </i>ought to know but don't.</blockquote>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">
Afterthought: Kurds</span></h2>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I wrote that last bit with a kind of tabloid confidence, but Trump has also done the opposite to Kurds in Syria, for reasons that not even a blogspot blogger can understand. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-1710507409564326712019-06-21T12:09:00.001+01:002020-02-17T14:17:13.496+00:00Manufacturing refreshes the parts that other industries cannot reach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://makeitbritish.co.uk/uk-manufacturing-2/value-of-uk-manufacturing-underestimated/?inf_contact_key=04269b10f84f7e42805c5d1d13e4e158680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1">Kate Hills' blog</a> post "Why the value of UK manufacturing is underestimated" summerises a new report - <i>"<u><a href="https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/uploads/Research/CSTI/Inside_the_Black_Box_of_Manufacturing_report_FINAL_120619.pdf">INSIDE THE BLACK BOXOF MANUFACTURING:CONCEPTUALISING AND COUNTINGMANUFACTURING IN THE ECONOMY</a></u>
A report prepared for the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
By Jostein Hauge and Eoin O’Sullivan"</i>.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Summerising the summery.</span></h4>
<span style="color: red;"><b>1. Manufacturers buy services like pattern-cutting which are not bought by other kinds of business.</b> So pattern-cutting, in a way, is part of manufacturing; it would go if manufacturing went. And manufacturers buy normal services as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>2. There is no database of UK manufacturers, </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">(a) so a business that used to make things in the UK but now just brands them or commissions them can count as a manufacturer in the stats</span>. The Office of National Statistics takes the data from their accounts at Companies House.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">(b) smaller businesses tend not to get counted</span>. Those which are not registered for VAT aren't counted by the governments' own back-room statisticians. A report for The Crafts Council found them, but the office for national statistics does not. So<br />
(i) there are loads of un-counted manufacturers circulating money round parts of the economy<br />
(ii) including manufacturing-specific services that could better be called manufacturing.<br />
<br />
Compare this with the conventional wisdom, usually paid-for by some unpopular industry which lobbies government a lot and has paid Oxford Economics to write a report. Each report says that "Fashion" (meaning fashion retail) or Olympic sport, of Heathrow, contributes a vast amount to the OK economy because the money flows-around. Of course it does. When I studied economics, each pound circulated about three times before going abroad or being saved. So if you want to make an industry sound good, you define it widely and then commission Oxford Economics to add-up its turnover and multiply by three, and say<i> "nail salons contribute £35 billion to the UK economy and so deserve special help from government"</i>. Fashion retail, for example, funds the PR industry according to the Value of Fashion report.<br />
<br />
What an economist ought to be interested in is the part of the economy that circulates money to the right other bits of the economy, and not to China or tax-haven accountants. Obviously, this is part of the economy like building or manufacturing or mining that deals in physical objects in the UK and people who process. In other words, manufacturing. Just as Heineken refreshes the parts that other beers cannot reach, manufacturing refreshes parts of the economy that other<br />
<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-46721186937779748692019-04-04T12:10:00.001+01:002019-04-04T20:03:31.742+01:00Fake grass roots simple messages for China and Free Trade<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/03/grassroots-facebook-brexit-ads-secretly-run-by-staff-of-lynton-crosby-firm">https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/03/grassroots-facebook-brexit-ads-secretly-run-by-staff-of-lynton-crosby-firm</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A PR company was paid large amounts to construct the look of fake grass-roots campaigns putting edited, simple, rather stupid messages to MPs as though the will of the people. There was an MP in parliament who seemed to believe them just the other day, the MP for Cleethorpes, who said that the leave vote was an emotional vote to leave everything remotely connected in the mind of a Brexiteer with Europe and (unstated) have free trade with China instead. They also pretend to think that a second referendum would have the same question as the first. Another MP interjected - </blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<h2 class="debate-speech__speaker" style="background-color: #f3f1eb; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 70px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<a href="https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/?p=25363" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d9442; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #4d9442;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-width: initial; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; float: left; height: auto; line-height: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial;"><img alt="Photo of Antoinette Sandbach" src="https://www.theyworkforyou.com/images/mps/25363.jpeg" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; float: left; height: auto; left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; max-width: 50px; position: absolute; vertical-align: middle;" /></span></span><span class="debate-speech__speaker__name" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d9442; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Antoinette Sandbach</span><span style="color: #4d9442;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial;"> </span></span><small class="debate-speech__speaker__position" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #9d9195; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 15.12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 36em; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Conservative, Eddisbury</small></a><a href="https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2019-04-03a.1127.0#g1137.3"><small class="debate-speech__speaker__position" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #9d9195; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 15.12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 36em; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">link to speech</small></a></h2>
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<div pid="a1137.3/1" style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.6em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. The vote itself was on our membership of the EU. It was not about our future relationship. All those emotional matters may well have been sold to the people during the campaign, but the vote itself was about our membership, so it cannot be prayed in aid when considering how our future relationship should be shaped.</div>
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<h2 class="debate-speech__speaker" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 70px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
<a href="https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/?p=24814" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d9442; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #4d9442;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-width: initial; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; float: left; height: auto; line-height: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial;"><img alt="Photo of Martin Vickers" src="https://www.theyworkforyou.com/images/mps/24814.jpeg" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; float: left; height: auto; left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; max-width: 50px; position: absolute; vertical-align: middle;" /></span></span><span class="debate-speech__speaker__name" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d9442; cursor: pointer; font-weight: normal; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Martin Vickers</span><span style="color: #4d9442;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial;"> </span></span><small class="debate-speech__speaker__position" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #9d9195; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 15.12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 36em; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Conservative, Cleethorpes</small></a> <small class="debate-speech__speaker__position" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #9d9195; display: inline-block; font-size: 15.12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; max-width: 36em;"><a href="https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2019-04-03a.1127.0#g1137.4">link to speech</a></small></h2>
<div class="debate-speech__content" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.66em 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 70px;">
<div pid="a1137.4/1" style="box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.6em; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
Needless to say, I strongly disagree with my hon. Friend. </div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The people voted to leave the structure of the economic union, and they wanted to slam the door closed. </li>
<li>They wanted a clean break. </li>
</ul>
They were not thinking about our future relationship; they said, “We’ve had enough of the existing relationship.”</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He says </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>"needless to say, I strongly disagree"</i> and his vote disagrees but he <u>does</u> agree </li>
<li> <i>"they were not thinking about our future relationship"</i>.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Maybe he sees politics is a team sport and chose a team. Maybe he was also influenced by adverts from similar-looking people who would claim to be constituents of any MP but turned-out to be paid by a PR firm run by someone called Lynton Crosby. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Very similar to a favourite theme of this blog - Ethical Fashion Forum and Pants to Poverty, the grass roots group which pretended not to have heard to the welfare state or UK manufacturing, or to think that "ethical" was a stupid vague word used tactically, and seldom had a video seminar without someone from the PR firm Futerra lurking in the background. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
By the way, I thought the name "Lynton Crosby" was familiar. My local MP, Zac Goldsmith, seriously thought he was a good PR agent and massively lost the London Mayoral campaign by using Crosby's nasty underhand PR tactics. Nevertheless he got a knighthood from whatever system organises these things.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/its-lynton-crosby-who-made-zac-goldsmiths-campaign-so-nasty-and-now-hes-being-knighted-a7016801.html">https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/its-lynton-crosby-who-made-zac-goldsmiths-campaign-so-nasty-and-now-hes-being-knighted-a7016801.html</a><br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-66287576325249823422019-02-07T11:44:00.001+00:002019-12-04T19:55:23.118+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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SFI0097</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.pdf">Written evidence submitted by Veganline</a></h3>
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Parliament...commons-witness-guide says<i> "Include any recommendations for action by the Government or others which you would like the committee to consider."</i> I recommend as many as I possibly can in case they prompt ideas, even if it makes the file a bit longer. That doesn't mean I trade at any scale or am expert or good at business.<br />
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For the record I trade as <a href="https://veganline.com/">Veganline.com</a> selling vegan shoes online that are mainly made in the UK and similar democratic welfare states, and I sell to the vegan market. If something isn't available from a country like the UK, I don't sell it. I follow shoe factories in the UK and have bought from some of them or visited them, and I follow regional government initiatives in London for business advice or help or private sector stuff. I have put a version of this evidence on my <a href="http://pantstopoverty.org.uk/pay.html">Pantstopoverty.org.uk web site, headed “pay”</a>. I write about government initiatives in a way that looks bitter when I re-read, so I am happy to answer any emails even if they look bitter when I first read them.</div>
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<div>
<a href="http://pantstopoverty.org.uk/">Contents</a></div>
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<h1>
<br /><a href="http://pantstopoverty.org.uk/">1.0</a> Clothes from the far-east</h1>
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.0">1.1</a> General Question: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.1">Incentives to the rise of fast fashion?</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.2">1.2</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.2">introduce a social clause tariff</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.3">1.3</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.3">trade envoys should only promote good higher education</a> courses<br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.4">1.4</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.4">monetary policy committee should warn of effects on industry of a high exchange rate on monthly reports</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.5">1.5</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.5">add factory-name labels to garments</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.6">1.6</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.6">arbitration theme yet to be invented</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.7">1.7</a> Proposal:<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.7">directory of factories</a> in order to know about machines (main point below)</div>
<hr />
<h1>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#1.7">2.0</a> Reduce Re-sell Recycle</h1>
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.0">1.1</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.1">add factory-name labels to garments</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.2">1.2</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.2">retailers to reduce free returns</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.3">1.3</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.3">directory of factories in order to know about machines (repeated point)</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.4">1.4</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.4">machines rumoured to exist ... change in pension law</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.5">1.5</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.5">fund pattern-arranging software</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.6">1.6</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.6">retailers to use size hangers</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.7">1.7</a> Observation: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.7">machines about to be invented or rumoured to exist</a></div>
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<h1>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#2.7">3.0</a> Re-shoring</h1>
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.0">1.1</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.1">make a trade directory possible by releasing HMRC data</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.2">1.2</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.2">Companies House to prompt for more useful descriptions of business on accounts</a>.<br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.3">1.3</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.3">planning law to allow relatively quiet industry in residential and office zones</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.4">1.4</a> Observation: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.4">economics courses</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.5">1.5</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.5">Monetary Policy Committee to publish a warning on each statement about the damage to industry caused by a high exchange rate</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.6">1.6</a> Proposal: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.6">Fund a free online costing course for buyers</a><br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.7">1.7</a> General Question: <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.7">incentives</a></div>
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<h1>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#3.7">1.0</a> <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">Clothes from the far-east</a></h1>
<hr />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">1.1</a> General Question:<br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">Incentives to the rise of fast fashion?</a></div>
<div>
Tax theme, incentives to fast fashion theme<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
UK producers pay for a welfare state which is expensive but Bangladeshi producers do not, which is unfair competition for UK producers. Bangladeshi producers tend to have large families instead. As a result, Bangladeshi wages have fallen over the past ten years even though employment has risen, and this is not going to change just because more orders for clothes go to Bangladesh.<br />
Bangladeshi government pays for export subsidies. I guess that this is because they are scared of competition from other cheap-needle countries, and the same reasoning makes it difficult for them to introduce free secondary schools or national insurance and assistance even if they wanted to.<br />
It would be good if there were expert advice from economics teachers about this, in the main-stream and in their textbooks. There is not. Their courses have not caught-up with Forsters' Education Act 1870, The National Insurance Act 1911, and The National Assistance Act 1948. Somebody mentioned bits of the Treaty of Versailles in the oral witness statement (Q115) I didn't do those bits at school and it's a bit late to start but I expect it's a similar point. Economists might quote the theory of Comparative Advantage, written about nineteenth century Britain and Portugal, but they don't elaborate it to talk about a the unfair competition of the sweatshop-state goods sold in the welfare-state country. So we have to have this discussion without enough expert advice unfortunately.</blockquote>
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<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">1.2</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">Introduce a social clause tariff</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<i>tax theme, incentive to fast fashion theme – tariffs/ sanctions</i></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Bangladesh has a zero tariff, negotiated with the EU by Foreign Office economists in the name of development which didn't happen.<br />
I propose a tariff linked to some index of free secondary education, national insurance, and national assistance in the cheap-needle countries. An index a bit like the Democracy Index of the brand new Human Rights Index. Call it a Social Insurance index. The more social insurance and assistance; the lower the tariff. It would be re-set each year from a new measure of how the country or the trading-bloc does. With luck it would cover all the trading blocs that include cheap-needle countries.<br />
I don't care massively whether this is popular among Bangladeshis, as this is a tariff to help people in the UK. Some Bangladeshis would have to start paying tax to educate their servants and would make a fuss. I do care that it is fair on Bangladeshis, and I think it is. It gives the country a chance to improve without loosing so much of its export business.<br />
I don't care massively that I might no longer get £10 thick jeans in Primark, and have to go back to my old habit of buying jeans second hand. I could learn to like buying clothes second hand again. And the cheapest clothes, we heard from witnesses (Q269) are tempt-you-in offers sold near break-even. Some of the offers would carry-on if tariffs rose or the pound fell.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<br />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">1.3</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">trade envoys should only promote popular higher education courses</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<i>incentives to fast fashion theme – trade envoys theme – spending priorities for Chevening Scholarships example – potentially something to cut</i><br />
<i>Extra benefit: if the worst courses close, their staff will no longer promote bad spending schemes like London Fashion Week or the China import promotion scheme in section 3.7 below.</i></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">Introduction</a> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Economics courses are the problem more than clothes. London School of Economics' Economics degree course is one of the most selective in the UK so I suppose it is one of the most applied-for, but it scores as one of the least satisfying on the National Student Survey and the least responsive to student feedback. So students apply in naivety, wanting to change the world, and find that the course is "mathematical argument" and a module on Game Theory but it doesn't let students study how to fund the NHS in thirty years' time or involve critical thinking. Some of these students are referred by overseas trade envoys, or even funded by UK taxpayers on Chevening Scholarships or Marshall Scholarships or something to do with the Great India Fund and Great China Fund. In other words they get student grants, not available to UK taxpayers, to study un-happily on courses about putting UK taxpayers out of work. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">Proposal</a> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I propose that trade envoys find a way to promote courses rather than colleges, helping applicants students find good courses in obscure institutions rather than bad courses in well-known institutions like London School of Economics with its bad course in Economics. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is good for everyone except tutors at London School of Economics, and possibly London College of Fashion. I also suggest that University courses that cover macro-economics but not the welfare state are flagged-up with a warning on Unistats, so that UK applicants do not apply by mistake, and are not available on scholarships like Chevening so we don't fund other people to study them in the name of promoting British views of the world. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There is another similar sort of grant - the grant that pays school fees as a staff perk of some ex-pat jobs like military jobs posted abroad or the diplomatic corps. I propose that these fees are only paid to schools that teach something about the welfare state and the difficulty of trading between a country that has the system and one that hasn't.</blockquote>
<hr />
<br />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">1.3</a> Proposal:<br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">monetary policy committee should warn of effects on industry of a high exchange rate on monthly reports</a></div>
<div>
incentives to fast fashion theme, tax theme – informing the public and decision makers so that we can talk about tax cuts to industry if the pound is made artificially expensive by monetary policy</div>
<blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1CHUqj8YGtM/XFwWNN_tWyI/AAAAAAAAalA/OlSMOVQyY-0okzFVX21pJwbnQCWxLn4pACLcBGAs/s1600/monetary-policy.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="1005" height="284" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1CHUqj8YGtM/XFwWNN_tWyI/AAAAAAAAalA/OlSMOVQyY-0okzFVX21pJwbnQCWxLn4pACLcBGAs/s640/monetary-policy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><blockquote class="tr_bq">
The bottom row of arrows shows interest rates pushing down import prices. From <em><a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/quarterly-bulletin/1999/the-transmission-mechanism-of-monetary-policy">The Transmission Mechanism of Monetary Policy</a>, Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, May 1999</em></blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The committee brief the chancellor every month after a minuted meeting. Between 1979 and 2009, the UK had higher interest rates than necessary to borrow public money, so it was a very expensive policy and rather extreme in the 1980s. This is how they explained it to the Treasury Select Committee. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
The bottom row of arrows shows that a higher interest rate sucks-in funds from other currencies, making the pound higher, so that it buys more imports. So we pay to put ourselves out of work and make life hard for manufacturers who have to trade internationally. The majority of us who work in services tend not to know about the problem so I think it should be written as a kind of health warning on every monthly monetary policy document, so that every journalist, economics teacher, MP, civil servant, voter and chancellor knows about it. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
When the policy first came in, in extreme form, in 1979, a fifth of manufacturing closed in five years leaving a quarter of the work-force on government schemes like the Community Program and Youth Opportunities, sick, or unemployed. Another group did cheaply-taught degree courses like fashion design, of which more later under re-shoring. I’m happy to chase sources for these statements if anyone is interested and emails.<br />
I hope the consequence would be that people would try to think of other ways of warding-off inflation. The chancellor could appoint an "other ways of controlling inflation" committee. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
I hope a consequence would be that the public might accept a tax break on manufacturing if interest rates rise, in order to protect it from unfair effects of a high pound. Maybe I should have labelled this proposal as "tax break for industry when the pound is high".</blockquote>
<hr />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">1.4</a> Proposal:</div>
<h3>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">Add factory-name labels to garments</a></h3>
<div>
<i>transparency theme, or helping good producers and enforcement.</i><br />
<i>big buyer small seller theme</i></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In India, factory labels are normal on garments, I'm told. They only make clothes without them for the export market, and it would be very simple for a UK order to be made-up with the usual factory labels attached. I don't know what other countries have the same system.<br />
At the moment, there is law against UK importers buying from overseas prison workshops but no way that they can make it less likely. There is a duty to publish whether they have a modern slavery policy, but no cheap way to show any diligence. And there is a problem in all markets of a small producer dealing with a big buyer, and not being allowed to put their contact details on the label as they might want to do to get business.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">1.5</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">Arbitration scheme yet to be invented</a></h3>
</div>
<i>big buyer small seller theme</i><br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I don't know how an arbitration scheme yet to be invented would work, but notice the need: markets don't work well when a small seller sells to a big buyer. Maybe civil servants reading this have better ideas how to find solutions that have worked. I mean the need to make buyers reasonable when their size in the market allows them to make capricious changes to orders at the last minute, to fine, to pay late, to pay below the minimum reasonable rate, or simply have no idea what's reasonable because nobody tells them, and be paid commission by their employers for some goal that isn't being as unpleasant as possible but may end-up a bit like that. If government can crack that problem, I think there is a chance of boosting factory and farming employment in the UK.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<h1>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#clothes-from-the-far-east">2.0</a> <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">Reduce Re-sell Recycle</a></h1>
<h3>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.1</a> Proposal:<br /><br /><a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">add factory labels</a></h3>
<div>
<i>Retail Sector Council theme immediately – labelling law theme in longer term</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This might make uniform take-back more likely. It might increase emotional attachment to clothes to encourage re-use </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There's less tradition of putting the factory address on a product made in the UK than in India, but I have seen it done on old army surplus trousers and factory brands used to be normal. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There is a benefit to the re-selling industry. It adds emotional attachment to clothing which one of your witnesses states is important to the choice whether to reduce consumption by wearing-out, or re-use by walking to a charity shop, rather than binning. And if you do donate and the clothing is for sale second hand, it adds interest to see a real link to its past on the label. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There is some opportunity for uniform manufacturers to run a take-back scheme as well, for clothes they have made. It could be an optional service added to make their bid attractive when getting a contract. If the factory that makes clothes offers to buy them back at a low price, there's a potential profit I think, because all the specifications and sales points are known to that factory, and it is able to top-up the batch with new stock to make every size available to the public, with all the specifications and sales points. I don't know if any uniform manufacturers would want to offer this service but a label on the uniform is a starting point. At the moment when I see public sector ads for supply, they are more for wholesalers of things like "personal protection equipment" than manufacturers of things like "trousers", so there is no immediate quick change possible.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<br />
<h3>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.2</a> Proposal:<br /><a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">retailers to reduce free returns</a></h3>
<div>
<i>Retail sector council theme – ebay example – possible future legislation</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I hope fewer retailers offer free returns because the system encourages bad customers. The ones who order two sizes rather than measure their own bodies, or who try clothes on at the office party before returning them as unsuitable. Primark manages to re-sell nearly all its returns - only a quarter of a percent of stock goes unsold they say - but M&S admitted a much higher proportion.<br />
Legislation about free returns is easy to enforce. Maybe they could be taxed if retailers continue offering them on good stock</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.3</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">landfill tax rebates that council contractors can organise: public sort or shred</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<i>Tax scheme theme – councils theme</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I have no evidence about Landfill tax but assume that it's like the tax-break that committee members asked about. It is a tax on bad rather than a tax-break on good. But councils have no time to think nor money, so a tax break on landfill tax that can be used by a council or their contractor might be more practical. A tax rebate for councils that allow recycling machines and sorting to be done in public view might be do-able. I think that is a general awareness issue for consumers and a chance for people to see obscure machines rumoured to exist and think "I could do better", particularly if there is a grant available to develop a better machine.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.4</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">landfill tax rebates that councils organise: vouchers & address lists</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<i>Demand for second-hand clothes theme – charity shops example<br />Councils theme</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There is more supply of donated clothing than demand to buy it. Councils could enclose a list of second-hand shops in their area as a flyer with other things they send out like parking tickets. They could send any vouchers that second-hand shops are willing to offer.<br />
If no vouchers are involved, a bin contractor might be able to do the same kind of promotion with a list of second-hand shops left in each emptied bin or on the sides of bin lorries</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<hr />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.5</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">machines rumoured to exist ... change in pension law</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<i>reduce theme – wasted machines</i></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Circular knitting machines, flax weaving machines, robot sewing machines, and the machines at Mungo and Shoddy factories are all at risk of being scrapped if a firm goes bust quickly, and can't be resurrected at a pop-up factory. The committee quoted a factory owner spending tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds on the best new machines at Basic Premier while some old ones were being scrapped at Manchester Hosiery. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Often these machines belong to older firms, I guess, that are also pension companies for their employees. Like BHS. If these schemes become owned by the contributors, and become contribution-based schemes rather than anything else, then the boundary between the pension scheme and the bust company should be clearer, allowing the pension to continue, and the members to have a chance of communicating with each other, and to be ready to buy cheap machines from the liquidator. This is a good thing, for example in helping them use any environmentally-important machines that might get scrapped in the rush to liquidate. Two examples might make sense of this. Manchester Hosiery owned tube-knit machines that could make the trunk of a T shirt from yarn without the waste and labour of two seams. The firm went bust and the machine that had been kept for spares was scrapped. If I worked-out how to read reports of bust companies at Companies House I might read what happened to the other machines each time the firm went bust again. Likewise Richards of Aberdeen, who I think had unusual machines that could weave flax stalks. Their employees waited years to get any compensation for a missing pension after the firm went bust and by that time I am sure the machines were long-gone with no chance of a phoenix-like takeover by ex-staff. As for the machine at Smedley that might knit trunk of a jumper and the sleeves in one go, I hope it is still in use after one MP said that a Smedley factory had closed.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.6</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">fund pattern-arranging software</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<i>reduce theme - off-cuts</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It would be good if the Indian government funded some open-source pattern-arranging software.<br />
The committee heard that every garment in Oxford Street is made with off-cuts, but different manufacturers are better or worse at pattern cutting or knitting to the right shape. There is no free open-source pattern cutting software that takes some shapes and tells you how best to arrange them on a table to reduce waste, nor changes to the shapes that would make a difference to waste.<br />
So a designer for an upmarket brand - maybe a graduate with student debt - could not afford that software and the brand would not be very interested in wastage rates. If the brand owner has expensive software, the designer can't afford a copy.<br />
Someone somewhere should sponsor free open-source nesting and pattern-arranging software. Maybe the Indian government could be persuaded to fund this, as so many textile firms are in India. Or a better UK technical college that might spring-up if the worst ones left the market.<br />
Something that UK government can do with no money is to use more open-source software. Leicester Council could do it. It is hard to prove that this is cheaper than licensed, closed-source software although there are no licence fees so I guess it is. Anyway it is more socially inclusive and promotes the idea of someone somewhere just writing software for pattern cutters for free, which might happen.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.7</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">retailers to use size hangers</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<i>demand for second-hand clothing theme – charity shops and small ads example</i><br />
<i>Retail Sector Forum theme. Possible funding of product development theme</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A large chain-store or government department should order the best size hangers it can find, so that manufacturers have orders to justify the moulds and experiments to make this work. Once in production, I hope the hangers would be available to charity shopvolunteers and ebayers.<br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">Explanation</a>A problem about improving machines is that none of us know what existing ones look like. We know what hangers look like, and that there are already expanding hangers, and could be hangers that show the waist size of clothing automatically, while weight and length date first displayed would be easy to add.<br />
Size hangers help people sell second hand clothes online. Take the picture with something like the ebayapp, and copy the details off what you see on the picture.<br />
Size hangers help people sell second hand clothes in second hand shops. Pop the clothing on the hanger, put it on the rail next to similar sizes, and take-out the longest-displayed items if the rail is full.<br />
I hope that the next generation of charity shop volunteers will also be ebayers, in which case there is a need for the hanger to help remove the item from ebay if it sells off the rail.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.8</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">that these machines are invented</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<i>technical innovation theme –theme of machines about to be invented – possible funding of product development theme – making the problems better-known</i></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The committee heard that it would be good if recycling machines were to be invented, which is hard to do without seeing the current machines and the process. I can imagine some headings and say no more.<br />
Machines for sorting saleable garments by size and style so that they don't get sold unsorted<br />
Machines for sorting unsalable garments by fabric composition so that the mainly-cotton ones can be turned into short-fibre cotton.<br />
Machines for shredding mixed fibres and using them or separating them somehow. Apparently polyester fibres have been dissolved and re-constituted in a test tube in Leeds, but it took a long time. The former Courtaulds factory in Hull exists to turn wood pulp into microfibre, but I don't know how - it sounds similar. The factory is owned by Freudenberg Nonwovens now.<br />
Machines for making shredded, short fibres into mattress stuffing and insulation and packing blankets. Apparently factories in Wakefield have done this kind of work for ever but wool insulation in the shops is still more expensive than fibreglass. One witness said that members of the recycling association have a difficult time a themoment. I read that this is because of over-supply of very thin cotton or low-quality clothes, which are hard to recycle.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">2.9</a> Proposal:</div>
<h3>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">make a trade directory possible by releasing HMRC data</a></h3>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is mainly a point for re-shoring, below, but recycling involves machines. To know what recycling machines exist and where is useful - the sort of knowledge that can be added to a directory of UK factories. Wrap try to assemble this kind of information at the moment but a factory directory would help them.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<h1>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Reduce-Re-sell-Recycle">3.0</a> <a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">Re-shoring</a></h1>
<hr />
<h3>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">3.1</a> Proposal:</h3>
<h3>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">make a trade directory possible by releasing HMRC data</a></h3>
<div>
Legislation theme – transparency / helping good UK producers and enforcement theme<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">This is the most important suggestion of all.</a><a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">HMRC say they have data that would help write trade directories of who makes what in the UK</a> - something that several witnesses noticed the lack of. They also say that they can't release it in any form, even to the Office for National Statistics under the <a href="https://www.bailii.org/uk/legis/num_act/2005/ukpga_20050011_en_1.html#pb4-l1g18">Commissioners for the Revenue and Customs Act 2005 section 18</a> -<br />
<a href="https://www.bailii.org/uk/legis/num_act/2005/ukpga_20050011_en_1.html#pb4-l1g18">Section 21 lists the exception of "public interest" but I don't know if it would take legislation.</a>The minister from the Home Office told the committee that there is "no general spreadsheet" of companies to help with enforcement, and the journalist Lucy Sieglesaid "we don't have the data sets" of where clothes shops buy their clothes. A better list of UK clothes factories would help UK buyers find them as well as government inspectors, so I think the legal ones could do well out of a trade directory. I know that a big problem for the UK shoe industry is for buyers to know it exists and to find the right factory.<br />
The committee asked for evidence about trade envoys, and I mentioned that they should only promote good higher education courses. I guess that they’re better at promoting higher education than manufacturing because there are meticulous guides to every higher education course. No good exists for UK manufacturing – not even Kompass Directory - so there is nothing for envoys to promote or refer-to. They wait for UK companies to apply to be promoted, including UK brands that source overseas, and then they might fund a first trade show or something, helping the brand compete against UK-sourced products. So trade envoys need a directory of UK manufacturers.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<a href="https://www.bailii.org/uk/legis/num_act/2005/ukpga_20050011_en_1.html#pb4-l1g18">3.2</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">Companies House to prompt for more useful descriptions of business accounts.</a></h3>
<div>
<i>Transparency / helping good UK producers and enforcement theme - Companies House example- also good for economic statistics</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Companies house have released their data and private companies try to use it to put their own style and extra twists onto it for their own online directories. A prompt to accountants to write whether "manufacturer" means a manufacturer with its own workshop in the UK would help scoop-up better data: we might begin to learn where the clothing and footwear factories are in the UK. If the same Companies House web site had space for HMRC to add data when it is legal for them to do so, that would be good as well. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I imagine that companies would have a chance to log-in and make it invisible, and that there would have to be space for some taxpayers that are not limited companies to be listed too. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
One extra benefit. Anyone who reads Oxford Economics’ Value of Fashion report to the end will see that they have a go at estimating how much money circulates through the UK footwear manufacturing industry from UK taxpayer subsidy to London Fashion Week. I think it is a negative amount: London Fashion Week kills UK manufacturing. They think it is a positive amount but concede that they’re using 1998 data so they really don’t have anything to go-on, and better economic statistics would help everyone.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">3.3</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">planning law to allow relatively quiet industry in residential and office zones</a></h3>
<br />
<div>
<i>helping good UK producers theme – legislation: planning act</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The planning act expected us all to want to live on housing estates and work on trading estates. It assumed that there would always be more industry and that we needed shielding from it. I suggest updating the act to allow the more quiet industry to happen anywhere - certainly in space zoned as office space. I know that some people don't like noise or smell or movement. Going slightly off the point there was someone who lived next to a shoe factory and sued because the smell prevented her writing her next novel. I don't think that's reasonable.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">3.4</a> Proposal:<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">Fund a free online costing course for buyers</a></h3>
<br />
<i>Transparency themes/ Helping good UK producers and enforcement theme - investment in machines theme – Sector Skills Council example</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
One of your witnesses mentioned buyers who do not know how to cost a garment, so they cannot be blamed for buying one that has to be made under the minimum wage. I propose that there should be an online course with videos of producers saying how difficult it is, and how different machines like robot sewing machines or tube knitting machines can make one factory more productive than another, but that generally you can reach a rule of thumb. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The course should also mention something about being reasonable to maintain to suppliers in business. And the benefits of a welfare state. And it should be certified. And reasonable buyers should have a certificate. I think that's part of the way that government can help industry survive.</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<hr />
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">3.5</a> General question:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">What Incentives lead to the rise of fast fashion?</a></h3>
<i>Spending priorities – something to cut – helping good UK producers and enforcement theme – Central government co-operation with London government theme</i><br />
<div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
London MP s will know that the regional government here has a tradition of funding former Mayor’s enthusiasms such as fashion shows and classical dance. There have been a couple of forensic accountants’ investigations into it. They found that funding for things like training unemployed people was impossibly complex, and that the staff who managed small arts and employment funding were often temps because long-term staff got sick of interference from Mayoral advisers. That was a report for a new Mayor about a previous one, so less polite than usual. There are also reports from Oxford Economics commissioned by Mayors to say that everything is wonderful, such as the Value of Fashion Report into the unbelievable benefits of the Mayors’ London Fashion Week and of shops like BHS. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If I can guess right, London Fashion Week was set-up by London’s regional government in 1983 to promote arts courses. So many people were on the dole that we took every available higher education course – often cheap-to-teach arts courses run by former technical colleges. I’m told by a tutor from Cordwainers Footwear College that students for courses called "fashion" or "design" were the only students they could get before the college had to merge into London College of Fashion. So London Fashion Week has never been an event to promote factories; always an event to promote sample collections made for catwalk shows. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Department for Business paid for an overseas buyers’ program to fly buyers in to London Fashion Week and put them up in hotels, and there is an Export Credit Guarantee Scheme with a very high proportion of bad debts to pay them to buy things</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<br />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">3.6</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">The Department for Business to cease funding for London Fashion Week</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<i>Spending priorities – something to cut – helping good UK producers and enforcement theme – Department for Business Overseas Buyer Scheme and Export Credit Guarantee scheme example</i></div>
<div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If the Greater London Authority (GLA) wants to continue running trade shows with subsidised PR and ask for Department for Business support, I suggest it do this:</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Every known and legal UK clothing & footwear factory to be invited to nominate good customers to show.<br />
Exhibitors to show a good reference from a UK factory, as a reasonable customer that pays.<br />
Factories to be named on the products and exhibition web site.<br />
Show to be held in Leicester where there are factories to see, space on public transport and space in hotel rooms.<br />
No preference for design graduates from run-up shows organised by colleges.<br />
Economic performance reports should not be commissioned by the same people who get the grant. That’s a case of the public sector marking its own homework by allowing Oxford Economics what they want to read in the Value of Fashion report.<br />
If the GLA introduced these changes, maybe the Department for Business could join-in with the Overseas Buyer Scheme and Export Credit Guarantee scheme, as there would be a chance of putting more business into UK clothes factories and helping more of them become legal.</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<br />
<div>
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">3.7</a> Proposal:<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">Central Government to pause co-operation on the Olympic Park fashion college project until a college is chosen in a fair way.</a></h3>
</div>
<div>
<i>Spending priorities – something to cut – helping good UK producers and enforcement theme –the unpopular course lobby – example of expensive harmful scheme lobbied-for and managed by a college that’s unpopular with students - Central government co-operation with London Government example</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Imagine that you were trying to sell UK-made products as an ethical choice, and your wallet supplier JJ Blackledge closed one weekend – the last cheap one in the UK willing to do business with you for small orders. The receivers sold tools to a firm that gets stuff done in China. The same weekend, just down the road from them in Manchester, someone paid from your taxes at a London College of Fashion office sends you this email under cover of multiple agency labels that provide 'social proof'.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/creative_connexions_brief_and_bu_2#comment-7512">Sourcing materials or manufacturing in China should be considered seriously if you want to compete in a global market and keep production cost low. Many do not think that China should be your first port of call if you have decided to build your brand on a sustainable business model inwhich worker's rights are recognised, the materials used are environmentally friendly and your carbon footprint is as small as possible. However, China has started to acknowledge the need for sustainable business practices in the production of textiles and clothing, and has set up theSustainable Fashion Business Consortium in Hong Kong in 2008 to promote just that.</a> </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><a href="http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environmental-audit-committee/sustainability-of-the-fashion-industry/written/95449.html#Re-shoring">Own-it,Ethical Fashion Forum</a>and<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/creative_connexions_brief_and_bu_2#comment-7512">Creative Connexions</a><a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/creative_connexions_brief_and_bu_2#comment-7512">have invited a panel of experts to discuss the current situation in China, how designers can source manufacturers and material that meets their ethical standards and how they can monitor compliance. A lawyer will speak about important clauses in manufacturing or licensing contracts concerning IP rights and confidentiality, as well as what to do when you are faced with counterfeits that are cheap, unethically sourced and damage your good name.</a> </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The style is to include a lot of names of offices to provide 'social proof' as ad agents put it, and to 'nudge'. It is hard to know which agencies are different words for the same organisation, like Own-it and London College of Fashion at University of the Arts, and which are fellow-travellers, and how taxpayers' money gets in their hands. For example, ten years ago, if I had looked for training videos from the sector skills training council, or a training lecture from Business Link, or help from the Knowledge Transfer Partnership at London College of Fashion, I would have got similar things: lectures on how to import. The lectures would emphasise importing in one way rather than another – a more green or 'ethical' way – and say nothing about UK manufacturing. The Knowledge Transfer Partnership person said <i>"we don't do bespoke"</i>. The Business Link and Sector Skills courses were both run by Ethical Fashion Forum and Pants to Poverty, which were also promoted in tax-funded <i>"course materials</i>" from London College of Fashion as <i>"case studies"</i> in a document that ended with a note about DfID funding and that claims by the companies were not "verified". Meanwhile the V&A put on a show of <i>"Ethical Fashion"</i> including these unverified companies, as did the Crafts Council. I have a lot of evidence like this and probably more than you want to read, but the proposal is a short one and the last one: fair funding. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is a 2018 quote.<br />
<i>The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today set out his £1.1bn vision for East Bank at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – a new powerhouse of culture, education, innovation and growth, and welcomed a £151m contribution now secured by the Government.… Stratford Waterfront... UAL’s London College of Fashion </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If any college management is to be allowed public funding or even a big tenancy – and even if the Mayor of London supports it – the college should be chosen on criteria.<br />
(a) student satisfaction overall on the National Student Survey scores<br />
(b) student employment after previous courses<br />
(c) plausible routes to self employment and manufacturing such as running a maker lab or a market for products.<br />
(d) services to small business and the unemployed who are not on long degree courses such as library access, cheap consultancy and student placement, and training shown to respond to requests of people in the trade.<br />
(e) surveys of people in the clothing and footwear trade in the area: it should be the type of college they want<br />
(f) it should probably be in Leicester and not Stratford.</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
Thank you for reading this far.</div>
<div>
January 2019</div>
</div>
</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-29399770083891836462018-05-31T18:50:00.004+01:002021-01-04T12:48:11.147+00:00https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliviapinnock/2018/05/29/the-problem-with-the-term-ethical-fashion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
People agree that they disagree!<br />
<br />
This is a good simple conclusion about the "ethical fashion" idea, long-delayed, and now probably shared by Ethical Fashion Forum themselves after some market research, and reported by Olivia Pinnock in "<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliviapinnock/2018/05/29/the-problem-with-the-term-ethical-fashion">The Problem with Ethical Fashion</a>" yesterday. <i>"Ethical"</i> is a category of adjectives; it doesn't work as an adjective by itself.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Ethics Jungle</h3>
<br />
Maybe <i>"Ethics and Fashion Forum"</i> would make sense if the name isn't given-up completely. <i>"Ethics Jungle"</i> has just come to mind. I like that one.<br />
<br />
More likely, another Orwellian term will take-over at the offices of London College of Fashion where EFF have the odd meeting: <i>"Common Objective"</i> seems to be the new brand, which is already tarnished by the <i>"Common Purpose"</i> groups that fund each other behind doors closed to the public, rather like Ethical Fashion Forum. Secondly, traders do not have a common ethic or object. I don't have the same objective as Islamic State or many less extreme groups, but they each ethics and objectives.. How about <i>"Common Disagreements"</i>? Or <i>"Common Arguments"</i>? Maybe that should be the name.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Olivia Pinnock article is polite, and suggests that <i>"Ethical Fashion"</i> really was a movement that might continue, but I suppose it's easier to be polite about suppliers putting-on a show than to be rude about the customers and consumers who buy the stuff. The public in the UK buy tabloids. The public don't know that UK industry was closed by government-fixed exchange rates from the 1980s and with a bit of good government could recover. We each know bits, within comfortable long-held views of the world, but preaching to the un-converted over a pair of pants is a not going to win a big market share and the boss at the high-street chain still wants to sell all the other pants. No-wonder people sit in offices at Monsoon or Howies think: <i>"What can we call good that makes a profit and the boss allows?"</i>. <br /><br /></div>
<h3>
Bosses vary.</h3>
<br />
All bosses have to treat ethical claims a sales issue. Some bosses are also evangelists for economic theories that say their other stuff is good anyway: the raw simple theory of comparative advantage (ignoring social insurance), the theory of the trickle-down effect (ignoring evidence), and the raw theory of the nation state that Chinese human rights are best for Chinese people because they have the word Chinese in the title. Those sorts of theories are similar to the views of UK government ministers or economists at places like London University.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
What can we call good that makes a big profit and doesn't stop people buying the other stuff?</h3>
<div>
H&M, Monsoon, Primark, M&S, Boohoo and the rest are unlikely to say these things.</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Badly-run countries are badly-run</li>
<li>or anything to do with our buying habits and tariffs</li>
<li>Their products are unfair competition with products from better-run countries</li>
<li>Their populations - in Bangladesh for example -are rocketing faster than jobs to employ them</li>
<li>Wages in Bangladesh are falling and not rising</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The things that big firms call good come-down to whether you can put a pair of shoes in the compost bin, or whether a raffia bag from an special fair trade employment scheme in some country without a welfare state (but don't mention that they need a welfare state). Words like <i>"Natural"</i> are an obvious choice or <i>"the ambiguously named Conscious Collection" </i>as Pinnock puts it.. I saw <i>"Conscious Awareness"</i> used of a stall at London Fashion Week.</div>
<br />
Most of us can sympathize with employees of big companies where we ourselves shop. I write this in Primark basics trakkies; I have to sympathize.<br />
<br />
There is another layer of complication.<br />
<br />
There is a government machine with its favorite causes, from Kids Company to Pants to Poverty to Elvis and Kress wallets, each muddying a muddy picture. Elvis and Kress send old fire hose to Italy to be made into over-thick over-priced novelty wallets for sale in gift boxes in the UK. Other old fire hoses are exported to India where there is more cheap labour for patching them up. There used to be a few good cheap wallet manufacturers making sometimes vegan products, until lack of interest allowed them to close while groups like Ethical Fashion Forum got the PR. Doing a gig for <a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.com/2015/12/bad.html">"Making it Ethically in China"</a>, in Manchester, if I remember right, on the weekend that the Manchester firm JJ Blackledge closed and sold the machines because of lack of interest in the blooming-obvious: the product made cheaply in a democratic welfare state. So: good luck to Elvis and Kress for an expensive giftware item with a donation to the fire service charity built-in to the price, but that's all they are. Government PR from the likes of Social Enterprise UK bigs them up and gets in the way of day to day ethical decisions about cheaper products.<br />
<br />
I have written enough and should stop before repeating myself. A lot of previous stuff about Ethical Fashion Forum, mainly evidence assembled in a way which is rude to them, is on <a href="http://veganline.com/ethical-fashion-forum.htm">Veganline.com/info/ethical-fashion-forum</a> or a successor page. I hope the evidence speaks for itself, but if you want to know why someone is a bit bitter, I did try to sell UK-made products as ethical before they came-along, and I did try to use the business support services and government services that were cut because, as I said, the likes of Kids Company, <a href="http://pantstopoverty.org.uk/">Pants to Poverty</a>, and Ethical Fashion Forum get the government PR.</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-65476506270243475762018-02-21T11:44:00.004+00:002018-10-31T18:45:47.202+00:00Top 20 largest recruiters of international students 2015-16<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
</h4>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://veg-buildlog.blogspot.com/2018/01/international-student-course.html">International Student Course Dis Satisfaction at London College of Fashion</a></h3>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>Over
on <a href="https://veg-buildlog.blogspot.com/2018/01/international-student-course.html">this other post</a> I argue that the worse the course at a big city
centre college like London College of Fashion, the more money the
college makes. Never mind that University of the Arts (including London College of Fashion) is the least
popular of any degree awarding university. Expand the image below if you want a closer look: it is the worst colleges sorted by student satisfaction, worst at the top. University of the Arts is fourth worst for Fashion and Textiles courses and fifth worst for design and crafts.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-um_r0nxiHxM/WoRS5LPWNrI/AAAAAAAAZlU/SAq-gSDy5zo4ZnCgImvjZvEWy8vX-B9kgCLcBGAs/s640/all-courses.jpg"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-um_r0nxiHxM/WoRS5LPWNrI/AAAAAAAAZlU/SAq-gSDy5zo4ZnCgImvjZvEWy8vX-B9kgCLcBGAs/s640/all-courses.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPgbLCF3oAM/WpGTiussItI/AAAAAAAAZl0/ui5u8SDB6rs8gfCNxSQ_XM6b2SipnBdGgCLcBGAs/s1600/temp.jpg"><img alt="University of the Arts (including London College of Fashion) is fourth worst for student satisfaction with courses about Fashion and Textiles" border="0" height="211" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPgbLCF3oAM/WpGTiussItI/AAAAAAAAZl0/ui5u8SDB6rs8gfCNxSQ_XM6b2SipnBdGgCLcBGAs/s640/temp.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2EgF5tYRrw/WpGV5tPTbUI/AAAAAAAAZmA/UnXZSZJh9Qk_TeIIhb0cJoJsB7Pm5AdWQCLcBGAs/s1600/design-and-crafts.jpg"><img alt="University of the Arts including London College of Fashion is fifth worst for student feedback about courses in Design and Crafts" border="0" height="238" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2EgF5tYRrw/WpGV5tPTbUI/AAAAAAAAZmA/UnXZSZJh9Qk_TeIIhb0cJoJsB7Pm5AdWQCLcBGAs/s640/design-and-crafts.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Never mind that there is no useful Knowledge
Transfer Partnership. Never mind that there are no basic business
courses for Londoners including London College of Fashion graduates.
Never mind that the college has no luck recruiting from the trade. The
less adapted the course, the more money the college makes and the more staff they can allocate to government liaison and grant-applications.<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Research--Policy/Statistics/International-student-statistics-UK-higher-education">Top 20 largest recruiters of international students 2015-16</a></h4>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> most mainstream economics degree - click the number under "degree" to see student feedback stats</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> overseas students national student survey of all students<br />
degree grad. total stimulated interested applied satisfied (1-83) <br />
UCL <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/Subjects/Overview/10007784FT-UBEECOSING05/">7,860</a> 7,115 14,975 72% 92% 65% 79 / 83</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Manchester <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10007798FT-206">5,950</a> 6,970 12,920 74% 76% 59% 78 / 83 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/04/economics-students-overhaul-subject-teaching" title="EDUCATION AND UNLEARNING is the report to google - this is a news story about it">protests</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Edinburgh 5,085 5,695 10,780 81 / 83 no degree<br />
Kings College <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/Subjects/Overview/10003645FT-UBSH3SSWE/">4,115</a> 4,785 8,900 ? ? ? 70 / 83 new course</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Sheffield <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10007157FT-L100/">4,595</a> 3,930 8,525 64% 81% 74% </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">40 / 83</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Warwick <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10007163FT-U-L100/">4,520</a> 3,920 8,440 80% 89% 77%</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> 64 / 83 <br />
Imperial College <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10003270FT-G1GH">4,550</a> 3,970 8,520 45% 62% </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> see notes</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Oxford 5,760 2,300 8,060 ? ? ? PPE Ec/Hist</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">LSE <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10007158FT-100">4,635</a> 2,280 6,915 60% 74% 52% 83 / 83</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Birmingham <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10006840FT-K0160">4,670</a> 2,945 7,615 66% 81% 58% 45 / 83<br />
City, Uni of L <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10003270FT-G1GH">4,320</a> 3,180 7,500 57% 82% 52% 60 / 83</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Southampton <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10007158FT-100">4,050</a> 3,175 7,225 66% 83% 52% 72 / 83</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Glasgow 3,845 3,790 7,635 no degree</span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Coventry Uni <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/Subjects/Overview/10001726FT-53/">3,540</a> 6,175 9,715 93% 100 98% 5 / 83</span></span> <br />
Uni of Nottingham <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10007154FT-L100">3,170</a> 4,070 7,240 79% 81% 75% 6 / 83<br />
Cardiff Uni <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10007158FT-100">3,285</a> 3,825 7,110 46% 69% 52% 73 / 83</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Leeds <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/Subjects/Overview/10007795FT-L100">3,825</a> 2,760 6,585 89% 92% 77% 38 / 83</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Uni of Liverpool <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10006842FT-BSC_EC">2,075</a> 5,235 7,310 71% 78% 62% 56 / 83 </span></span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: red;">Uni of the Arts,</span> <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/subjects/satisfaction/10007162FT-10237">2,035</a> 6,425 8,460 50% 62% 71% 3 / 3 Footwear</span></span> <br />
<br />
Non London<br />
London 55,270<br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /><br /><br /><br />--</span></span></span></span></div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-14096019221910388892015-12-20T18:29:00.001+00:002018-10-31T18:45:48.292+00:00graduate fashion week and fashion scout<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If I do a new post, I loose the title links to posts in 2015, so here is a note on the top of an old post.\<br />
It is about a government consultation ending 26th of January 2018<br />
<a href="http://veg-buildlog.blogspot.com/2018/01/httpswwwgovukgovernmentconsultationspro.html">http://veg-buildlog.blogspot.com/2018/01/httpswwwgovukgovernmentconsultationspro.html</a><br />
... is the start of a response to the migration advisory committee's request for evidence about the effects of overseas students on the UK. Anyone who has been an international student might want to write-in and say why the colleges with most international students seem to be the ones with the worst student feedback and in the most crowded parts of the UK.<br />
<br />
At the moment, the questions themselves are near the bottom<br />
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
Another explore into fashion subsidy: two events which get in the papers at the same time as London Fashion Week or just before<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><h3>
<a href="http://gfw.org.uk/">Graduate Fashion Week</a></h3>
<a href="http://gfw.org.uk/"></a>charity <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1044420&SubsidiaryNumber=0">1044420</a> c/o the new office at <span class="_Xbe">3-5 Whitechapel Rd, London E1 1DU of</span></li>
<li><h3>
<a href="http://fashionscout.co.uk/">Fashion Scout</a></h3>
a commercial event also managed by <a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/company/05918795/FSI-EVENTS-LTD/summary">FSI Events Ltd</a> who also run events in Paris and Kiev. The office seems to be above Lloyds bank. <a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/martyn-roberts-98471b15">Bosses CV on linkedin</a><a href="http://fashionscout.co.uk/"> </a></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Funding is from subscribing fashion colleges, with extra sponsorship from London taxpayers alongside Goerge at Asda, Rimmal, and L'Oreal. The group have also been given ear-time by UK Trade and Investment and a select comittee at the House of Commons, who invited them in to give a presentation that was somehow meant to be in aid of the charity. UK Trade and Investment sent a witness to give evidence to a select committee, explaining how they subsidise fashionistas from this world to attempt export. Apparently the scheme often offers to pay bad debts by buyers, so it is a subsidy for the more canny and dodgy buyers in other countries rather than for anyone who pays tax in the UK.</div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Surprises to taxpayers in London and the UK</h3>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>One surprise is the name "<a href="http://www.fashion-scout.co.uk/">Fashion Scout</a>", previously used in the phrase "Vauxhall Fashion Scout" to suggest scouting for fashion from anyone, for example taxpayers who's money helps sponsor the show and are scouted in Vauxhall near where I live, No. <b>The emphasis is on fashion graduates</b>.</li>
<li>Another surprise is that the fashion colleges are so organised in <b>presenting their degree shows to sponsors and journalists, rather than to clothes shops and shoe shops</b> who have trouble getting on the mailing list or a chance to see a degree show. The charity accounts acknowledge two purposes - promoting the students and promoting the colleges - but don't say that students and their employment should be the priority which is silly. If the students do well, the next generation of students will find a course on unistats; there is no need push the name of the college in some vague way. Web sites already say whether a college is vibrant or renowned. That's already too much praise; facts need to say the course syllabus what happens to graduates in this trade were applicants look for work skills.</li>
<li>The third surprise - or it should be a surprise - is that the Mayor of London subsidises something a bit like a closed shop for <b>a particular kind of graduate designer willing to present a <i>"collection"</i>, rather than other taxpayers who might sell more or circulate more money through the economy. Someone with a clothes factory for example, maybe in Bradford or Leicester or Harringay</b>, or some of their customers. No.</li>
<li><i>"the Ethical Award ... was judged by <a href="http://pantstopoverty.org.uk/" title="ethical fashion producer Ben Ramsden">Pants to Poverty owner Ben Ramsden</a>. Excited by
Rosie's work he said; "It's great to see a fresh vibrant perspective on
ethical fashion".. - quote from Gruaduate Fashion Week blog 2013</i><br />This is someone who does not promote a welfare state nor UK production, although he says he has nothing against it. </li>
</ol>
These are some accounts for Graduate Fashion Week.<br />
<a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends20%5C0001044420_AC_20120731_E_C.pdf">http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends20%5C0001044420_AC_20120731_E_C.pdf</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/52bd93f9e4b0a5849fd85867/53e346c9e4b003365d1996e4/55df5ad5e4b0cc963b8f4499/1440701141836/Look+Two.jpg?format=500w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52bd93f9e4b0a5849fd85867/53e346c9e4b003365d1996e4/55df5ad5e4b0cc963b8f4499/1440701141836/Look+Two.jpg?format=500w" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
The text on the accounts says the same as what's on the web site. It's a trust with trustees from about ten fashion colleges, and some sponsorship. The web site has about three times as many colleges listed. Trustees meet ten times a year and contract-out management to FSI Events Ltd. The purpose is supposedly to get work and PR for some college graduates, but I don't see the fairness in helping some and not others when all have paid the same, nor how it helps get work when there is no system of stalls to sell the clothes, or none that I know of, and no mail-out to niche market shopkeepers that might want to buy something. Or none that I know of, and I <a href="http://veganline.com/">sell shoes</a> for a living so I should know. I don't sell dresses or high fashion, so I might be missing something but it looks as though this event concentrates too much on getting press coverage and too little on selling clothes, a fault shared with London Fashion Week. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/52bd93f9e4b0a5849fd85867/t/55b20654e4b0cc1fb84e52b4/1437730399610/Angel+Chen+Bunny+With+Short+Legs?format=500w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52bd93f9e4b0a5849fd85867/t/55b20654e4b0cc1fb84e52b4/1437730399610/Angel+Chen+Bunny+With+Short+Legs?format=500w" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Fashion students know there are more fashion graduates than fashion jobs</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There should be pressure from students to find out what guarantee of help is available on graduation, and how effective it is, because a lot of fashion graduates don't find work. Looking at accounts of what work they find and write-in on questionarres, it's seldon related to fashion courses. Students and potential students need to find a way to stop colleges promoting colleges and start promoting freelance work skills and employment to fashion students. To say <i>"it's very competative"</i>, is not what a student should read tutors as saying in reviews of a course. I think a student wants to read reviews of tutors saying <i>"it's impossible for most people to find a paid job with an employer in fashion, but we can show you how to find a hobby and a bit of freelance work with a web site and a stall and a sewing machine and if it takes-off it might lead to a career"</i>. That's the realistic statement I think students should report from good courses.<br />
<br />
Looking at courses on unistats.direct.go.uk, and once you are used to using the site's drop down menus, it only takes a few minute to find out that a quarter of graduates from a lot of mainstream courses with "fashion" in the title do not go-on to work or study, with lower figures for University of Derby, University of East London, Bradford College and Wolverhampton University. Any student considering any of those colleges, or the mainstream ones like University of the Arts' London College of Fashion, should reconsider if there's no sensible offer of help to make and sell clothes at the end of the course. A chance to compete to pay to be in an event a bit like ballet display for an invited audience is not the same thing, and college reps sent to organisations like Graduate Fashion Week ought to think what helps their students work freelance rather than what attracts most column inches for an event and maybe helps get a job at M&S for one graduate.</div>
<br />
Colleges further north, where workshop space is a bit cheaper, might have a bit more luck and set-up an alternative fashion week aimed at making sales for manufacturer-designers. The format could be more of a market for student and gradate stallholders than a catwalk show, most of the time, and be combined with help for students making their products or finding local workshops to make the products. Some system for funding fabric, thread, machine time, and stall space as part of the college service could help a lot. Stallholders might not want to work every day or give up other low-paid day jobs, but £12,000 a year salary after graduation is typical for northern colleges like Wolverhampton or Bradford; colleges for teenagers can score £11,000, so a chance to do something independant and maybe earn almost as much on a stall could appeal. Students running stalls might get-over their well-known shyness to attempt any job other than designing; they might become more interested in pattern cutting which is better paid, or something like manufacturing. Whatever they choose, if it's freelance they're more likely to create work for other people as well as leaving the handfull of jobs like M&S buyer open for the hundreds of other people who graduate after fashion courses each year.<br />
<br />
The colleges in more expensive areas score little better than colleges at the bottom of the list, with students from some University of the Arts fashion courses only writing £15,000 salary on a typical survey form a year after graduating. I don't know if that goes further in London than £12,000 in Bradford, but neither salary goes far.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
If I get-around to looking-up any more unistats data on fashion graduate employment, I'll add it to this list.</div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.gfw.org.uk/universities/">Fashion Colleges on the Graduate Fashion Week web site</a></h3>
<h3>
</h3>
Followed by a course from that college with "fashion" in the title and link to stats<br />
Then the proportion reporting that they're in work after six months, or the proportion in work or more study, and the average reported salary. The students who don't return the form are more likely, I guess, to be less employed and lower paid.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.gfw.org.uk/universities/accademiacostumeandmoda/">Accademia Costume & Moda, Italy</a> -</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.aub.ac.uk/">Arts University Bournemouth</a> - <a href="http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/subjects/employment/10000385FT-BAFSC/ReturnTo/Search">BA (hons) Fashion</a> - 93% - £17,000</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://artbathspa.com/"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://artbathspa.com/">Bath Spa University</a> - <a href="http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/subjects/employment/10000571FT-BA-FD/ReturnTo/Search">BA (hons) Fashion Design</a> - 70% to 85% - £ unknown</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.bcu.ac.uk/biad">Birmingham City University</a> - <a href="http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/subjects/employment/10007140FT-US0030-01/ReturnTo/Search">BA (Hons) Fashion Design</a> - 84 to 95% - £18,000</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.anglia.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/fashion-design">Anglia Ruskin University</a> : Cambridge School of Art - <a href="http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/subjects/employment/10001503FT-HBAFS/ReturnTo/Search">BA (hons) Fashion</a> - 80% to 95% - £14,500</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.csvpa.com/">Cambridge School of visual and performing arts</a> - "Fashion Design .. collaboration with Kingston " London"</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.colegsirgar.ac.uk/">Carmarthenshire College</a> - <a href="http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/Subjects/Overview/10000291FT-K00007/ReturnTo/Search">BA (hons) Fashion Design</a> - 75-80% - £15,000</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.dmu.ac.uk/">De Montfort University</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.ccad.ac.uk/">Cleveland College of Art and Design</a> -</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/">Edinburgh College of Art</a> -</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.tex.hw.ac.uk/">Heriot Watt University</a> -</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.ied.it/">Istituto Europeo di Design</a> -</div>
<a href="http://www.fada.kingston.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Kingston University</a> - BA (hons) Fashion - <br />
<a href="http://www.leeds-art.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Leeds College of Art</a> (Leeds College of Art) - <br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.lit.ie/">Limerick School of Art and Design</a> - <br />
<a href="http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/lsa">Liverpool John Moores University</a> - Liverpool School of Art</div>
<a href="http://www.arts.ac.uk/fashion/">University of the Arts</a> - London College of Fashion<br />
<a href="http://www.artdes.mmu.ac.uk/">Manchester Metropolitian University</a> - Manchester School of Art BA (hons) Fashion -<br />
<a href="http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/design" target="_blank">Northumbria University in Newcastle</a> - <br />
<a href="http://www.northbrook.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Northbrook College in Sussex</a> - <a href="http://www.nua.ac.uk/" target="_blank"><br />Norwich University of the Arts</a> - <a href="http://www.ntu.ac.uk/art" target="_blank"><br />Nottingham Trent University</a> - BA (hons) Fashion Design -<a href="http://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/"> <br />Plymouth College of Art</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.rave.ac.uk/">Ravensbourne</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.solent.ac.uk/">Southampton Solent University</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.shu.ac.uk/">Sheffield Hallam University</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/">University for the Creative Arts</a> Epsom and Rochester - <a href="http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/subjects/employment/10006427FT-EFA4FBAH/ReturnTo/Search">BA (hons) Fashion</a> - 95% or 100% - £15,000<br />
<a href="http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/study/textiles">University of Brighton, Faculty of Arts</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.uclan.ac.uk/">University of Central Lancashire</a> - <br />
<a href="http://www.derby.ac.uk/">University of Derby</a> - <a href="http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/Subjects/Overview/10007851PT-W2213PT/ReturnTo/Search">BA (hons) Fashion</a> - 30% or 40% (50% are "other") - £14,500<br />
<a href="http://www.uel.ac.uk/adi">University of East London</a> - <br />
<a href="http://www.herts.ac.uk/courses/fashion">University of Hertfordshire</a> - BA (hons) Fashion Design - <br />
<a href="http://www.hud.ac.uk/">University of Huddersfield </a>-<br />
<a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a> - BA (hons) Fashion Design -<br />
<a href="http://www.northampton.ac.uk/">University of Northampton</a> -<br />
<a href="http://http//www.artdes.salford.ac.uk">University of Salford</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.southwales.ac.uk/">University of South Wales</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.uwl.ac.uk/">University of West London</a> -<br />
<a href="http://www.soton.ac.uk/">University of Southampton</a> Winchester College of Art -<br />
<br />
<br />
There's another group of colleges for the Samsonite International Catwalk Competition, but I don't know where to get employment figures for their graduates<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr height="32"><td height="32" width="189">AOD</td><td width="39">LKA</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">Binus Northumbria</td><td>IN</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">Shih Chien University</td><td>TW</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">B&D Moscow</td><td>RU</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">IED</td><td>IT</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">FIT Milan</td><td>IT</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">Colegiatura Colombiana</td><td>COL</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">NAFA</td><td>SGP</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">LISAA Mode Paris</td><td>FR</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">FAD International Accademy</td><td>IN</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">Accademia di Costume e Moda</td><td>IT</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">PRATT</td><td>US</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">RMIT</td><td width="39">AUS</td></tr>
<tr height="32"><td height="32">Moteskolen AS Esmod Oslo</td><td width="39"></td></tr>
<tr height="38"><td height="38">Centro Design Mexio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Related posts:<br />
<a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/rebalancing-economy.html">http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/rebalancing-economy.html</a> - just a paragraph and a link to something about rebalancing the economy, which I can't remember if I've read:<br />
<a href="http://www.cresc.ac.uk/medialibrary/workingpapers/wp87.pdf">http://www.cresc.ac.uk/medialibrary/workingpapers/wp87.pdf</a><br />
<a href="http://veg-buildlog.blogspot.com/2015/10/boring-economics-teaching-is-interesting.html">http://veg-buildlog.blogspot.com/2015/10/boring-economics-teaching-is-interesting.html</a><br />
<a href="http://pantstopoverty.org.uk/" title="Ethical Fashion Forum Founder member, guest speaker and industry expert Ben Ramsden still doesn't talk about a welfare state">http://pantstopoverty.org.uk</a><br />
Blog on one page as a feed:<br />
<a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500">http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500</a><a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-68921001749077090462015-12-20T14:51:00.002+00:002018-04-07T23:03:56.552+01:00the value of fashion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
London Fashion week justifies its funding with a document called "<a href="http://britishfashioncouncil.com/Archive/Reports/Value-of-Fashion">The Value of Fashion</a>", written for them by Oxford Economics. Flicking through the pdf pages, it becomes obvious that they're about the value of clothes shops like the ones that sponsored the document. A bit like writing a report called "The Value of Banks". Another odd thing about the document is that it got some public sponsorship from UK Trade and Investment, who pay for some visitors to go to London Fashion Week, and the bit of the Greater London Authority that was then London Development Agency. I don't think taxpayers got good value from the report. For example you can't claim that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/sports-direct-international">Sports Direct</a> is part of some specially useful or beneficial industry that deserves government encouragement and subsidised trade shows.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, if clothes shops really do contribute a lot to the economy, some of them find ways of not paying tax. Monsoon Accessorize PLC have called for clothes shops not to be taxed if they use the word "ethical" occasionally (this is from a firm that pays its UK suppliers late and breaks minimum wage law in both India and the UK) and Arcadia Group pays its tax in the boss's wife's name, at the Monaco income tax rate of zero.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140414223637/http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/targets/3">https://web.archive.org/web/20140414223637/http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/targets/3</a> has some background:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
The Value of Fashion: Sir Philip Green</h3>
<img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20140414223637im_/http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/images/philip-green.jpg" style="float: right;" />
Philip Green is a multi-billionaire businessman, who runs some of the
biggest names on British high streets. His retail empire includes brands
such as Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Miss Selfridge and
British Home Stores.<br />
<br />
Philip Green is not a non-dom. He lives in the UK. He works in the UK.
He pays tax on his salary in the UK. All seems to be in order. Until you
realise that Philip Green does not actually own any of the Arcadia
group that he spends every day running. Instead, it is in the name of
his wife who has not done a single day’s work for the company. Mrs Green
lives in Monaco, where she pays not a penny of income tax.<br />
<br />
In 2005 Philip Green awarded himself £1.2bn, the biggest paycheck in
British corporate history. But this dividend payout was channeled
through a network of offshore accounts, via tax havens in Jersey and
eventually to Green’s wife’s Monaco bank account. The dodge saved Green,
and cost the tax payer, close to £300m. This tax arrangement remains in
place. Any time it takes his fancy, Green can pay himself huge sums of
money without having to pay any tax.<br />
<br />
Before the election, the Lib Dems liked to talk tough on tax avoiders.
But as soon as they entered the coalition, this pre-election bluster
became just another inconvenient promise they quietly forgot. In August
David Cameron appointed the country’s most notorious serial-tax avoider
to advise the government on how best to slash public spending. Not a
single Lib Dem minister uttered a word of complaint. A Guardian
editorial denounced this as “shameful”.<br />
<br />
Philip Green’s £285m tax dodge could pay for:<br />
<ul>
<li>The full, hiked up £9,000 fees for almost 32,000 students</li>
<li>Pay the salaries of 20,000 NHS nurses</li>
</ul>
And if that’s not reason enough to take action against Sir Philip, it is
worth noting that he has built his £5bn fortune on the back of
sweatshop labour, using Mauritius sweatshops where Sri Lankans, Indians
and Bangladeshis toil 12 hours a day, six days a week, for minimal pay.
</blockquote>
Arcadia Group isn't singled-out for being a bad company like its rival, Sports Direct, but the practice of using minimum wage zero hours contracts is common in retail.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/05/zero-hours-contracts-cover-1m-uk-workers">More
than 1 million British workers could be employed on zero-hours
contracts, new figures released on Monday reveal, suggesting that
British business is deploying the controversial employment terms far
more widely than previously thought.</a><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
The Value of Fashion: Sports Direct</h3>
Sports direct admit that 90% of UK staff are on zero hours contracts.<br />
<br />
Three
staff at the department for business are trying to think of an answer
according to the minister. Oh and Sports Direct make no statement about
the conditions in their Vietnamese factory suppliers. Oh and no badness
is meant towards the lawyer who got IP work for sports direct and
volunteered for a few board meetings at Ethical Fashion Forum after
offering free IP surgeries to UK business at a neighbouring project
called own-it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/sports-direct-international">The Guardian have a page about Sports Direct</a><br />
One
of the articles lists accusations, but leaves one out: the company is
less hypocritical than others. It offers fake markdowns and says that's
legal. It pays less than the minimum wage and maybe that's not quite
legal but it has a defence in saying that some hours are spent waiting
to be haranged and searched. It has a staff handbook which states you
can be sacked for more or less anything, and, if no reason can be
thought of, most of the staff are from two rival temp agencies anyway so
a word can be had with the agency. This again might not be quite legal
but is common enough. Most of us have had jobs a bit like this, but
Sports Direct forces politicians to think about it, rather than hiding
the facts in detail and denying them as adult social care providers do
for your granny's weekly visit from a care assistant.<br />
<br />
Here is the quote:<i><br /></i><br />
<blockquote>
Ashley’s Sports Direct chain has made him the <a class=" u-underline" data-component="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/sunday-times-rich-list-wealthiest-9120675" title="">22nd richest man in Britain</a>,
estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to be worth £3.5bn. Temporary
workers at his warehouse, by contrast, get paid hourly rates that work
out below the minimum wage and suffer the kind of indignities –
including rigorous harangues over the public address system to work
faster – that come straight from a dystopian novel. Ashley, as well as
being very rich, is also the unpopular owner of Newcastle United. The
items he sells are made cheaply in east Asia. His warehouse depends on
cheap eastern European labour. Few individuals so neatly encapsulate the
fortunes, in both senses, of modern Britain.</blockquote>
<hr align="LEFT" />
To do list and note to self: try to catch-up with this stuff. Those who read more newspapers and belong to trade associations probably find them a year earlier, but hey.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.policyconnect.org.uk/apmg/events/launch-alliance-report-repatriating-uk-textiles-manufacture">http://www.policyconnect.org.uk/apmg/events/launch-alliance-report-repatriating-uk-textiles-manufacture</a><br />
<br />
The Alliance Report - repatriating UK textiles manufacture<br />
<hr align="LEFT" />
<a href="http://www.policyconnect.org.uk/apmg/home">http://www.policyconnect.org.uk/apmg/home</a><br />
<br />
All Party Manufacturing Group<br />
<hr align="LEFT" />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<u>High End Designer Manufacturing</u>
</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
A report on Protecting Existing Resource and Encouraging Growth and Innovation</h3>
Report commissioned by the British Fashion Council, UK Fashion & Textile Association, Creative Skillset and Marks & Spencer Research by Oxford Economics and Glasgow Caledonian University<br />
<br />
Steering Group <br />
Introduction by Caroline Rush p4<br />
Executive Summary p7<br />
Key Findings p8<br />
part 1<br />
Introduction p10<br />
CASE STUDY 1: Mulberry p14<br />
part 2<br />
Background Context p16<br />
CASE STUDY 2: John Smedley p28<br />
part 3<br />
Survey Results p30<br />
CASE STUDY 3: Sourgrape p34<br />
part 4<br />
Modelling Results p36<br />
CASE STUDY 4: Private White V.C. p40<br />
part 5<br />
Conclusions, Challenges & Recommendations p42<br />
part 6<br />
Methodological Appendix p46<br />
part 7<br />
Acknowledgements p50<br />
<br />
Update: last year the British Fashion Council commissioned a new report, with the usual bias towards people who talk about fashion, and high fashion, but with two sets of economists instead of one and some attempt to contact real manufacturers among the list. One of the sets of economists work at a college that runs London fashion courses, rather than factory training, but at least the use of two should encourage them to spot each others' special effects. There are even a couple of shoe factory people interviewed on the list from - Norman Walsh and Grenson. <br />
Note to selt: read the report, which is called High End Designer Manufacturing<br />
<a href="http://britishfashioncouncil.com/uploads/files/1/BFC%20Initiatives/manufacturing%20report.pdf">http://britishfashioncouncil.com/uploads/files/1/BFC%20Initiatives/manufacturing%20report.pdf</a><br />
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<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-26128618339160716582015-12-18T13:59:00.001+00:002018-04-07T23:04:19.101+01:00promoting bad against good<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There is a pattern, which sometimes happens by chance. <br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Ethical Fashion Forum finds a UK business that is close to collapse, ignores it and loudly promotes the competition from bad countries</h3>
Robbing in a hospital is one way to describe it.<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><h3>
<span style="color: red;">Remploy</span> </h3>
Ethical Fashion Forum promoted a firm like Remploy in Bangladesh but were silent about Remploy in the UK closing down. Ethical Fashion Forum had got their hands on money for training small business owners the year before, running seminars in Newham College, so they ought to have known what advice to give to business owners about where to get clothes made in the UK - including Remploy. Otherwise, I think the people who paid taxes via London Development Agency for the training seminars should get their money back.</li>
<li><h3>
<span style="color: red;">Equity Shoes</span></h3>
Ethical Fashion Forum ran a public-funded set of training lectures about buying from Co-ops, but left-out Equity Shoes, the large hundred-year-old shoemaking co-op in Leicester that went bust the same year. Oddly enough, a Leicester MP was minister at the Department for Business at the time, which gave grants to overseas visitors to London Fashion Week and so can influence what goes on show. That year I think it was Terra Plana footwear made in China and shown in the Estethica room, which is meant to sound a bit like <i>"ethical"</i> I suppose. The MP signed-off the grant payments without knowing or caring. Oh and one of the speakers was <a href="http://pantstopoverty.org.uk/" title="Pants to Poverty">Ben Ramsden of Pants to Poverty</a> who's Pi Foundation claimed to promote worker-owned manufacturing.</li>
<li><h3>
<span style="color: red;">JJ Blackledge</span></h3>
wallet manufacturers in Manchester. This firm that made flat goods for the corporate gift market went bust the same weekend that Ethical Fashion Forum spoke at a public-funded seminar called <i>"Making it Ethically in China"</i>, which was held a mile or two away in Manchester.</li>
<li><h3>
<span style="color: red;">James Grove Buttons</span></h3>
About the time this Birmingham factory went bust, and someone was trying to set-up a smaller company with the same tools called Grove Pattern Buttons (hornbuttons.co.uk), Ethical Fashion Forum advertised a member on their mailing list. That ethical claim of this "fellowship 500" member was that these are (1) <i>"locally sourced buttons"</i> from (2) <i>"the poorest areas of the local Panama community"</i>. <i>"Locally sourced"</i> is a stylish bit of cheek as an ethical claim, a bit like <i>"nutricious food"</i> - something McDonalds claimed could mean anything but water. The buttons are sold by Miami company and sourced in Panama, according to Ethical Fashion Forum, but when emailed the suppliers say it might be Equador; they're not quite sure. They are sure that they're harvested by low-paid artizans, which follows if you buy from countries without a welfare state and pay as little as you can - even though Panama is a wealthy 100 year-old stable country quite capable of sorting-out poverty if their government wanted to. The third ethical claim - (3) is <i>"100% eco-friendly and sustanable"</i>, but I guess that's before airmail. One final thing to say: the american buttons were something I'd rather wear, made out of large nuts, but maybe the machines are the same whatever the material.</li>
</ul>
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There is a history to this. The Make Poverty History campaign was run by establishment groups with help from government ministries, to promote a big vague consensus within which opposite ideas could exist - with examples from George Monbiot in his "<a href="http://www.monbiot.com/2005/07/09/africas-new-best-friends/">Africa's new best friends</a>" article. <a href="http://veganline.com/ethical-fashion-forum.htm" title="Ethical Fashion Forum: goods from badly-run countries">He could have mentioned that the same vague consensus wants to wipe out manufacturing that bears the cost of a welfare state, but that's another hidden contradiction in the EFF lobby group that got so much help from government in setting-up</a>, with free displays of its founding members' products at government institutions from the V&A to the Crafts Council to London Fashion Week, a sympathetic magazine published by the BBC and even a special study option offered by a Northern Irish exam board. No wonder the people who search online for this kind of ethical fashion tend to be in London, away from the industry that they wipe-out. <br />
<br />
One Ethical Fashion Forum founder member - Pants to Poverty - had a problem. If you googled their name and address, you get a list of pages about poverty in Tower Hamlets, within walking distance of their office. That's probably why they had to close; their customers among Guardian-reading Londoners noticed the contradiction. <a href="http://pantstopoverty.org.uk/" title="jobs, poverty reduction, tower hamlets">Pantstopoverty.org.uk</a> is a new site that spells-out the argument and might sell UK-made pants in future. The landlord, Rich Mix, now publishes a list of tenants on its web site with no Futerra fashion-related agencies left at all, and mail is returned to senders "not known". Pants was one of the earlier departures, leaving a few days ahead of Tower Hamlets trading standards officers, chasing-up claims of non-delivered pants.<br />
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<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-53528498611022059292015-12-16T12:47:00.000+00:002018-04-07T23:04:54.431+01:00Ethical Fashion Forum: alternative trade page<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">International Trade & Globalisation</span></h2>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is a draft page to send to Ethical Fashion Forum, in case they will change their current one. Comment welcome. They sounded a bit softer in the line they took in about 2014, as though their party line might change, so I wrote this. <br />
<br />
You can use Bing or Google to do a site search Ethical Fashion Forum's pages for the use of any words like "<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?as_q=&as_epq=NHS&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=countryGB&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fethicalfashionforum.com%2F&as_occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights="><b>NHS</b></a>" "<b>welfare state</b>", "<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?lr=&cr=countryUK%7CcountryGBl&tbs=ctr%3AcountryGB&q=%22national+insurance%22+site%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fethicalfashionforum.com%2F&oq=%22national+insurance%22+site%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fethicalfashionforum.com%" target="_blank"><b>national insurance</b></a>", "<b>social insurance</b>" and find next to nothing. Some search engines have boxes to construct searches like this so you can check for yourself. The searches are cleaner when restricted to the UK.<br />
https://www.mojeek.com/advanced.html<br />
https://www.google.co.uk/advanced_search<br />
http://advangle.com/<br />
<br />
Silence says a lot about Ethical Fashion Forum's views, and those of those organisations that do business with them - Department for International Development helped them get started for example, alongside some similar work done by London College of Fashion.<br />
<br />
There are handy links to those very search results on this page - <a href="http://veganline.com/ethical-fashion-forum.htm" title="Ethical footwear brand Veganline.com exposes silence from pro-globalisation campaigners about a welare state">http://veganline.com/ethical-fashion-forum.htm </a><br />
While they and their backers refuse to mention anything about a welfare state on their web site, there's not much point in talking to them and offering suggestions, but this was written anyway. It doesn't try to parody their style by writing <i>"things are very difficult - Nana, 17, Bangladesh textile worker"</i>, or <i>"The East India Company are doing wonderfully- photographed work, buying from happy with artisans in Bengal - or plan to do so in future because they haven't started yet (case study number 4 for your essay)"</i>. Oh alright then, I've added it to the bottom of this page in a box if you're interested.</blockquote>
<hr />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">International Trade is influenced by the price of goods in different countries. </span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
That depends on ingenious mechanisation, and the cost of labour. An area or a country with rising levels of skill and investment in machines, but a low cost of living will tend to export goods.</blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Tariffs</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Trade is controlled by tariffs that divide the world into trade blocs described here. If they co-operate, it is sometimes through a trade association called the World Trade Organisation.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_bloc">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_bloc</a></blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Exchange Rates</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Trade is influenced by exchange rates, when they are manipulated upwards to control inflation, or downwards to increase exports. To make a currency more valuable, governments pay extra to creditors for government debt. Investments flow-in. The value of the currency rises. To make a currency less valuable, governments and the private sector move money out of a country into overseas investments or bank accounts. <br />
Exchange rates are a big part of what's done my monetary policy:<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monetary_policy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monetary_policy</a></blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">low wage economies are caused by the lack of a welfare state</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Trade is influenced by the ingenuity and investment of workshops making goods, but it is also influenced by the cost of living and peoples' availability to work on low wages. Some countries have a better developed welfare state, paid from taxes or national insurance on workers. Others are run by elites which choose not to have a welfare state, making the output of those countries cheaper. One complication is that new industrial towns which spring-up tend to have a higher fertility rate - more people over time - in countries with no welfare state. The lack of girl's secondary schools, the lack of health advice, and the lack of pensions for people who have no children to support them are all factors which cause people to have large families. When families grow fast, there is a lot of unemployment and wages remain very low.<br />
<br />
The poverty of overpopulated countries spreads to other countries, as cheap goods under-cut the price of goods woven and stitched in Europe. Governments in poor countries are also scared to introduce a welfare state for fear of loosing export markets to other poor countries that don't have a welfare state. A buyer of something like clothing can easily move orders from Sri Lanka to Ethiopia for example if one country is cheaper than another. </blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Tariffs again: the multi fibre agreement </span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Textile products are some of the most labour intensive to make and easily shipped. <br />
The multi fibre agreement was written specifically to control rapid changes in the textile trade. It ran from 1974 until 2005. There may have been a hope that in these 31 years, the cost of production in developing countries would rise because of national insurance and welfare state costs, the costs of inspecting safe factories that do not fall down, and the cost of a developed government.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi_Fibre_Agreement">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi_Fibre_Agreement</a></blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">No consensus: globalization doesn't work very well to promote development</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Agreement on trade is hard to find: different groups from different backgrounds have a different idea of what is "ethical" or in their interests. It is rare to find a group of people in one room who take acknowledge all the issues at the same time.</blockquote>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>One rule of thumb is that free trade and floating currencies achieve a good deal for everyone, with other points like different levels of welfare state or remaining currency manipulation best ignored. The hope is that these are either unimportant or will come-right in the end: a developing country might introduce better welfare systems after it develops. South Korea, for example, has even become an aid donor to poorer countries after being a very poor country within living memory. Those who talk about world trade tend to be on the right of politics and less interested in welfare systems, so they tend to take this view regardless or complication. It's common to quote Adam Smith's phrase "comparative advantage", which was a very general idea from a different age about a different subject, but the phrase is still used. The same people tend to be very interested in reducing inflation by controlling their local labour market, and favour raising the value of their local currencies so that imports are cheaper.</li>
<li>One rule of thumb is that a few detailed tariffs for specific reasons will achieve a good deal for everyone, despite the reduction in world trade. The European Union imposes a 15% tariff on goods from outside an ever-widening free trade zone. Conditions for entry include some level of democracy and human rights. Some countries in need of development like Bangladesh are also included in the trade zone for no particular reason and many more have followed recently. Detailed rules are written. Ethiopia has 0% tariff access to the EU market for leather goods for example, because someone at some point decided that leather goods would help Ethiopia. Protection of the North American free trade zone can be complex too, with different tariff rates for different classes of goods.</li>
<li>Conditional tariffs were once proposed in the early 70s by the World Trade Organisation. At that time the jargon word was a "social clause" and the condition of a lower tariff was signing-up to standards of the International Labour Organisation (not introducing a welfare state as suggested here). People who ran third world countries, and who do very well out of poverty, were very much against the scheme and it went no further. That's a pity because, in theory, a very general and widely understood scheme can give the government of one country confidence to intoduce a change that gets them a lower tariff, and not be under-cut in export markets by another country that doesn't.<br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_clause">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_clause</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Ethical Fashion Forum</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Ethical Fashion Forum is based in the UK which is still a major market for fashion products, and a small producer of the more automated or niche-market products. Like the rest of Europe, the UK also has high unemployment. Common ethical claims would be that something is made in a democratic welfare state that needs a fashion industry to remain that way.<br />
<br />
Ethical Fashion Forum members are based all over the world. Common ethical claims made of products are that they boost employment for a particular group in an employment scheme, or that they produce a local design that earns more of the value of the product to people on lower incomes in that country, rather than a large trading conglomerate.<br />
<br />
As a forum, we can provide no absolute answers but hope to allow groups of members with particular ethical claims to state them as clearly as possible and to refer to facts where possible.</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/trade-tariffs-and-barriers" rel="nofollow" title="rubbish page">The original rubbish page is still online unfortunately</a><br />
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Oh this is the style of taxpayer-backed promotion of fashion companies via teacher training notes. It doesn't mention that <br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Monsoon's ethical claims are contradicted by the Ethical Trading Initiative that refused to sign, </li>
<li>Monsoon has admitted paying <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/nov/21/monsoon-child-labour-india">below the minimum wage in India</a></li>
<li>Monsoon has been <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-national-minimum-wage-offenders-named-and-shamed-october-2015">exposed as paying below the minimum wage in the UK </a></li>
<li>Monsoon's <a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/monsoon-called-for-tax-breaks-on-itself.html">ex-UK suppliers state that "the ruthlessness has always been there" alongside news that it is paying their invoices late and with a 10% reduction on the agreed price</a></li>
<li>Monsoon's backers at Ethical Fashion Forum used a charitable grant <a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/monsoon-called-for-tax-breaks-on-itself.html">to hold a "summit" calling for companies like Monsoon not to have to pay tax</a>.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Ethical Fashion Definition: </h2>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<i>A vague enough term that a lobbyist can then ask "what is ethical fashion?" and answer it any way they like, perhaps with a case study for fashion students to quote in essays</i></h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><br />Ethical Fashion Source Summit included a talk by a Monsoon employee and a list of case studies for students to quote.</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<fieldset>
4. Case Study:
Monsoon / SEWA<br />
Monsoon, much like fellow British retailer EAST, have artisan collaboration embedded in their brand heritage. Founded by Peter Simon in 1973 after an epic road trip across Asia, the earliest Monsoon collections comprised clothes made in Indian villages using vegetable dyes, hand-loomed cotton and block printing (Monsoon, 2013). <br />
<br />
Though now a global brand Monsoon continues to value artisan skills such as beading and embellishment. <span style="background-color: yellow;">Monsoon is a founding member of the Ethical Trading Initiative and has its own code of conduct for all suppliers</span>, paying unexpected visits to factories to ensure standards are met. Alongside this Monsoon is involved in a number of community projects in Asia, including a project reviving the silk cultivation industry in Afghanistan to provide livelihoods for widows and vulnerable women.<br />
<br />
Though most production has now shifted to larger factories Monsoon still trade with some of their original and smaller suppliers. This creates jobs and develops local communities at a time when the number of artisans in India has declined 30% over the past decade (DASRA, 2013). <br />
<br />
According to Olivia Lankester, Monsoon’s Head of Corporate Responsibility, “artisans in India increasingly hard to make a living from their craft, many living on the poverty line and struggling to meet their basic needs. This has lead to a generational loss of craft skills and contributed to mass migration to urban areas.” Monsoon aims to tackle this through their commitment to supporting craft communities in India.<br />
<br />
Launching this October, Artisan Trade is a range of clothing, accessories and gifts made in collaboration with Indian artisan co-operatives. “Many artisan groups have incredible skill and beautiful product but very limited access to market. This is where we can help – while also providing technicasupport to help artisans upgrade and update their product offer.”<br />
<br />
Artisan Trade is an expansion and rebranding of the Monsoon Boutique range, which provides sorely needed market access for Indian artisans. If successful the range will provide sustained employment for women which will move them away from the poverty line and enable future social mobility and economic growth.<br />
<br />
Monsoon Boutique not only provides a sales channel for craftspeople, it also focuses on upcycling Monsoon’s fabric offcuts by using them to produce items such as quilts, aprons and childrenswear. All proits are donated to the Monsoon Accessorize trust which provides grants to artisan co-operatives such as SEWA (Self Employed Womens Association). SEWA is an embroidery co-operative in Delhi that over the past four years has received funding from Monsoon for a new embroidery centre, training programmes for women, a micro-credit programme and an education programme for children.<br />
<br />
Rather than work through an intermediary Monsoon have always worked directly with Indian suppliers to design and produce their products. A team in Delhi are on hand to provide technical support, training and advice to producers, which Olivia feels makes a “huge difference” to the success of the operation. When necessary Monsoon have linked artisan co-operatives with larger suppliers to help with operations such as sourcing, packaging and testing requirements.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: yellow;">Although not yet launched</span>, Monsoon’s Artisan Trade has good prospects as an expansion of Monsoon Boutique. Their 40 years of experience working with artisans means Monsoon are well placed to bring such products onto the market as the range already has a defined niche among Monsoon customers. The first Artisan Trade collection has taken 9 months from concept to delivery. Monsoon already have a well established network of suppliers which would help shorten the lead time on the range of artisan clothing for such a large market. <br />
<br />
The success of Monsoon’s community work is extensive, helping 10,000 disadvantaged women and children every year (Monsoon, 2013). The Artisan Trade line will not only provide employment for these women but proits from sales will be reinvested into community projects to create livelihoods and provide healthcare, education and shelter.<br />
<br />
Photography: Sam Faulkner
<br />
Yasmin Le Bon, visiting Monsoon Artisan Trade supplier quilting co-operative</fieldset>
</blockquote>
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<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-12628205610987578742015-12-14T17:02:00.004+00:002018-04-07T23:05:19.341+01:00ethical fashion forum: why dig? what dirt?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Why dig into Ethical Fashion Forum?</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This set of posts looks nasty to some people; if you don't want to know the score, look away now. All it is is a bit of background nose-poking to find out what sort of people are drawn into Ethical Fashion Forum, Ethical Fashion Consultancy, Anti Apathy (company and charity) and Re-Fashion. There's no single piece of illegal dirt to find unfortunately - just a lot to distroy UK jobs and good things worldwide at UK taxpayers' expense in a mundane legal way. For example each of this cluster of companies had a postal address at Rich Mix, a multi-million pound removal of taxpayers' money from benefits and social services into a grant design in Shoreditch. Millions were spent converting a white-painted commercial building into a white-painted commercial building that had less commercial space. <br />
<br />
Business support, like arts, is a low priority compared to health benefits and social care, but these little budgets were neither abolished nor spent wisely; they were raided too. Rich Mix is a monument to evil. One of the first controversies was to commission a mural on the walls of a white woman being raped by black people. Each of these companies is un-embarassed to have Rich Mix as a landlord, and the first used the postal address even before this scam was built. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately nothing illegal happened. The government ministers who approved related schemes like Creative Connexions and London Fashion Week in the 2000s are now directing the BBC or seeking a new life in Australia. It is legal to believe in globalisation at all costs and spend taxpayers' money to promote it, even if this money is meant for the opposite purpose of promoting UK employment including manufacturing. It is legal to believe that there is some historical reason why people in the UK should encourage enterprise in Bangladesh, and it is legal to use public money meant for arts of business support to commission a mural of black people raping a white woman, but there are counter arguments in each case.<br />
<br />
The regional government people who approved funding for the rape mural and Ethical Fashion Forum live in obscurity, and the generations who lost job prospects, human rights and dignity because of bad government get the blame as always.</blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">What dirt has Ethical Fashion Forum got?</span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If you had tried to find-out what help was available from your nearest development agency during a recession, and found that the money went to a PR outfit trying to put your firm out of business, you'd be nosey too. For example if you hoped to retail shoes made by Equity Shoes, a hundred year-old worker co-op in Leicester making shoes, you went to a public-funded lecture on buying from co-operatives, and you found that the speakers all spoke about buying from the third world and knew nothing about Leicester. Equity shoes went bust that year. Or if you had found one of the last cheap wallet manufacturers in Manchester, JJ Blackledge, and found that the very weekend that they went bust, Ethical Fashion Forum were speaking at taxpayer-funded event called <i>"making it ethically in China"</i>, hosted by Creative Connexions on another public grant, you'd be cross wouldn't you? If there were no adult education classes in using better e-commerce software for people who weren't concentrating too well, but you found that business advice grants had been diverted to a pro-globalisation lobby instead of training, wouldn't you be cross? Or if, all your life, you had coped with the effects of the 80s manufacturing recession on yourself and others, tried to promote the ethical advantages of UK products, and saw them actively discouraged as an ethical choice on the Ethical Fashion Forum web site? The quote is on a page called <i>"The Issues"</i> date, and has been on their site since 2009. The gang also includes a firm called Terra Plana, exhibited at London Fashion Week's Esthetica event under Ethical Fashion Forum's influence, which sold Chinese leather shoes. Why <i>"China is arguably more democratic than the UK"</i>, they quote an employee as saying on their 2008 web site. In 2010 they published another <i>"Issues"</i> page, rejecting any kind of tariff barrier to protect a welfare state, and quoting an american pressure group in support of their case. As late as January 2011 the group still had a charmed existence borne I suppose of ministerial decisions. <span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">
In January 2011, The Victoria and Albert Museum published a long
uncritical interview with an Ethical Fashion Forum pundit after
publicising the group with an exhibition. There's also a relationship with members to publicise un-critical training notes in the style of Centre for Sustainability in Fashion like the the ones at the <a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/ethical-fashion-forum-alternative-trade.html">bottom of this page</a> headed <i>"case study: Monsoon"</i></span></span><br />
<br />
Personally, I would be happy to see the ring leaders in prison but doubt they have broken any law so I can't wish it. An explanation and apology would be nice. This bit of detective work is a kind of mundain account and no explanation of motive. It lists the people involved as directors at the cluster of organisations that share an address at Rich Mix Foundation in London, itself a near-criminal waste of public money by people who cannot be prosecuted for the harm their waste did to council social services and allied charities by taking so much cash. There is more than a landlord-tenant relationship between Rich Mix and Ethical Fashion Forum. Ethical Fashion Forum had a postal address at Rich Mix while it was still a building site, even as it first registered as a limited company. There was also a connection with cross-ministry funding. The Hospital Club, a hangout for ministerial advisers, hosted an ethical fashion show. The London College of Fashion published a subsidised "book" published online, quoting Ethical Fashion Forum founders' antics before they had founded Ethical Fashion Forum, to use as examples for a new course to be promoted at the UK's fashion colleges<br />
<br />
Any nosey person would check the directors of a company, just digging. The mundane thing I discover in public records is that Ethical Fashion Forum are not <i>"the industry body for ethical fashion"</i>; next to none are in the rag trade; most are consultants in how to look ethical. An exception I found was someone who has a shop and teaches at St Martin's college. Another - Cyndi Rhodes - recycles. A third has opened a shirt shop alongside her consultancy work, selling £80 shirts made in the far east. I wish I could dig more dirt but public records are mundain.<br />
<br />
Other people have been nosey too. Assembly members at the Greater London Authority managed to get a forensic accountants' report done into how the then London Development Agency spent billions of pounds, and the next mayoral regime commissioned another one. Both found few examples of corruption but lots of examples of stuff that's just puzzling wierd and naff: - temporary staff at the London Development Agency trying to hold meetings with ministerial advisors sitting-in; projects and agencies to deliver these projects chosen on political whim with outcomes measured as a box-ticking excercise. The second report quoted Westfield Shopping Centre being subsidised by taxpayers, without comment. I think that's so obviously opposite to the purpose of the agency that it's probably a sign of corruption, but the accountants said nothing. Nearby, unemployed youth were kept busy with a scheme that signed a receipt for "youth related activities" in order to spend the full budget up to the end of the year. The accountants noticed that in a wry way. I have not seen an exposure central government at the time, which was used to interfering in regional London government after running the London Residuary Body before the Greater London Authority was invented, as well as running budgets like the Higher Education Funding Council grant for Creative Connexions, set-up to promote globalisation at the expense of UK tax payers and I guess signed by a current BBC director who was then a minister called Charles Parnell.<br />
<br />
I expect directors were unpaid and drawn-in, as I was, in hope that a
vague forum would
include something to like. There was a call for members on the Anti
Apathy mailing list in about 2005. I replied saying I was keen on things
like the
Maker Spaces that have appeared anyway. I discovered from a successful
applicant, minding a stall at London Fashion Week, that my application
had been rejected. Oddly enough this person wasn't in the rag trade
except to promote saris from a war zone at a few competitions. Later,
the job was advertised again with a specification: applicants needed to
bring consultancy work to the organisation.</blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Not The Industry Body for Ethical Fashion</span></h3>
<hr />
You can check this yourself by getting director names and looking online for their CVs if you can find them, and going-on as long as you want until you form an impression. If the issue effects your business and the bunch seem to be on a public grant, then you dig further as I did in the mid 2000s. The trend in the past few years is away from public funding and towards people with fewer directorships. Either way, people who were the <i>"Industry Body for Ethical Fashion"</i> would show plenty of cobblers stitchers and rag traders; these lists do not.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/company/05906505/ETHICAL-FASHION-CONSULTANCY-LIMITED/directors-secretaries">https://companycheck.co.uk/company/05906505/ETHICAL-FASHION-CONSULTANCY-LIMITED/directors-secretaries</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/company/05916585/THE-ETHICAL-FASHION-FORUM-LIMITED/directors-secretaries">https://companycheck.co.uk/company/05916585/THE-ETHICAL-FASHION-FORUM-LIMITED/directors-secretaries</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/company/05352621/ANTI-APATHY/directors-secretaries">https://companycheck.co.uk/company/05352621/ANTI-APATHY/directors-secretaries</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/company/06653480/REFASHION-GROUP-LIMITED/directors-secretaries">https://companycheck.co.uk/company/06653480/REFASHION-GROUP-LIMITED/directors-secretaries</a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/lucy-shea-55a0911b">Lucy Shea on Linkedin</a></h4>
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/912140894/MS-LUCY-CATHERINE-SHEA/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/912140894/MS-LUCY-CATHERINE-SHEA/companies</a><br />
<br />
Overlapping directorships with an add agency - Futerra Sustainability Communications - that was a big government contractor to DEFRA at one time. A freedom of information request to Defra asked whether any government advertising could have leaked into overlapping projects by Futerra, and the answer was that surviving documents don't say.<br />
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Tamsin Lejeune</h4>
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/911483914/MS-TAMSIN-DZUWE-LEJEUNE/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/911483914/MS-TAMSIN-DZUWE-LEJEUNE/companies</a><br />
<br />
This one is best in summery because I have dug a lot. The evidence belongs in an archive somewhere.<br />
<br />
There is an operatic sense of truth about her history, landing in grand newspaper PR in 2005 as a former <i>"award winning architect"</i> or even a qualified one, and as having traded as an ethical fashion business called <i>"Juste"</i>. Have you heard of it? Me neither, nor can consumers confirm her architecture qualification to practice, but the PR was on a grand scale including public exhibitions at The Crafts Council and the V&A of products seldom if ever produced. There are multiple joint appearances with Junky Styling, Terra Plana, Sari Dress Project and other clients - I guess without evidence - of <span style="color: red;">Futerra Communications</span> the PR agency.<br />
<br />
A domain name for Juste, samples produced by volunteers out of muslin made by a firm like Remploy in Bangladesh, and some photos do exist and quotes given in support of a degree state that she hopes to sell via a Greater London Enterprise Agency shop that briefly existed for new designers in Covent Garden. There is also a long account of a trip to Bangladesh at Dfid expense to obtain these fabric samples, appearing in the same subsidised textbook at Elizabeth Laskar's Sari Dress project, which was a temporary project selling Saris out of a war zone (if Sri Lank ever gets a freedom of information act I'll try to find out whether their government funded this). There is no evidence of Ethical Fashion Forum ever promoting Remploy before it went bust. Obviously, I think that Bangladeshi taxpayers should help set-up a welfare state in Bangladesh and promote a firm like Remploy; I think that UK taxpayers should help set-up a welfare state in the UK and should have helped promote a firm like Remploy or any successors.<br />
<br />
There is a Lejeune degree in international development from Brookes Uni, based in large part on a long project describing the work done running Juste, which didn't run, and Ethical Fashion Forum, which did. There are convincing accounts is an interest in architecture and doing some live-in volunteer jobs around the world for development agencies. There is a long association with the Rich Mix address in Shoreditch, started even before the current building was built on Greater London Authority subsidy which was much reported as being mad. There is some loose association with the Estethica room at London Fashion Week. There is, I'm assured by Tamsin Lejeune, no public subsidy of Ethical Fashion Forum at the time of my phone call which was mid 2014; she has also been absolutely open in showing scans of grant proposals for at least one small grant obtained when the agency was in fashion at the Greater London Authority and Defra around 2005. It is a Development Awareness Grant. Another grant is given under the heading of training for small businesses and delivered in some form for a single year at Newham College in East London. There is evidence of Tamsin Lejeune doing a job for Labour Behind the Label, and then doing something I admire as an ex voluntary-sector worker: she got some small grants for her own project. We also have name changes in common; I used to be called David Robertson. If I could have used that to pretend a degree in one subject in order to qualify for a funded second degree in another subject, I might have done so but I can say that I have no architecture qualification and am not an award-winning architect. <br />
<br />
I have had about a couple of phone conversations or email exchanges with Tamsin Lejeune and get an impression that impression and people are what she is good at, rather than whether what she says is contradicted by words on her web site. She suggested I be unpaid <i>"ambassador</i>" for UK manufacturing at Ethical Fashion Forum while retaining her warnings against buying UK products on her website. That's thinking of the "Issues" page in which she urges people not to buy British goods on ethical grounds. Someone introduces her in a video trade show and seminar as <i>"Tamsin - good at getting people together"</i>.<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/911483913/MS-ELIZABETH-ALVINA-AUTUMN-LASKAR/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/911483913/MS-ELIZABETH-ALVINA-AUTUMN-LASKAR/companies</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-laskar-b5aabb12">Elizabeth Laskar on linkedin</a></h4>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vqA2Gw8Iqw8/Vm70wdTGonI/AAAAAAAAYCA/cyGX_APFT8A/s1600/temp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vqA2Gw8Iqw8/Vm70wdTGonI/AAAAAAAAYCA/cyGX_APFT8A/s1600/temp.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
</h4>
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/914769840/MS-ALICE-GARTLAND/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/914769840/MS-ALICE-GARTLAND/companies</a> - one directorship at Ethical Fashion Forum where she was also company secretary<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alicegartland">Alice Gartland on linkedin</a></h4>
<br />
<h4>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/title/consultant?trk=mprofile_title" title="Learn more about this title">Consultant</a></h4>
<h5>
<a dir="auto" href="https://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/p?company=Alice+Gartland+Research+and+Consulting&trk=prof-exp-company-name" name="company" title="Find others who have worked at this company">Alice Gartland Research and Consulting</a></h5>
<span class="experience-date-locale"><time>July 2010</time> – Present (5 years 6 months) <span class="locality">UK, <span style="color: red;">China,</span> India</span></span><br />
<div class="description summary-field-show-more" dir="ltr">
Projects include:<br />
<br />
Open Contracting Partnership, Consultant: Providing focused advocacy
support to secure a robust commitment to open contracting in the UK's
open government plan and anti corruption strategy.<br />
<br />
Founder, A Lotus Rises. A Community of Women who inspire, and are inspired by, a love of open water.<br />
<br />
Global eHealth Foundation, Chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Partnerships and Communications Consultant.<br />
<br />
Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Senior Fellow: Leading ISD's research
on digital technology on the future of economic and social development
in Europe. Author of 'Europe's Got Talent: Learning, Creating and
Growing in our Digital World'-Commissioned by the Vodafone Institute for
Society and Communications as part of the Vodafone Digitising Europe
Summit, opened by German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. <br />
<br />
Thomson Reuters Practical Law China, Consultant: Developed a legal news
column for General Counsel <span style="color: red;">working on China-related matters</span>, and their
advisers. Topics include IPRs, labour unrest, and environmental
regulation; Feature articles re: due diligence; impact of anti
corruption legislation on business operations; and working with SOEs.<br />
<br />
The Economist Intelligence Unit: <span style="color: red;">Research for the Access China Service</span><br />
<br />
Upmysport: Community Engagement<br />
<br />
China Business Law Journal. <span style="color: red;">Feature articles re:Chinese investment</span> in
CEE; role of women in the Chinese legal system;national security review,
anti-monopoly law;VIEs.<br />
<br />
CottonConnect: <span style="color: red;">scoping study on China re the cotton and textiles
industry and wider macro environment.</span> The basis of CottonConnect's
decision to enter China in 2011.<br />
<br />
Civil Initiatives for Development and Peace, CIVIDEP, (NGO Bangalore,
part of OECD Watch): Author 'Business Law and Human Rights in India'
cited in the CIVIDEP manual 'Workers’ Rights and Corporate
Accountability’, published in July 2011.<br />
<br />
Publicly listed mobile telecommunications manufacturer (UK and China) -
<span style="color: red;">Conducted an evaluation of the Company's product transfer from the UK to
China.</span></div>
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/914084144/MS-ABILENE-RACHEL-RUSHTON/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/914084144/MS-ABILENE-RACHEL-RUSHTON/companies</a><br />
Abi Rushton was also <span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">on a committee for the </span></span><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs</span></span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/abi-rushton-b884481">Abi Rushten on linkedin</a></h4>
<img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ucb34U1Ck1A/Vm77TB_oENI/AAAAAAAAYCU/KncEyuHRwNc/s1600/temp.jpg" /><br />
<hr />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/913009985/MS-COURTNEY-LEIGH-BLACKMAN/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/913009985/MS-COURTNEY-LEIGH-BLACKMAN/companies</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/courtneyblackman">Courtney Blackman on linkedin</a></h4>
Courtney Blackman's Overview Current<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> Managing Director at The Industry<br /> Founder & Managing Director at Forward PR</span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Past<br />
Board Member at Ethical Fashion Forum<br />
Co-Chairman & Co-Founder at Fashion Business Club<br />
Director of Sales & Marketing at World Trade Office, Vermont<br />
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Courtney Blackman's Experience<br />
Managing Director<br />
The Industry<br />
2011 – Present (2 years) London, United Kingdom<br />
Founder & Managing Director<br />
Forward PR<br />
October 2005 – Present (7 years 11 months)<br />
London-based fashion PR agency.<br />
Board Member<br />
Ethical Fashion Forum<br />
Nonprofit; 1-10 employees; Apparel & Fashion industry<br />
September 2009 – February 2012 (2 years 6 months)<br />
Co-Chairman & Co-Founder<br />
Fashion Business Club<br />
2006 – 2011 (5 years)<br />
Director of Sales & Marketing<br />
World Trade Office, Vermont<br />
November 2001 – August 2002 (10 months)<br />
Director of International Projects<br />
VisionTrust International, Dominican Republic<br />
1999 – 2000 (1 year)<br />
Database Manager<br />
Michael Ryal Group, Costa Rica<br />
1998 – 1999 (1 year)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jkks6L7B3zY/Vm75U7RvmJI/AAAAAAAAYCI/oONq9l43u6w/s1600/temp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jkks6L7B3zY/Vm75U7RvmJI/AAAAAAAAYCI/oONq9l43u6w/s1600/temp.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/909178303/MR-ERIC-JOHN-URBANI/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/909178303/MR-ERIC-JOHN-URBANI/companies</a><br />
7 UK directorships<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericurbani">Eric Urbani on linkedin</a></h4>
Founder & Managing Partner at The Black Emerald Group<br />
San Francisco Bay Area<br />
Renewables & Environment<br />
Current <br />
The Black Emerald Group,<br />
Forward Leap Foundation,<br />
Tâcheron Group<br />
Previous <br />
The Ethical Fashion Forum (UK),<br />
Richard Gere Foundation/Healing the Divide,<br />
Oceans Alert Foundation<br />
Education <br />
Tufts University - The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy<br />
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Founded in 1994 as one of the first merchant banking firms exclusively
focused on the green investment space, Black Emerald has evolved into a
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sectors.<br />
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throughout the European Union pursuant to Article 31 of the Markets in
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Experience<br />
The Black Emerald Group<br />
Managing Partner<br />
The Black Emerald Group<br />
March 1994 – Present (19 years 6 months)<br />
Founded in 1994, The Black Emerald Group invests in new energy and environmental technology companies and projects.<br />
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Eiléen Lee-Connor<br />
Beauty Expert & Makeup Artist at eiBeauty<br />
Eric is an amazingly creative businessman with true empathy for
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financial acumen, an enviable track record of successful projects, and a
strong belief that ethical businesses make...View<br />
Forward Leap Foundation<br />
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Forward Leap Foundation<br />
April 1997 – Present (16 years 5 months)<br />
Forward Leap works with producers, writers, directors and curators to
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environmental messages.<br />
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Mark M. Whelan<br />
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Eric is a principled centered leader: intelligent, integral, and inspirational.View<br />
Principal<br />
Tâcheron Group<br />
June 2011 – Present (2 years 3 months)San Francisco Bay Area<br />
Invests in artisan food and beverage (wine) producers.<br />
BoomGen Studios<br />
Advisory Board<br />
BoomGen Studios<br />
June 2009 – Present (4 years 3 months)Greater New York City Area<br />
BoomGen Studios is a transmedia storytelling factory that tells big
stories across multiple media platforms and can be experienced at the
cinema, on TV, on your mobile phone or tablet. They can be played in an
online gaming environment, or simply read as a graphic novel. BoomGen's
success is rooted in our ability to blur the line between storyteller
and audience, between story and content promotion.<br />
Advisory Board<br />
The Ethical Fashion Forum (UK)<br />
June 2006 – September 2009 (3 years 4 months)<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ethicalfashionforum.org%2F&h=qAQFeOAHAAQH2iK9a_BybrfObxF2xioJjjW4PKbZkxLKDTQ&enc=AZNcKsAftd5Y94SBK-eYJer5_tUwFVqGmmlSYeHwcoSfEao0mdYBQ83lsioFY8YdKps6HpbBTYv54hqkMxEILdZ6k_j7Zdg7UEjGTMW0BRmkqqHxMmJ5O2gTn43SlKP0me-v0RbRdNbIk57tWE4p28f-KvOpRtpQUGGMTCuwQpC-CD1GZ3mKv08eAHHdyUyn8B4fxfcFQVz0PxwA354R8lwM&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.ethicalfashionforum.org</a><br />
Advisory Board<br />
Richard Gere Foundation/Healing the Divide<br />
March 2003 – September 2006 (3 years 7 months)<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healingthedivide.org%2F&h=vAQGMKdqtAQFb7kdMelJlkdeSVIqiI_5qdekaDC66AkCR7w&enc=AZO8N0kUNMPB1XktdZ0yJ8w0vQEowdVhKXxjW6oenzk6nOKYyeBzXRQM06zYRQPtUYo2wbnYqn5Rq8oZMjLjVZXHDydw0YLw-pDFOGrJokVYHZpB6eampo9ldLh25KtPeGwrayaOtwQaqeBDP0rPWJ5aAtkwdlZyfkoYkVQ1Muf6COADK8d2FaVD4xjN45q-WCJgqsX9SpJZ8ncfacQPsH7w&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.healingthedivide.org</a><br />
Advisory Board<br />
Oceans Alert Foundation<br />
February 2004 – February 2006 (2 years 1 month)<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oceansalert.org%2F&h=1AQHFuJo0AQGjQX2YAMT4uUjXqz4ESWPMXAbtujW0aKgJTw&enc=AZMcOS3Z8jIKqGvUEdJjZy6YKZBo-zzEJ8e262cRcoPvOSkXwtG2t4UGngH8IEQPRgHejpT1LqiCmM92EBy2BTHEJCZEB-02FuopaHCEtwOVKiBD6HfImJKP1dLMC5itak5ARp_J0TlUFKTFPWOcdj2T3-gNK0danfW-_SLcl-23xxokyfrPxsUgztFXON7L6oqVu2lm9mTkk0J2ECIWtWUA&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.oceansalert.org</a><br />
Partner<br />
J.S. Frelinghuysen & Co.<br />
June 1992 – March 1994 (1 year 10 months)<br />
Boutique investment banking firm founded by former First Boston partner.<br />
J.P. Morgan Chase<br />
Financial Analyst<br />
J.P. Morgan Chase<br />
September 1989 – July 1991 (1 year 11 months)<br />
Venture Capital Group<br />
Lehman Brothers<br />
Analyst<br />
Lehman Brothers<br />
January 1988 – September 1988 (9 months)<br />
Equity Research Group.<br />
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<span class="_3c21">linkedin.com</span></div>
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<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/911507233/MS-JOSIE-NICHOLSON/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/911507233/MS-JOSIE-NICHOLSON/companies</a>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/josie-nicholson-61a36b16">Josie Nicholson on linkedin</a></h4>
1 UK directorship<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AdiUxJsTeNI/VnAgSmWGI-I/AAAAAAAAYCw/U5oX4lBzK8Y/s1600/temp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AdiUxJsTeNI/VnAgSmWGI-I/AAAAAAAAYCw/U5oX4lBzK8Y/s1600/temp.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">This
one had work experience on the Ethical Fashion Forum board and choosing
people for public subsidy, sitting on a selection panel for Estethica
at London Fashion Week. She helped choose how more public subsidy should be spent via the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130402151656/http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/products/roadmaps/documents/summary-projects-sustain-clothing-ap.pdf">Defra Clothing Roadmap</a>.<br /><br />She went-on to work for clothes importers rather
than regional development</span></span><br />Choosing who got government subsidy was this person's first
volunteer job after college in 2009. And 2010. And 2011. I get these
names from <a class="" dir="ltr" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fopencorporates.com%2Fcompanies%2Fgb%2F05916585&h=gAQHIeV5D" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://opencorporates.com/companies/gb/05916585</a>
in hope of finding an "industry body" but the names so far are an
overflow of consultants from Ethical Fashion Consultancy Ltd of the same
address.</span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"></span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/913887215/MS-CLARE-ANN-LISSAMAN/companies"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/913887215/MS-CLARE-ANN-LISSAMAN/companies</span></span></a><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"></span></span><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/clare-lissaman-9878851">Claire Lissaman on linkedin</a> - 6 UK directorships</span></span></h4>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">The
last director of Ethical Fashion Forum to quote is a consultant with
experience in rug import, large company supply chains including Nike,
and now Indian shirt import for nearly £80 including VAT. She was the
one who told New Internationalist something
like <i>"you're just as likely to find a bad factory down the road in
London where I work than in China"</i>, missing the point that UK factories
like pay towards the democratic welfare state that she uses
and has no equivalent in China. Nor Bangalore where the £80 shirts are
made for her import business.</span></span><br />
<hr />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/914191354/MR-CHRISTIAN-BENIGNI/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/914191354/MR-CHRISTIAN-BENIGNI/companies</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christianbenigni">Christian Benigni on linkedin</a> - 4 directorships</h4>
Another company that quotes its trade is a management consultancy; others leave their trade unstated<br />
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<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/919217537/MR-RALPH-GOODSTONE/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/919217537/MR-RALPH-GOODSTONE/companies</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ralph-goodstone-78a71122">Ralph Goodstone on linkedin</a> - 2 directorships</h4>
The other company is called "RG Sourcing". This one was "interim MD" at ethical fashion forum when a lot of directors changed in 2014. He has experience at M&S and running a clothing import and sales business.<br />
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<hr />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/916201191/MS-BRIGITTE-HANNELORE-STEPPUTTIS/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/916201191/MS-BRIGITTE-HANNELORE-STEPPUTTIS/companies</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Brigitte Stepputtis - 2 directorships</h4>
The other company is called "German British Forum". Someone with the same name has the job title <i>"head of couture for Vivienne Westwood".</i><br />
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<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/919246445/MS-MARISA-TODD/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/919246445/MS-MARISA-TODD/companies</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/marisaelena">Marisa Todd on linkedin</a>- 1 UK directorship</h4>
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<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/919409092/MS-PRAMA-BHARDWAJ/summary">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/919409092/MS-PRAMA-BHARDWAJ/summary</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Prima Bhardwaj - 1 UK directorship</h4>
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/916539424/MS-PAMELA-EDITH-DANIELS/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/916539424/MS-PAMELA-EDITH-DANIELS/companies</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/pamela-daniels-1670456">Pamela Daniels on linkedin </a>- 3 UK directorships</h4>
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<a href="https://companycheck.co.uk/director/911291752/MRS-KIRSTIN-MARY-MCINTOSH/companies">https://companycheck.co.uk/director/911291752/MRS-KIRSTIN-MARY-MCINTOSH/companies</a><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://uk.linkedin.com/in/kirstin-mcintosh-8854ab">Kirstin McIntintosh on linkedin</a> - 5 UK directorships</h4>
Training, social work, and "low carbon skills consulting ltd"<br />
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<br />
I'm not sure if anyone reads down this far, but my impression from trying to research directors of Ethical Fashion Forum and Ethical Fashion Consultancy is that they are mainly consultants. I think the only UK stitchers when I first looked were clothes recyclers - Junky Styling and Worn Again. The new team of directors includes a wholesale clothes importer and someone from high fashion.<br />
<br />
Some people have attempted to join the rag trade, more or less. Tamsin Lejeune nearly set-up Juste; the person from Futerra Communications does "Swishing", and a consultant who did some Corporate Social Responsibility work for Nike has opened the Arthur and Henry shirt business in Harringay. There are shirt factories within walking distance, but these people prefer to import from countries without a welfare state.<br />
<br />
Someone's ex-teacher from St Martin's College is on the list. She also runs a small shop called Ciel that sometimes sells clothes, so that's someone in the rag trade if not the stitching trade. Another one imports pants from India. Even if you count all the stitchers and rag traders together, they're a small minority compared to consultants.<br />
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<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-32274526883982711362015-12-14T14:40:00.002+00:002021-01-04T12:51:11.353+00:00Bangladesh Health Service<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Bangladesh health spending. </span></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
When I wrote that Bangladeshi exporters have a 0% tariff access to the UK market (and export subsidies) I wondered if their government spends 0% of GDP on healthcare or a welfare state, because I'd read that some Rana Plaza victems face destitution and that medical care at the disaster was provided by unpaid staff and volunteers from a teaching hospital. <br />
<br />
The Government of Bangladesh does not spend 0% of GDP on health. It spends 1.1% while allowing a private sector and charities alongside. The non-government organisations presumably can't force people to join nor get government
subsidy for those unable to pay. Uninsured people have lower costs and are able to work on lower wages - a problem that's true everywhere and presumably truer in such an over-populated country, with more people chasing each job.<br />
<br />
The state system is described on the page numbered 4, automatically numbered 15 on the pdf . I don't understand it, but have transcribed the text, leaving out an extra table that you can see on the original.<br />
<br />
This problem isn't just a problem for Bangladeshis now. It is a problem for Bangladeshis in the future, because their government states that it is scared of out-pricing China or whatever other cheap country. Of course it's not keen to increase taxes. Meanwhile, anyone who wants to make sewn products in the UK has to compete with these insanely cheap products shipped-in from Bangladesh on a 0% tariff, with export subsidies, and without the costs of a welfare state built-in. The only solution lies with people in a the UK, or the EU trading block, who can try to make tariffs conditional, so that countries with a health service pay 0% tariff and countries without pay 10%. Simplez.</blockquote>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Health Microinsurance: A Comparative Study of Three Examples in Bangladesh</span></h2>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_122468.pdf">http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_122468.pdf</a> - just an excerpt to give an idea<br />
<br />
The first contact with the government health caresystem is at the Ward level where there are health assistants. <br />
<br />
At the Union level, the Health and Family Welfare Centres (HFWC) provides preventative and family planning services and is usually managed by a graduate doctor with some support staff. <br />
<br />
The next level of health care is the Upazila Health Complexes, which were developed during the 1970s as part of the government’s strategy todevelop primary health care and provide the first level referral services. Usually several graduate doctors are available in an Upazila Complex, which includes specialists and a dental surgeon. The Health Complex usually has a 30-bed in-patient department, an outpatient department, and a family planning unit that to gether provide preventive and limited curative services to the population. <br />
<br />
At the District level, there is usually a hospital, with between 50 and 200 beds, which is intended to serve 1 to 2 million people. The District Hospital is under the management of the Civil Surgeon and provides more sophisticated curative, laboratory and diagnostic services. All the tertiary level health facilities are located in the capital city and include post-graduate hospitals, medical college hospitals and specialized hospitals. These facilities provide highly specialized curative treatments, laboratory and diagnostic services and various other kinds of training and educational facilities. <br />
<br />
The total number of hospital beds available under the Ministry of Health is approximately 28,000, of which approximately 45% are located at the Upazila level and 17% are at the District level, and the remain ing 36% are either in large tertiary general hospitals or specialized hospitals at the six divisional headquarters. The standard of health care provided by the public sector continues to be poor and inadequate due to low investment, bureaucratic mismanagement, a lack of facilities and equipment, and a shortage of trained medical professionals. With around 3,100 persons per hospital bed in the country, and 23 doctors per 100,000 people, only the middle-class, rich and influential people have access to the public health care system. The poor are unable to penetrate thebureaucracy, the archaic administration and the deliberately biased system. They have access to public health care in theory only. Two of the major limitations of the present health care system and its financing in Bangladesh are: (a) high health care costs, more than half of which is private out-of-pocket expenditure; and (b) unsatisfactory outcomes of the expenses. Most of the out-of-pocket expenses are borne by households engaged in low-income informal economic activities.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="https://veganline.com" title="Vegan shoes boots and belts from democratic welfare states in Europe, sold online since 1998">Veganline.com which is a vegan shoe shop</a></div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-27749538284954047302015-12-14T14:11:00.002+00:002018-04-07T23:06:02.834+01:00zero percent development<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The country which has free 0% tariff access to the European market in
the name of <i>"development"</i> doesn't even have a system to help Rana Plaza
victims. It causes havoc in the UK by dumping and export subsidies, and havoc at home by bad government.<br />
<br />
According to War on Want, some Rana Plaza victims now face destitution.<br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">Demand compensation for the victims of the Bangladesh building collapse, says War on Want: </span></span><br />
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130808030616/http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/love-fashion-hate-sweatshops/extra/extra/action/17951-demand-compensation-for-the-victims-of-the-bangladesh-building-collapse">Petition to wholesale customers of Rana Plaza including Beneton, Mango, Primark, Bonarche and Matalan: </a><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130808030616/http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/love-fashion-hate-sweatshops/extra/extra/action/17951-demand-compensation-for-the-victims-of-the-bangladesh-building-collapse">pay compensation NOW</a><br /><br />In
April, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over
1,100 people and injuring thousands more. The majority were female
garment workers making clothes for the UK high street. Retailers
Benetton, Bonmarché, Mango, Matalan and Primark all acknowledged recent
production with the factories in the building. Click on the link above
to ask for action for retailers, and consider what MEPs can do with
tariffs to make the Bangladeshi government do its job.</span></span> <br />
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Afterthought:<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">Why are Oxfam, ActionAid, War on Want, and the rest asking for this when they do not ask for a welfare state in Bangladesh? <br />I mean: it's obvious with CAFOD. They like to look caring next to suffering, so a bit of suffering is always welcome and if you
can avoid talking about condoms then your faith group gets more market
share, suffering or not. Caring enourages conversion. And the donations
keep coming-in because they might secure UK parents a place for their
offpring at a subsidised faith school. <br />But why do respectable charities work so hard not to offend?</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-60020656163015992762015-12-14T13:32:00.003+00:002018-04-07T23:06:24.469+01:00picture of people who suffer from ethical fashion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Choice of picture from Ethical Fashion Forum
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<div class="uiScaledImageContainer _4-ep" id="u_3g_j" style="height: 398px; width: 470px;">
<img alt="planB4fashion's photo." class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="398" src="https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-0/p403x403/254617_402562329850190_415249793_n.png?oh=2072af88cc4962907d1a3e341f2c57e3&oe=56E396BD" width="470" /><br />
This is an old picture from a chainstore fashion site, chosen by Ethical Fashion Forum to show the sort of people it hopes to win-over. The picture also shows use of a union jack emblem on something not made in the UK, and people of the work-seeking age who are most likely to loose from a globalised economy with less national insurance or benefits.<br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">People in the UK still get a basic national insurance service, but the government has taken the fund which was meant to exist, pensions are reduculously low and unemploynment benefit depends on being nagged relentlessly to work free or go on a pointless course. Housing Benefits have just been reduced and risk causing homelessness. People use food banks. A lot of paid work is insecure and can be prone to bullying. Services for keeping people out of hospital if they have dementia or such have been cut. Some of the work is in manufacturing but government, sometimes giving grants to people like Ethical Fashion Forum, seems unsure what that is or how to help and can end-up subsidising the competition. As ever, the excuse in the UK is <i>"competitiveness"</i> or just <i>"defecit"</i>, while the excuse for importing things at 0% tariff from Rana Plaza where there is probably no national insurance is <i>"development"</i>.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-84017564590797756352015-12-14T12:58:00.002+00:002018-04-07T23:07:34.017+01:00anti apathy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://opencorporates.com/companies/gb/05352621">Anti Apathy, company 05352621</a></h2>
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<a href="http://opencorporates.com/companies/gb/05352621" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://opencorporates.com/companies/gb/05352621</a>
Still curious as to why a bunch of people got together to sell Chinese
shoes in 2005 and got so much public sector backing, I clicked on the
directors' links for Anti-Apathy, a charity at the same address which
mushroomed-up in the same year. Most directors give their jobs as
"freelance consultant", and one as "water". Someone from the New
Economics Foundation served his time, as did a Mr Ed Gillespie and Ms
Lucy Shea of Futerra Communications who are mentioned further down this
facebook page. Futerra aim to provide "social proof" of causes,
according to an interview by Mr Gellespie. [no relation to the US
politician]<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">The
gist of it is that Futerra Communications helped use the term <i>"ethical
fashion"</i> to share PR amongst a whole vague range of shops, just as the ad Agency J Walter Thomson invented the <a href="http://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/ca794c69-607f-4a12-9ce3-73cfaa5510e9">Cheese Bureau</a> and the Ploughman's Lunch some time
in the 1950s to share among a long list of national cheese marketing boards. </span></span></h4>
<h4>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"></span></span></h4>
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<a href="http://www.gypsycreams.org/sites/default/files/ww070669cheese.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://www.gypsycreams.org/sites/default/files/ww070669cheese.jpeg" height="640" width="474"></a></div>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><br />Somehow, ethical fashion
pundits got state backing from UK Trade and Investment, Greater London
Authority / London Development Agency, and a bundle of other
taxpayer-funded offices that had just been set-up to try and put
taxpayers out of work, promoting imported competition and implying that
it was more relevant or more ethical. </span></span><span data-offset-key="8dvvu-0-0"><span data-text="true"><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20030402234930/http://www.antiapathy.org/story/story.html">http://web.archive.org/web/20030402234930/http://www.antiapathy.org/story/story.html</a> <br /><br />The organisation has company-style accounts that don't say where the money comes from or goes but there was about £60,000 going through the books at one point. The name seems to have started as an event. There also registered as charity <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithoutPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1119887">119887</a></span></span><span data-offset-key="8dvvu-0-0"><span data-text="true"> <i>"to advance the education of the public in the subjects of social justice and environmental progress"</i> and obtained funding for a an apathy-reducing website called TheNag.net from <a href="http://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/">Esmeefairbairn.org.uk</a> and the <a href="http://www.sfct.org.uk/the-tedworth-charitable-trust/">Tedworth Trust</a>.<br /><br />Quite soon the "re-fashion" side of the business started-up with all the usual names that are heard-of together and sometimes nowhere else. <a href="http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends87%5C0001119887_AC_20100331_E_C.PDF">Accounts</a> describe the relationship.<br /><br /><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20051023132108/http://www.antiapathy.org/lifelineissues/index.php?i=20&PHPSESSID=bacf91f4357bfdb603d596539ed9d93f">http://web.archive.org/web/20051023132108/http://www.antiapathy.org/lifelineissues/index.php</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_2101412364"><br /></a></span></span><span data-offset-key="8dvvu-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="4p1k5-0-0"><span data-text="true"><a href="http://www.neweconomics.org/issues/entry/jobs-industrial-strategy">http://www.neweconomics.org/issues/entry/jobs-industrial-strategy</a> <br />There's an overlap of directors with a thing called the New Economics Foundation and Anti Apathy, the event and charity that overlaps again with the folk who got lots of sudden subsidy to flog Chinese leather shoes and any other stuff they could find. I don't see an overlap of ideas; a page on the New Economics Foundation site about industrial strategy says that manufacturing and transport jobs are generally better than hospitality and retail; it acknowledges that UK manufacturing exists.</span></span></span></span><br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-35757584356625922682015-12-14T10:51:00.002+00:002018-04-07T23:08:02.814+01:00indian employees state insurance<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/77/Employee_State_Insurance_Corporation_Logo.png/220px-Employee_State_Insurance_Corporation_Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/77/Employee_State_Insurance_Corporation_Logo.png/220px-Employee_State_Insurance_Corporation_Logo.png" /></a></div>
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEmployees%2527_State_Insurance&h=TAQFUXLdqAQEjY_8chSpz3RDnXV5_n7oVi0Z0NbrCYecmug&enc=AZNg-zaxyjMYhInJq0ijIXNh8z_jF5iqH3u962pAV6oOCi0f4t9AbXlswHmB2xW3FnhtBFWeVON8yiDazIyA8sRrSbfgCJ2Br_LbO0C230yfseaEouFs_x5dZ-BZmsuRzXRkZnRXV7GAD6E25Ic_t75tmYcSo62oVTIGXpau02fUdVFxoXybNCBTOqfl_aUda5_PocuaAThMRLv0MIQISVfe&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employees%27_State_Insurance</a>
It turns out that India does have a national insurance system for a lot
of people. It covers people in formal employment and provides hospital insurance. There is also a national assistancfe scheme for the rural poor, and I think a universal cheap rice ration for people willing to queue with ID. I don't count this as enough to qualify for free tariff access to the UK, because I think the UK system is better and more expensive to producers, but it's good to say what's already been done and that it's a good thing.<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Swasthya_Bima_Yojana">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Swasthya_Bima_Yojana</a><br />
<br />
As in the UK, the government has its much bigger tax-funded
system for things like sending rockets to the moon, so, as in the UK,
the government needs pressure to spend less on the moon and more on
national insurance and subsidies for the benefits some people can't
afford. (As in the UK, employers are meant to hide the cost a bit by
having their own bureaucratic duty to contribute.) I don't know if there
is a system like this in Bangladesh - does someone else know?<br />
<br />
Answered later: no. There is a system of teaching hospitals and referral rights from out-of town doctors, there are charities, and there is private insurance. Survivers of the Rana Plaza collapse were dealt-with by unpaid volunteers working extra hours at the nearest teaching hospital.<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-663297853809600092015-12-14T10:46:00.001+00:002018-04-07T23:08:28.329+01:00multifibre agreement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Multifibre Agreement Forum</h2>
Here's
a group which suddenly sprang-up out of the states at the same time as
the Multi Fibre Agreement ended and <b>Ethical Fashion Forum</b> sprang-up in
the UK. In Ethical Fashion Forum's words <i>"The MFA Forum is a
not-for-profit, participation-based open network established in early
2004 to address key concerns that were predicted with the end of the
Multi-Fiber Arrangement. Visit the MFA Forum website"</i>. The domain itself
was first known to <a href="http://archive.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">archive.org</a> in 2005 and the web site, arguing for cheap clothes from Rana Plaza, followed soon. <br />
<br />
The gist of the PR is that this is not a flood of goods that are cheap because they come from countries without a welfare state. Nor an injustice to those who try to produce goods in a welfare state and find themselves under-cut without tariffs. Certainly not. It is an empowerment process to reduce no-colonel protection, often explained next to some anecdote about the East India Company's henchmen sabotaging rival local production in Bengall three hundred years ago. Mentions of similar actions by Nike contractors against employees who are paid below the minimum wage and form unions are not mentioned, because they are the the people newly empowered by free trade.<br />
<br />
I discover a subtlety, which is that the Multifibre agreement didn't cover Bangladesh. That's why the interest in that country, given fear that other countries would take its market share.<br />
<br />
I discovered later that the Ethical Trade Initiative, which gets a Foreign Office Grant, subsidises trade associations in countries like Bangladesh to recruit members who can't otherwise pay for membership, and to check corporate social responsibility auditing. This is odd because, as an organisation of employers, a trade association is only going to notice the very worst bad practice that gets a bad reputation for the average; otherwise it's a system for employers to police themselves. A union also gets a grant in Bangladesh, but only enough to rent an office. Meanwhile their colleagues at the trade association have enough money to pass some of it on to Ethical Fashion Forum to help promote Bangladeshi goods at UK taxpayers' expense, in competition with UK-made goods. I think this is a bit unfair as UK manufacturers are very lean and not all able to pay the subscription to - say - the British Footwear Association. If they did, there is no grant to UK trade assocations to promote UK goods, even in the UK.</div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><a class="" dir="ltr" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cresc.ac.uk%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FRebalancing%2520the%2520Economy%2520CRESC%2520WP87.pdf&h=KAQFvyA9z" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.cresc.ac.uk/.../Rebalancing%20the%20Economy...</a> - full story. <br /><br /><a href="http://veganline.com/ethical-fashion-forum.htm" title="What is ethical fashion? This page has some search boxes to see phrases not mentioned on the EFF web site">What is Ethical Fashion?</a> - a vague term designed to beg the question and provide more answers. Click for links to a site seach to see if the EFF lobby group pentions words like "national insurance", "social insurance" or "social clause" on their web site today; up until now, it hasn't.</span></span></div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-585686922378948942015-12-14T10:42:00.001+00:002018-04-07T23:08:48.973+01:00Rebalancing the UK economy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Rebalancing the UK economy</h2>
<br />
Hard to make things in the UK I think, because the little workshops that remain can't find each other. Government has the data at its tax offices that could help write a trade directory, but does not release it and the Customs Act over-rides the Freedom of Information Act in allowing them to keep the data secret. Apparently, tax data can only be collected for the purpose of collecting taxes.<br />
<br />
The report looks generally glum. It's difficult to make goods in a democratic welfare state, so autocracy and poverty tend to win, and there are 47 pages of this to read.<br />
<br />
There is one reason to read some detail. If you spend £100,000 on sponsoring Esthetica at London Fashion Week or Ethical Fashion Forum, then you might influence government consumers and media.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cresc.ac.uk/medialibrary/workingpapers/wp87.pdf">Rebalancing the economy (or buyers' remorse)</a><br />
<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-4680813458638438912015-12-13T18:43:00.001+00:002018-04-07T23:10:27.948+01:00what is ethical fashion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.refashionawards.org%2Fabout%2Fethics&h=EAQFa5Gu6AQGsZXAPz2xho-546SwlcpirgLcICWeQTZoVTw&enc=AZOdbVRlsJfv2UnCJ9a42H_n5hoiShRbS2k1oudQaYN7EtilVAJRFB-ROyh5fIniSJmBvBdU7pPJleLDEFpH_8ty87EZnfAR9AAAZE6hRqtoTsjQvdbtz57r4cX0JgtRCJQKREcycgnCbj6aRQd5oiduaL5MGaYOskTMz6X2AiqYiwHLt5pl_mAFOs2e26pYGAmM51sXErRC2v4cxGk01CpV&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.refashionawards.org/about/ethics</a>
This account links fashion teaching to the sudden outbreak of crassness
in 2005. One example quoted in a Centre for Sustainability in Fashion
textbook is of a dress designer who contacted fairtrade-certified
suppliers in India because, for whatever reason, she didn't make dresses
herself. They all turned her down. So she went to Bangladesh, got the
dresses made, and used vaguer words to sell them. They were said to be "ethical" because they were woven by a firm like Remploy in Bangladesh, but the person's trade association, <a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Ethical%20Fashion%20Forum">Ethical Fashion Forum</a>, did zero to promote Remploy in the UK, which closed, so I don't think their idea of "ethical" was a good one.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Centre for Sustainability in Fashion </h3>
Centre for Sustainability in Fashion is a government quango paid-for by a grant from Nike and taxpayers' funding towards universities via the Higher Education Funding Council, although people in the UK have to pay to go to uni via the loan system; these people still get a grant and use offices from a landlord that has housed similar organisations - Own-it to promote use of IT law, Creative Connexions to promote Chinese factories to UK designers (yes, really), and a students union, language laboratory and photography teaching workshops. Those are the bits that students have to pay for via the student loan system. Centre for Sustainability in Fashion appears less crass than other projects funded the same way, but more crass in acting as "secretariat" to the "all party group for ethics and sustainability in fashion" in the House of Lords, led by someone that some government made a lord of course, which has no obvious funding but does have a treasurer. <br />
<br />
<br />
The All Party Group for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion began by crowding-out an existing all party group and one or two potential members or speakers, like Lord Sugar who tried to speak about better training for people in UK clothes manufacturing. It held a Westminster Hall Debate, based on the kinds of topics available in the House of Lords Library if you search "ethics" and "fashion". Then it started again with a second Westminster Hall debate, following the style and agenda of Futerra Communications<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Futerra Communications </h3>
<br />
The technique is to use a phrase so vague that it begs a question, and then answer that question how you like. There is also a lot of vague language so mind-numbing that you are softened up for a real whopper of a lie that passes un-noticed. Their blurb says that people made their own clothes in the UK up until the 1950s. True? Of course not but amongst all the rubbish it slips-past.<br />
<br />
Futerra agency got a lot of commercial business from the UK government, with £165,000 turnover that year from one ministry at DEFRA. That's the one that ought to have kept up to date with badger biology and flood defences, but was used as a PR budget by government instead: <br />
<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/funding_futerra_funding_refashio#comment-51088">https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/funding_futerra_funding_refashio#comment-51088</a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<i>Ethical Fashion. What is ethical fashion?</i></h2>
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<li><i><a class="here" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/about/ethics">ETHICS AND FASHION</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/about/the-issues">THE ISSUES</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/about/resource">RE:SOURCE</a></i></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="centralCol">
<h2 class="pageTitle">
<i>
ETHICS AND FASHION</i></h2>
<i>So what is "ethical fashion"? </i><br />
<i>Just
like fashion, the term means different things to different people, from
vintage clothing to paying a fair wage to cotton farmers. </i><br />
<i>In
essence, ethical fashion represents an approach to the design, sourcing
and manufacture of clothing which is both socially and environmentally
sustainable. </i><br />
<i>Our timeline explores the relationship between ethics and fashion.</i><br />
<h3>
<i>
1950s: Fashion for the elite</i></h3>
<i>Couture
is king, and the burgeoning industry caters for the social elite by
producing unique and luxury items. Everyday folk follow fashion by
making their own clothes.</i><br />
<h3>
<i>
1960s - 1970s: Fashion for the people</i></h3>
<i>With
the advent of mass production, fashion suddenly becomes accessible to
the public. Fashion houses and retailers set up production overseas to
the developing world where labour costs are lower.</i><br />
<h3>
<i>
1970s: World fashion movement</i></h3>
<i>The
birth of the modern environmental movement combines hippy fashion and
values has a major effect on culture, creating an interest in "world"
fashion. </i><br />
<i>Shops spring up around the UK, selling ethnic style
clothing and accessories sourced directly from producers around the
world. Traidcraft and Oxfam start selling clothing and crafts to support
communities. People purchase these for charitable reasons or because
they like the product, not necessarily to be fashionable.</i><br />
<i>Pioneering brands such as Patagonia start to address environmental issues in textile production. </i><br />
<h3>
<i>
1980s - 1990s: Mass production and consumer backlash</i></h3>
<i>Mass
production swiftly gathers speed, and the first global brands emerge.
By the mid 1990s stories of sweatshops hit the news headlines. No Logo by Naomi Klein is published in protest. </i><br />
<i>Consumer
awareness of the plight of garment workers emerges, along with high
profile campaigns targeting high street brands. Gap and Nike develop and
publish ethical sourcing programmes.</i><br />
<i>A handful of fashion
businesses, such as People Tree and Bishopston Trading, lead the way in
targeting an alternative, niche group of consumers. This new market is
not yet trend led.</i><br />
<h3>
<i>
1990s: The business of ethics</i></h3>
<i>Corporate
attention turns to business ethics. Becoming a good corporate "citizen"
is the watchword and socially responsible sourcing rises up the
business agenda. Meanwhile, in the UK, environmental issues are formally
included in school and college curricula. </i><br />
<i>In response, the first
mainstream brand to bring out an environmental range is Esprit with the
launch of it's Ecollection in 1992. Gossypium and Katherine Hamnett are
leading the way in researching and developing organic supply chains.</i><br />
<h3>
<i>
2000 - 2005: Ethical fashion takes off</i></h3>
<i>By 2000, new fashion graduates are setting up labels with environmental and social goals.</i><br />
<i>The
Millenium Development Goals on poverty, climate change, rapidly growing
public appetite for "green", and this new generation of designers lead
to the creation of the ethical fashion movement.</i><br />
<i>In 2004, the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/" target="_blank">Ethical Fashion Forum</a> launches in London, while the Ethical Fashion Show presents ethical fashion labels to major buyers<span style="font-family: "arial";">. </span></i><br />
<i>And in 2005, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.antiapathy.org/?q=node/15" target="_blank">Anti-Apathy</a>
brings together a top notch line-up of speakers, including Katharine
Hamnett, live music and leading ethical fashion labels at London's first
high profile ethical fashion catwalk. </i><br />
<i>Trends in consumer buying
habits show that the market for fashion is polarising into two groups -
low cost, "value" fashion and a growing group of consumers disillusioned
by mass manufactured brands looking to buy unique and individual
clothes and supporting creative new labels. High street retailers
respond by bringing out "designer" ranges, stocking smaller brands and
signing deals with designers and celebrities.</i><br />
<h3>
<i>
2006-2008: Ethical fashion goes mainstream</i></h3>
<i>Small
businesses started with the millenium are rapidly growing in size and
profile, including Howies, American Apparel, THTC, Kuyichi, Terra Plana,
and Ciel. Esthetica is launched at London Fashion Week in 2006 as the
first ethical fashion section in a mainstream international tradeshow. </i><br />
<i>Big
name designers start to develop ethical collections including Katharine
Hamnett and Stella McCartney. Big retailers start to take the issue on
board more seriously. Gap launches product RED in 2006. H&M, Next,
Nike, Sainsbury's, Asda and M&S all stock organic/fairtrade ranges.</i><br />
<i>And consumers get involved through <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.swishing.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Swishing</a> - a term coined by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.futerra.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Futerra</a> to describe glamorous clothes recycling parties.</i></div>
<div id="rightCol">
<div id="quickLinks">
<i><a class="boxHead" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/" rel="nofollow">AWARDS:</a></i>
<br />
<h3>
<i>
DESIGNERS</i></h3>
<ul>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/designer-award" rel="nofollow" title="Fashion Designer">RE:Fashion Designer of the Year</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/new-designer-award" rel="nofollow" title="New Designer">New RE:Designer of the Year</a></i></li>
</ul>
<h3>
<i>
MAKING A DIFFERENCE</i></h3>
<ul>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/re-model-award" rel="nofollow" title="Models">RE:Model Award</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/manufacture-award" rel="nofollow" title="Manufacturers">RE:Manufacture Award</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/retail-award" rel="nofollow" title="Retailers">RE:Retailer of the Year</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/consumer-awareness-award" rel="nofollow" title="Consumer Awareness">RE:Consumers Award</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/fashion-africa-award" rel="nofollow" title="Fashion Africa">RE:Africa Award</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/clean-cotton-award" rel="nofollow" title="Clean Cotton">RE:Cotton Award</a></i></li>
</ul>
<h3>
<i>
INNOVATION</i></h3>
<ul>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/pioneering-business-award" rel="nofollow" title="Pioneering Business Model">RE:Business Award</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/people-behind-award" rel="nofollow" title="People Behind the Product">RE:People Award</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/environmental-innovation-award" rel="nofollow" title="Environmental Innovation">RE:Environment Award</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/recycling-award" rel="nofollow" title="Recycling">RE:Use Award</a></i></li>
</ul>
<h3>
<i>
PRIZES</i></h3>
<ul><i>
</i>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/estethica-prize" rel="nofollow" title="Estethica Prize">Estethica Prize</a></i></li>
<i>
</i>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/ethical-pure-prize" rel="nofollow" title="Ethical Pure Prize">Ethical Pure Prize</a></i></li>
<i>
</i>
<li><i><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524032349/http://www.refashionawards.org/awards/unltd-prize" rel="nofollow" title="UnLtd Ethical Fashion Prize">UnLtd Ethical Fashion Prize</a></i></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><a class="" dir="ltr" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmoney%2F2006%2Fmay%2F27%2Fcareers.work&h=jAQFoY1ts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/may/27/careers.work</a>
This article suggests that the person running <a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Ethical%20Fashion%20Forum">Ethical Fashion Forum</a> was
<i>"works full-time in education, teaching fashion students."</i>, presumably
at Labour Behind the Label, and claiming a small gr<span class="_5uzb">...</span><a class="_5v47 fss" href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/insights/?section=navPosts#" role="button">See More</a></span></span><br />
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<a class=" UFICommentActorName" data-ft="{"tn":";"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=170918243014601&extragetparams=%7B%22hc_location%22%3A%22ufi_admin%22%7D" dir="ltr" href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/">planB4fashion</a> <span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">"Vaguer words to sell them" is misleading. Probably. Anyone who reads those words will read these anyway. <br /><br />Scroll down the pink-squared comment or reply boxes to see one on <a class="" dir="ltr" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FJuste.co.uk%2F&h=fAQHIyhFR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Juste.co.uk</a> if you want to read the full quote for fairness.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-46801716732855846222015-12-13T18:34:00.004+00:002018-04-07T23:10:55.233+01:00the new ethical china<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
the new ethical china</h3>
The fake words "ethical fashion" were invented in 2005. <br />
<br />
At the same
time, government was pumping millions of pounds into Anglo-Chinese trade
in the creative industries. UK Trade and Investment had been given the
priority. The London Development Agency had an office in Beijing, for
reasons that were never clear. "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Purnell">Minister James Purnell</a>" is quoted in the grant proposal. So is this a plot about secret agents,
funding PR efforts that would take words like "British", "jobs",
"Vegan", "Fair Trade", "Organic", "no fur", "Human Rights" and <span class="text_exposed_show">"Democracy" out of fashion? And replace them with phrases like "concious awareness" and "artisan" and "ethical fashion"?</span><br />
Did the UK Ambassador to Peking stop raising questions about human rights
and say "that's a nice jacket - shall we go shopping?" instead?<br />
<br />
Some of what government got-up to at the time is listed in this grant
proposal asking for 80% of the Higher Education Funding Council's
Innovation Fund, which was duly paid.<br />
<div class="comment_in_request box" id="comment-7515">
<h2>
<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/creative_connexions_brief_and_bu_2#outgoing-45256">University of the Arts Grant to Promote Jobs in China</a></h2>
<div class="comment_in_request_text">
This is an unsympathetic transcript of University of the Arts
grant proposal. No words have been changed but tables and graphics in
the original may not convert. Basically there is no safeguard against
some creative accountant setting up a seminar called "making it
ethically in China", encouraging people to use Chinese manufacturers,
and taking tax money of UK manufacturers. The thing seems to be built on
a momentum of name dropping and hot air by people who believe nonsense
like "the knowledge economy" to justify the world they see rather than
look at the human rights record of the Chinese government or the
exchange rate manipulation of UK and Chinese governments against the
interests of people in the UK. The courtier-ship and grant-artistry
starts here.
<br />
<br />
HEIF 3 Competition Stage 2 Application Form Creative Capital – World City
<br />
Part A The case for the project
<br />
Creative Capital – World City will provide the specialist business,
economic, technical, creative and cultural expertise required to support
the UK creative industries expansion into key world markets. The
partner universities, which are leaders in these complementary fields,
together with the Centre for Creative Business, will deliver this
through the Creative Industries Observatory in London and 5
international business hubs in China and India.
<br />
<br />
“Our economic future lies in high-value, knowledge intensive industries. Put simply, to make the UK the world’s creative hub”
<br />
<br />
In keeping with UK Government priorities (most recently
expressed in the 2006 Budget) and regional policy for London, the
purpose of this innovative project is to increase the competitive
advantage of UK creative companies doing business, or wishing to do
business in India and China, thereby developing the world market for the
UK creative industries. Creative Capital – World City will directly
support UK companies in identifying and siezing new opportunities,
understanding the regional social, cultural, economic and business
contexts, preparing their business plans and strategies, and identifying
and successfully engaging in business development opportunities in
these countries.
<br />
<br />
Building on proven and successful research and HEIF knowledge
transfer (KT) activities e.g. Centre for Creative Business, Enterprise
Centre for the Creative Arts and Own IT (Creative London IP advisory
service), a new London based centre for expert knowledge in the creative
industries will be established. The project will also work with UK-wide
creative companies and key creative networks to research creative
activity / opportunities and succesfully penetrate and expand demand in
the target markets through dedicated staff at five Creative Business
Centres overseas. The essence of knowledge transfer in this
international context relies upon creating and supporting unique
partnerships and collaboration etc to enable particular projects (such
as fashion or design projects) to be accomplished. Staff at the Centres
will be a critical resource to assist creative companies in sustaining
key business relationships in India and China. The project will provide:
<br />
<br />
The Creative Industries Observatory (CIO), a facility for UK
creative businesses which will gather, interpret and deliver high
quality relevant intelligence on the target markets and Creative
Industry trends in the UK, China and India
<br />
5 internationally located business Creative Business Centres - hubs –
operated by dedicated business development specialists through which
opportunity/ creative business activity and market intelligence can be
channelled between Chinese, Indian and London/UK businesses
<br />
Networking opportunities in the emerging markets
<br />
Liaison with local knowledge and expertise in the target markets
<br />
New, carefully targeted, KT activities to assist international
development of creative businesses and, through structured training,
build their confidence to engage with Indian and Chinese businesses
<br />
Support to business in exploiting new creative business opportunities in these emerging markets
<br />
Additional direct foreign investment into London and the UK
Development of 3rd stream income from KT related to the creative
industries for a range of UK HEIs
<br />
<br />
(A i) Description of the Innovative nature of the project
<br />
<br />
The innovative nature of the project lies in
<br />
Its international ambition i.e. the distinctive UK - China - India
dimension which responds to ambitious UK government plans for the
creative industries
<br />
Its key role for the UK economy in establishing a Creative
Industries Observatory, the centre of expert knowledge for understanding
and supporting UK creative companies either already engaged in or
wishing to enter the emerging markets of China and India
<br />
The establishment of international Creative Industries benchmarks based on CIO data
<br />
The development of international business/knowledge transfer hubs, the Creative Business Centres
<br />
Combining leading edge technology, economic and international
studies and applied research with world class creative art and design
and business management
<br />
A strategic and innovative alliance with highly appropriate corporate partners, HEIs and their networks
<br />
The use of international HEI partners with established geographical
presence and contact networks in the target regions which will be of
immediate help to the project
<br />
The innovative use of existing KT networks in London/UK including Centres for Knowledge Exchange networks
<br />
Targeting of international KT for the creative industries, with a
specific focus on strategic areas of opportunity for UK plc such as
digital media and design e.g. Fashion, communications and product.
<br />
<br />
(A ii) Articulation of need
<br />
<br />
There are numerous statistics confirming the importance of the
creative industries to the UK economy and the need for them to
internationalise:
<br />
In 2001, creative industries accounted for 8.2% of UK GDP and
contributed £54.8 billion to UK Gross Value Added, £112 billion in
annual revenue and £11.5 billion in exports.
<br />
From 1997-2001 UK creative industries grew by an average of 8% per
annum, compared to an average of 2.6% for the whole of the economy.
<br />
Creative industries contribute £21 billion to London’s output, a
considerable amount juxtaposed with the City’s £35 billion. In terms of
jobs growth creative industries are London’s most important sector
<br />
From 1997-2002, employment in the UK’s creative industries grew at
three times the rate of the economy as a whole. In June 2003 creative
employment totalled 1.9m jobs.
<br />
The global market value of the creative industries has increased
from $831 billion in 2000 to $1.3 trillion in 2005; more than 7% of
global GDP
<br />
<br />
These are vital statistics that need to be kept up to date. The
Creative Industries Observatory will liaise with DCMS and other agencies
to design and develop an effective programme of ongoing statistical
data research.
<br />
<br />
H.M. Government, via the DCMS and other departments/ agencies,
has targeted the creative industries as an important economic sector for
UK plc. The London Development Agency has taken a strong lead in
setting the regional economic agenda for London with respect to the
creative industries. Through its Creative London agency, it has
delivered crucial intervention and support to London-based creative
businesses.
<br />
<br />
At the London Business School in November 2005 Creative
Industries Minister James Purnell announced the Creative Economy
Programme. This seven-step programme will ensure that cultural
institutions, policy makers and funding organisations work together to
support the growth and productivity of the creative industries.
Concurrently the DCMS announced a new measure to promote UK creativity
globally. DCMS and UK Trade & Investment, with other partners in
government, are supporting the work of three industry led export groups
helping to develop the Government strategy for the export of goods and
services from the Creative Industries sector:
<br />
<br />
● Creative Exports Group (CEG) ● Performing Arts International Development (PAID) ● Design Partners
<br />
<br />
In February 2006 the Creative Industries Minister announced that
7 experts have been appointed to lead the Creative Economy Programme
and its drive to make Britain the world’s creative hub
<br />
<br />
Government recognises the tremendous growth in importance of
trade with India and China to the UK, e.g. UK-India Education and
Research Initiative (UKIERI) pump primed by £10M of UK government
funding which was announced by the Prime Minister in November 2005, the
agreement to grant 1,000 working visas a year for Chinese graduates to
gain work experience in the UK, the proposed Phase 2 of the Prime
Minister’s Initiative to support HEI international activities (April
2006) and the expansion of the Scholarships for Excellence programme -
aimed at building links between Chinese business community and UK HE –
to all of which University of the Arts London (UAL) will contribute.
<br />
<br />
A prime source of help for UK companies to improve their
international trade is the government agency UK Trade and Investment.
Following a recent announcement by Gordon Brown, ‘a revamped UK Trade
and Investment will set new targets for expanding trade with China and
India and other emerging economies’.
<br />
The issue for UK HEIs and for the creative industries, typified by
small business, is how do they engage with these international
opportunities in a realistic and effective way?
<br />
<br />
The Creative Capital – World City project has been designed to
give direct support to the Government’s Creative Economy Programme. It
will work with the DCMS/ UKTI and other agencies to deliver the
Government strategy for the export of goods and services from the
Creative Industries sector. Creative industries companies will benefit
through specialist KT support from universities with relevant expertise,
offered in liaison with UKTI support.
<br />
<br />
London/ UK creative businesses intending to begin trading in
India/China need help. There is a key need in China and India to ensure
their international developments are sustainably structured for the
long-term. They need market intelligence, local contacts, access to
Indian and Chinese business networks, showcasing, B2B introductions and
local knowledge. They also need assistance with understanding and
addressing cultural requirements and specific training in how to best
exploit international business opportunities. Partner HEIs need to seize
the opportunity for growing 3rd stream income for KT services involving
UK creative exports, the demand for which is high in India and China.
<br />
<br />
“The project looks exceptional and will make a major
contribution to the innovation challenge that the UK faces”. Jonathan
Kestenbaum CEO of NESTA
<br />
<br />
“This is a strategically important project for London which will
provide clear opportunities to work collaboratively in various ways
including staging international events showcasing UK creativity, e.g.
internationalising the London Design Festival and the London Film
Festival” Tom Campbell - Creative London - a committed delivery partner
that welcomes the alignment of the project objectives and intentions
with its own creative industries internationalisation programme.
<br />
<br />
Luke Johnson Chairman of C4 TV has given the project his
support. Andrew Summers chairman of Design Partners, the government body
(supported by UK Trade & Investment and DCMS) promoting
international trade and investment for UK design businesses supports the
project and is keen to work with it.
<br />
<br />
“British Design Innovation very much welcomes it and are keen to
loan any support we can and get directly involved where appropriate”.
Maxine Horn CEO of British Design Innovation, (which has 4,500
commercial design practices registered with it - representing 95% of the
UK commercial design market).
<br />
<br />
"Creative Capital - World City is an important and timely
initiative which is likely to provide invaluable support and
intelligence to creative companies looking to do business in China and
India”.
<br />
Frances Sorrell - The Sorrell Foundation"
<br />
<br />
The requested £5 million of HEIF 3 funding is crucial to the
project. Given their teaching, research and other third stream
commitments, the partner HEIs would not be able to undertake the
Creative Capital –World City project without this necessary additional
funding.
<br />
<br />
(A iii) Planned impact on UK’s economy and society
<br />
<br />
This project will not lead to British creativity fuelling
Indian/Chinese market ascendancy. It will enable UK companies to compete
effectively with other first world players by embedding London/UK
creative expertise in business development opportunities in India/China.
Leveraging the existing collaborative projects and established networks
of the partners, the project will:-
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>analyse markets in China and India, understand what London/UK
creative businesses can offer and through the 5 Creative Business
Centres, broker interactions between the market and companies
</li>
<li>analyse the needs of UK creative businesses to develop specialist
‘toolkits’ which interpret and contextualise generic support materials
from for example, DTI/UKTI, and supplement these with targeted
research/trend analysis and training
</li>
<li>assist creative businesses to ‘sell’ creativity and innovation,
including co-investment and co-development in what are crucial emerging
market places whilst safeguarding their IP value/assets
</li>
<li>safeguard existing creative industry jobs and create new ones in London and the UK
</li>
<li>grow third stream income for a wide range of HEIs in London/UK
through innovative KT including business internships, international
‘KTPs’, MA/MBA exchange and new course development, and
internationalised academic input
</li>
<li>actively identify and feedback intelligence on international
business opportunities to London based creative industry companies and
key networks
</li>
<li>improve knowledge of UK creative industries economic performance and
establish international Creative Industry benchmarks to measure
performance
</li>
</ul>
<br />
(B i) Key Project Partners
<br />
<br />
The core partnership is strategically complementary and has a
track record of designing, managing and delivering on major publicly
funded projects including large--scale research projects and knowledge
transfer under HEIF 2. It brings together
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>University of the Arts London (the lead partner) </li>
<li>LBS</li>
<li>School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) </li>
<li>Kings College London</li>
<li>Centre for Creative Business (a UAL/ LBS joint venture)
</li>
</ul>
<br />
The partnership features universities recognised as leading UK
institutions with 5/5*research grades, which through well established
networks are already very active internationally in student recruitment,
course delivery and knowledge transfer. The partners are well known to
each other, have very good working relationships and share the ‘big
picture’ with respect to their strategic international development.
Together they provide a highly competent force, equipped with creative
industry related art, design, technical, technological, political,
cultural, social, economic and business management expertise to assist
UK creative businesses to succeed in India and China. The high quality
knowledge transfer, dissemination and business support networks that the
partners are already engaged in will be leveraged to drive further
business involvement for ‘Creative Cities. These same networks are also
adept at monitoring and analysing user involvement to ensure that the
project delivers required outcomes. The project has the support of major
creative industry organisations, creative clusters and creative
companies in each target area.
<br />
<br />
The project is based at University of the Arts London, the UK
University most closely linked to those creative industries. UAL plays a
vital role in serving the knowledge transfer needs of the creative
industries in London and the UK, in the arts (visual and performing),
design and communications. It already provides a wide range of excellent
creative industry focused K T services to London/ UK including,
Innovation Centre, Design Laboratory, Centre for Fashion Enterprise,
Fashion Business Resource Studio, CoVE Retail, CoVE Fashion, Own It
Intellectual Property Advice Service (in partnership with Creative
London), Artquest, The Intelligent Media Initiative. Exchange - London’s
creative Centre for Knowledge Exchange, IP commercialisation (e.g.
licensing, start-up and spin-out companies – via UAL Ventures ltd),
consultancy and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
<br />
<br />
In collaboration with London Business School, University of the
Arts London operates a joint HEIF 2 funded venture - the Centre for
Creative Business tasked with driving innovative new forms of UK-based
creative business out of LBS and UAL MBA/ MA programmes through its New
Creative Ventures programme and assists existing creative businesses to
grow significantly through its Building the Creative Ventures programme.
CCB has been a major success story. <span style="color: red;">It is often cited by the Creative
Industries Minister James Purnell as an excellent example of what can be
done when two leading HEIs with strongly complementary disciplines come
together.
</span><br />
<br />
(B ii) Indicative contribution from each HEFCE funded partner
<br />
<br />
Partner Relevant Expertise Contribution
<br />
<br />
King’s College London Evidence Network; School of Social Science and Public Policy; Cities Group;
<br />
School of Humanities;
<br />
Risk Management Centre Expertise in evidence based policy methodology
<br />
Economic impact techniques
<br />
London Centre for Arts and Cultural Enterprise (HEIF 2 funded project)
<br />
International, interdisciplinary research using spatial techniques to investigate cultural and economic development.
<br />
School of African & Asian Studies Centre for South Asian
Studies; Centre for Contemporary China Institute; SOAS Language Centre;
SOAS Interface Interdisciplinary approach to understanding the context
and dynamics of the target markets
<br />
Language and cultural programmes for business to develop skills in Chinese and South Asian languages
<br />
London Business School Aditya V Birla Centre
<br />
<br />
Innovation Centre
<br />
<br />
Digital Transformations
<br />
Mutually beneficial academic exchange between Indian business and the global business community
<br />
Macro and micro knowledge of the digital technology industry and access to businesses
<br />
Social and economic impact of information and communication technology at macro and micro levels
<br />
Centre for Creative Business Driving innovative new forms of
creative business; assisting existing creative businesses to grow
significantly. Management development programmes
<br />
- Potential internationalisation action.
<br />
Database of 5,000 creative businesses
<br />
Track record of delivering high profile events
<br />
<br />
Through the combination of its complementary skills and knowledge the partnership will provide:
<br />
Guidance on the data collection methodologies and interpretation methods for the Observatory (KCL)
<br />
Insights into the cultural, political, and economic dynamics of the
target countries and our Creative Business Centres within them (KCL/
SOAS)
<br />
Expertise in the delivery of specific aspects of activity such as
languages/learning advice, business strategy, investment appraisal and
risk appraisal (KCL/ SOAS)
<br />
Access to the best possible core data on UK creative businesses and routes for the project to communicate with them. (CCB)
<br />
First rate executive education specifically relevant to the creative industries in the UK and the target markets (LBS/ UAL)
<br />
Collection of and access to existing published and unpublished reports, and mapping exercises (UAL/ LBS/ CCB)
<br />
<br />
Each of the partners brings to the project considerable
experience in the management and successful delivery of major publicly
funded projects such as UAL’s £5m CETL and Screen Academy projects,
King’s London Centre for Arts and Cultural Enterprise and LBS Centre for
Scientific Enterprise Ltd.
<br />
<br />
(B iii) Project Management Arrangements
<br />
<br />
The University of the Arts London as the Lead Partner will be
the accountable body. A Project Director will be appointed to manage the
overall project and will travel to the five Creative Business Centres
to ensure that the deliverables are achieved. The job descriptions and
person specifications for both the Project and Observatory Director
posts will reflect the need for these staff to have demonstrable
experience in an international context. A Management Board will direct
the strategic management of the project. A leading representative of the
Creative Industries will chair the Board. It will have membership from
each of the partners, employers and the project team. Invited Observers
e.g. Mayor of London’s Office, UK Trade and Industry, OST, and liaison
with advisory bodies in the priority sub sectors will further ensure
full employer engagement.
<br />
<br />
Part C Detailed Business Plan
<br />
<br />
(C i) Activities 2006-08 and beyond
<br />
<br />
This innovative and necessary project has three inter-related
components: the Project Management Centre, the Creative Industries
Observatory and five Creative Business Centres in China and India.
<br />
<br />
This is not intended to be a short-term project. The initial
project lifespan funded by HEIF 3 will be extended into future years
with income generated through the provision of KT activities and
services both in London/UK but primarily in the target markets in China
and India. To lay an effective foundation for this project it is
anticipated that a pre-project preparation, consultation and staff
recruitment period will be required. We therefore suggest that the
official project start date/public launch might reasonably be deferred
to late 2006 as the project is phased in.
<br />
<br />
Working with the enthusiastic support of key local agencies
including Creative London and London First the project will establish
the Creative Industry Observatory in London and five international
business hubs (Creative Business Centres) located in China and India (a
timeline for the project appears below in Section C vi). The project
will work with Business Links for London, London Chamber of Commerce and
other creative industry business networks in London and the UK, to
reach the largest possible number of creative businesses. The project
also has the direct support of numerous delivery partner companies
including large corporates such as Deloitte that are already well
established and active in China and India. Through close liaison it
will complement and enhance the work of UKTI (noting the particular
emphasis that UKTI is now expected to apply to developing trade activity
with China and India), British Council, Creative London, the proposed
National Centre for Design and Creativity (Cox Report recommendation)
and the Mayor’s Office/Think London operation in Beijing. The operation
of these elements of the project will be coordinated through the Project
Management Centre at the University of the Arts London.
<br />
<br />
(C ii) Project Management Centre
<br />
<br />
The Project Management Centre will provide the financial and
administrative management for the project. The Project Director will
coordinate and manage the work of the Business Development Managers
(BDMs) in the UK and at the Creative Business Centres in China and India
and will liaise closely with the Director of the Creative Industries
Observatory. UK based BDMs will work with creative industry networks,
companies and agencies. Partner based BDMs will also be tasked with the
internal ‘selling’ of the project in order to ensure that partners
benefit fully from the project and contribute to the project in terms of
the international knowledge transfer opportunities through the Centres
and the provision of specialist consultancy services through the
Creative Industry Observatory.
<br />
<br />
(C iii) The Creative Industry Observatory
<br />
<br />
Based at UAL’s: London College of Communication, the Creative
Industry Observatory will be developed as an authoritative information,
observation and dissemination resource. Staffed by specialist
information managers, analysts and researchers the Observatory will:
<br />
<br />
Collect and provide datasets on e.g. London and UK Creative
Industries activity; creative businesses in UK China and India and new
creative business opportunities.
<br />
Commission research to plug gaps in baseline creative industries subsectoral analysis/market analysis and regulatory frameworks
<br />
Produce publications/journal/information updates
<br />
Organise and present conferences/seminars/workshops
<br />
Carry out brokerage/introductions between creative industry companies through its events programme
<br />
<br />
Additionally the Observatory will also accept commissions from
agencies e.g. DCMS and DTI, to research, provide and maintain urgently
needed fresh creative industries data e.g. provide a London and national
creative industries subsectoral primary baseline data analysis/
tracking exercise. It is expected that this will aid project
sustainability.
<br />
<br />
(C iv) The International Creative Business Centres
<br />
<br />
The project will develop Creative Business Centres in:
<br />
<br />
China: · Beijing · Hong Kong · Shanghai India: · Mumbai · New Delhi
<br />
<br />
The five Centres will not be “cold starts”, but will be cost
effective arrangements that build on existing agency, university and
corporate partnerships and networks e.g. with the Beijing Design Centre
and Tsinghua University. This will enable an immediate project presence
in the target markets, supported locally through links with our partner
Universities in China and India, which will be ready to take advantage
of known business prospects. Activity at Centres in each location will
be quickly ramped up through these proven operational relationships.
<br />
<br />
Each of the Creative Business Centres will have a physical
presence, staffed by dedicated business development specialists and
co-located in prime positions typically within delivery partner
organisations. Business development staff at the Centres will
proactively seek, generate and orchestrate new business opportunity,
broker relationships between Chinese, Indian and UK companies and
provide technical, cultural and ‘trouble shooting’ support. The Centres
will provide a locus for further developing influential networks in the
target markets, for market research and data gathering, for channelling
market intelligence back to the UK. All Centres will be equipped with
appropriate technology to enable fast reliable continuous contact
including video conferencing between staff at each Centre, the Creative
Industries Observatory and the project management centre. Where local
partnerships are unable to provide suitable venues, appropriate
commercial premises will be hired for the staging of events. The volume
of KT and business activity driven by each Centre will be monitored and
should any of these be performing at a lower level than expected, a
virtual Centre established in agency premises may replace the physical
presence.
<br />
<br />
(C v) Key outcomes and deliverables of the project will be:
<br />
<br />
The establishment of the Creative Industry Observatory and its
subsequent operation as an exemplar of sector focused KT excellence; as a
source of specialist expert knowledge, leading to new joint ventures
and commercial agreements between London/UK companies and those in China
and India . It will provide valuable contextualised intelligence to and
from the Creative Business Centre, UKTI and other agencies, to UK
businesses via on-line and other media/events
<br />
The establishment of 5 International Creative Business Centre networks to support knowledge transfer activity in stated areas
<br />
Estimated £2.0m p.a. revenue potential from international knowledge transfer activities by July 2008
<br />
12-15 international business development staff appointed across the network
<br />
5 databases of international contacts
<br />
15 regionally focused (i.e. 3 per Centre) marketing and promotional events per year
<br />
1500 creative industries businesses briefed through 6 - 10 London
based strategic business opportunity seminars during the project
<br />
The Creative Capital – World City website
<br />
Regular specialist on-line e-briefings on India/China opportunities
<br />
On-line multi media/interactive specialist support for new business development
<br />
100 international business-to-business introductions brokered
<br />
10 international business opportunity focused ‘grow your creative
business’ events for London based creative industry companies and 10
similar events delivered locally for Indian and Chinese creative
companies which will showcase London/UK creativity
<br />
‘International Knowledge Transfer Partnerships’ and ‘mini-KTPs’
(will be developed based on experience of graduate placement in
international locations) that will be sponsored by Indian and Chinese
companies
<br />
<br />
(C vi) Independent Evaluation Arrangements
<br />
<br />
Evaluation will be a constant theme/presence throughout the
project. The individual contributions of each partner will be subject to
several levels of quality control and evaluation, the first line of
which will be the existing quality control procedures of each partner.
The project management team will internally evaluate each significant
project event and interaction in line with customer care best practice –
reporting biannually to the Board. Impact assessments will be made of
all operational aspects of the project.
<br />
<br />
Separate to these measures there will be external evaluation at
initiation, during and on completion of the project. This will be
carried out by independent external specialist evaluation consultants
who will be appointed to the project following a selection process. A
budget element has been earmarked for this, and potential sources, e.g.
University of Glasgow Cultural Policy Group and Innovation Partners Ltd,
have already been approached.
<br />
<br />
(C vii) Dissemination of Project Results
<br />
<br />
A comprehensive dissemination strategy will be agreed with the
Management Board. The principle means of dissemination – not only of
results but of process and progress – is intended to be the project
website and links to the websites of partners including London First and
Creative London. It is also intended that the project will also be
featured in creative industries publications and those of the Mayor’s
Office and LDA. The Observatory will launch the Creative Industries
Journal as the authoritative refereed commentary on the creative
industries in the UK, which will also disseminate data/findings from the
project. The importance of disseminating information about the project
and its impact, to business organisations, trade and professional
associations; the HE Sector; UK government agencies; knowledge transfer
networks other relevant CKEs in London and the UK and most importantly
of similar bodies in China and India is recognised. There will be
publications emanating from the project as well as targeted seminars and
events targeted both at specific creative sub-sectors, broader business
and the broad Creative Industries. Reference will be made to HEIF/HEFCE
and DTI-OST throughout the dissemination process.
<br />
(C viii) Exit Strategy and Sustainability
<br />
<br />
This is an ambitiuous venture, with sustainability as an
achievable objective. It is envisaged that significant income will be
generated from the proposed activities, but this may not be fully in
place within two years.
<br />
<br />
The initial project lifespan funded by HEIF 3 will be extended
into future years with income generated through the provision of high
quality knowledge transfer activities and services both in London/UK but
primarily in the target markets. The first two years will feature an
awareness raising campaign as the partnership builds the Creative
Business Centre brand recognition at the initial locations. It will also
further business partnerships and investment through which the brand
and thus the centres concept can be extended to more geographical areas.
The project will build a new self-sustaining business model, which will
continue to grow in line with the anticipated growth of the Chinese and
Indian markets for the creative industries.
<br />
<br />
It is expected that there will be significant opportunities for
co-investment with Chinese and Indian partners, which will defray a
large part of the direct operational costs to the partners in future
years. The business model also anticipates the possibility of
co-developing the Centres as collaborative businesses drawing in more UK
creative companies, as the market for creativity in China and India
extends to many other cities. This will give the partnership a much
wider engagement with the Chinese and Indian marketplace, greatly
increasing the potential returns to London/ UK creative businesses, to
associated Chinese and Indian companies, and to the HEI partners as the
demand for their knowledge transfer services grows. Revenue (in part
potentially royalty payments) from this will feed back to the project to
support the continued marketing and management of the business. The CIO
will also actively seek to generate income through commissions and
events. If insufficient progress towards some areas of self-sufficiency
has been made two years from the start date, the project could be scaled
back (e.g. some of the Creative Business Centres could become virtual
centres to a level that can be sustained by the income generated from
them) without loss of its overall thrust.
<br />
<br />
HEFCE/OST are being asked to provide essential start up funds to
enable infrastructure development, cover expected start up costs and
provide a stable platform for the first two years on which a sustainable
operation can be built. Our belief in our ability to achieve
sustainability is supported by the way in which the partners have over
recent years been developing successful overseas recruitment and
consultancy businesses in the target regions.
<br />
<br />
(C ix) Key Risk Factors
<br />
<br />
A strong partnership has been put together that has good
experience of working successfully overseas. The potential pitfalls and
challenges are largely known and many have been encountered and
effectively dealt with in the past. However, this does not mean that the
partnership is complacent about risk. As part of the business plan, a
fuller assessment and treatment of risk will be undertaken with King’s
College London’s Risk Strategy Group. A risk management strategy will
subsequently be devised. Some indicative risks have been set out below.
<br />
<br />
Indicative Risk Rating Action
<br />
Unable to recruit appropriate staff or Low/ Medium Phase these international activities slightly
<br />
premises in China/India slower than in timeline
<br />
Partners unable to agree on share/ Low/ Medium Board to develop formal partnership agreements
<br />
distribution of income/benefit
<br />
Lack of KT business opportunities in Low/ Medium Vigorous campaign in target markets
<br />
China and India with UKTI and delivery partners in target markets
<br />
Income does not grow sufficiently Medium Scale back Hub/CIO activity to sustainable level
<br />
to fund Year 3 operation recast some centres as virtual centres
<br />
Seek co-investment/ merger with local partners
<br />
Too many CI sub sectors too early. Medium Focus on key selected areas initially
<br />
Slow bureaucracy in both countries Medium/ High Local partners well used to this will advise/ guide
<br />
Financial export restrictions/guarantees Medium Chinese income held in China and used to offset partner
<br />
(mainly China) costs on other (e.g. recruitment) operations.
<br />
Absence of experience of international High Careful screening/selection of business partners,
<br />
business standards use of strong contracts, particularly IPR
<br />
but recognise that even so, risk remains
<br />
<br />
The project represents a novel HEIF/business model but the
experience of the partners in developing international operations and in
delivering on HEIF/ third stream developments and other major
collaborative projects reduces the risk associated with it
<br />
(C x) Finances
</div>
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<h2>
<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/john_robertson">John Robertson</a> left an annotation (<time datetime="2009-12-10T19:39:51+00:00" title="2009-12-10 19:39:51 +0000">10 December 2009</time>)
</h2>
<div class="comment_in_request_text">
In their own words: this from
<br />
<a href="http://www.ikt.org.uk/heif3/Forum.aspx?LessonID=1142">http://www.ikt.org.uk/heif3/Forum.aspx?L...</a>
<br />
<br />
Lessons learnt.
<br />
These are the lessons learnt so far from delivering our HEIF 3
project - to find a full copy of our winning bid please click download
on this page.
<br />
<br />
1. The first lesson is that everything takes much longer than
you might expect it to. Everything is being done at a distance, in
different time zones. In the case of China particularly, time needed to
be spent to understand the business culture and the systems of business
development before the programme could really begin to engage with
Chinese business. There is also a very real need to overcome a
significant language barrier. All of this was more or less foreseen,
but the practical impact of it on our ability to mount the programme
only became apparent once the programme got underway.
<br />
<br />
2. Having an in-country presence of senior UK managers is highly
desirable, yet this is not practicable. Although we have fairly
frequent visits to China and India to compensate, we remain to a very
large extent reliant upon those that we have recruited. Good local
knowledge and contacts are highly valued, but this by itself is not
enough. Good experience of and ability in business development is also
extremely important. Recruiting the right people is crucial as is
regular management contact with and support for them through a mix of
technology based and face-to-face communication.
<br />
<br />
3. Recruiting the right people has been problematical and more
expensive than had been expected. Not surprisingly, compensation has
had to be adjusted to reflect market conditions in each locality.
Because recruitment to the programme is taking place during a period of
private sector expansion, the market in each locality has been found to
be particularly tight with respect to finding well-qualified individuals
with good language skills. This has led to higher costs and delayed
recruitment.
<br />
<br />
4. Reliance has had to be placed on outsourced services and
agents to provide the kind of ‘back office’ administration and support
that we take for granted in our own HEI. This is largely because our
own in-house services do not necessarily have the experience or
expertise to provide much needed guidance and support to a programme
that operates across international boundaries and under different
legislative regimes. Initial assumptions concerning the extent to which
existing relationships with our network of recruitment agents could be
leveraged to provide such services have not been borne out in practice.
This has all placed additional strain on the Programme Management Team,
which it is fair to say has done tremendously well to cope with a severe
learning curve.
<br />
<br />
5. The development of a fully functioning internal and external
partnership also requires a lot of time and effort even if, as in our
case, those partners are largely known to you and have experience of
working together on different projects. Large-scale projects bring
their own tensions and partners bring their own expectations and
agendas. We have learned that there is a clear need for good
communication (which we have not always managed as well as we might
wish), for clear understanding of the mutual purpose and objectives of
the project (not always acknowledged within a partnership) and that
while consensual agreement is always sought, resolute leadership is a
quality that should not be underestimated.
<br />
<br />
6. Having the support and advice of very experienced and
accomplished Creative Industries business people on the Programme
Advisory Board has been extremely beneficial in moving towards the
achievement of a balanced approach to the commercial and academic
aspects of international knowledge transfer as well as assisting with
strategising and implementing the programme.
<br />
<br />
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<br />
Summery by transcriber:
<br />
<br />
Nobody who can get a better job would want to work in a quango
supporting Chinese autocracy at the expense of people who pay for the
quango. It's a nonsense. Nobody applies.
<br />
<br />
Nobody knows what this project is for and those who apply by
accident and perhaps really think that China trade on fiddled exchange
rates by both sides is good for taxpayers in the UK, get the job. Well
done. They also find a mixture of briefs and interventions which keeps
them in London and prevents them doing the job they hoped to do.
<br />
<br />
Frankly it's a plaything of courtiers; job creation by Marie Antoinette
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<h2>
<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/john_robertson">John Robertson</a> left an annotation (<time datetime="2009-12-19T18:05:01+00:00" title="2009-12-19 18:05:01 +0000">19 December 2009</time>)
</h2>
<div class="comment_in_request_text">
related: London Fashion week @ £4.2m over 3 years no longer even pretends to have figures about job creation: <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/london_fashion_week_biannual_upd#comment-7748">http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/lo...</a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<br /></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-50707709843070422242015-12-13T18:28:00.004+00:002018-04-07T23:11:18.101+01:00fashion going green<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_2">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Anti Apathy, Juste, Sari Dress Project Junky Styling, United Nude, Terra Plana, Futerra PR</h2>
<br />
A
newspaper article in May 2005 Mentions Anti-Apathy, Juste, Sari Dress
Project, Junky Styling, United Nude, and Terra Plana. Their PR coins the
phrase "ethical fashion" and reporting of vague ethics like hand sewing
by people who would otherwise not be hand-sewing <i>"giving them an
opportunity to use traditional techniques that would otherwise be lost".</i><br />
<br />
This could be one of the first bits of shared fashion PR for ethical fashion forum members by Futerra<br />
<br />
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
Forget black: fashion's going green . .<br />
By Dimi Gaidatzi, Financial Times<br />
Published: May 14 2005 03:00 | Last updated: May 14 2005 <br />
"...A recent proliferation of ethical labels, from mail-order catalogue
People Tree to Edun " ... "Last year saw the first ethical fashion show
in Paris (another has been scheduled for October), while in London,
Anti-Apathy, a socio-environmental campaign group, staged a similar
event in February." "Last April the first forum on ethical commerce was
organised in France and Project, a magazine on "conscious style and
culture", was launched."<br />
"...Edun range that has really got people talking. The couple joined forces with Rogan Gregory of Rogan jeans"<br />
"The UK is also proving to be a hotbed for revolution. Howies makes
eco-urban clothes, Enamore offers bespoke kimono tops and duffel coats
made with organic textiles, Juste has dresses made of silks from
Bangladesh, and Sari makes saris donated by Indian women into couture
and accessories. Junky Styling even offers to take your old wardrobe and
restyle it in a workshop which only uses renewable energy. Crucially
all of them offer good design with the feel-good factor."<br />
"Buba
bags, for instance, has taken care with sourcing its manufacturing in
India. "There's no way you can get that type of work done anywhere
else," says Euan McDonald of Buba, of the heavily embellished and
embroidered accessories. McDonald has joined forces with a local NGO in
India, providing employment to families in Delhi, while giving them an
opportunity to use traditional techniques that would otherwise be lost."<br />
"Unless a fair-trade product is stylish or well-made [consumers] won't
buy it," says Safia Minney, founder of People Tree. Minney's company
relies on the specialist skills of over 1,400 artisans from around the
world to produce pieces such as halter-neck tunics embroidered with
Indian beadwork.<br />
"For Romp, a fur and leather accessories label,
the key factor is sourcing: all its skins are derived from food
by-products. Greg Sturmer of Romp says: "Ignorance is not to be confused
with desire. People don't like what they are finding out about the
production system and the materials they are being offered. This is why
all Romp products are ethically manufactured and their production is
fully traceable.""<br />
"Galahad Clark, of the Clark shoe dynasty, has
also joined the ethical crusade. His footwear label, United Nude, makes
shoes that are "not just a disposable item" - they use simple plastics
and extreme moulding to create designs. Terra Plana, another shoe brand,
uses artisan constructions and natural materials, but integral to both
collections is the idea of maximising energy efficiency and minimizing
toxins and glues."<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F2%2Fa1063764-c387-11d9-a56d-00000e2511c8.html&h=EAQFa5Gu6AQFRw2rBOG8ne3M2XsaOTFkOWuxNnz97Vz_1iA&enc=AZMXQeqpt1RwLWtZh51nEJH4YJ0LGC1Oc83mToHged0qk_v1DY3OKNQwjCUSjfLOKzORwGjJ_B5sYtUcdDhkciuEEbBXN7MwOKEfLmSe00SwjidefVJjfYbYfy8MugJZ0bFAlXIbl31K0k0XT2bbtudD46BSzkEUKPxWB-NnhsZauJw0IVsAfqAWxIFB3WCHEVnKWNraFHbf_yntgqfgFfm9&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.ft.com/…/a1063764-c387-11d9-a56d-00000e2511c8.ht…</a></div>
<div class="_3x-2">
<div data-ft="{"tn":"H"}">
<div class="mtm">
<div class="_6m2 _1zpr clearfix _dcs _4_w4 _6m4 _5cwb" data-ft="{"tn":"H"}" id="u_0_t">
<div class="clearfix _2r3x">
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<span class="_3c21"></span><br />
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<div class="mbs _6m6">
<span class="_3c21"><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F2%2Fa1063764-c387-11d9-a56d-00000e2511c8.html&h=5AQEppEpu&enc=AZP9aoIknFICbJaiaMawQ_s-g8ZalaQ5p0zAQZme2fFUgBdIKFrN8nl8orNL4gDQOUQg2Y_NKAnWMxGzuzxVAV79RxyOP_tXo545no6f90KND3gG1NlcNjs6swjhjYGAqQMS7Jy-c-T1t_YkZBjqz7GFgmrFFuT_ILJ2ywvOisb6Bz37hs2F7bUclohBnUlukuaehAdfNAoHT8HIHztTdNIi&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FT.com / Style - Forget black: fashion's going green . .</a></span></div>
<div class="_6m7">
<span class="_3c21">Looking
good and doing good don't always go hand in hand - we all know about
sweatshops. But increasingly it seems that fashion consumers are
purchasing with a conscience: they don't want their retail choices to
result in fewer environmental choices farther down the eco line.</span></div>
<div class="_59tj">
<div>
<div class="_6lz _6mb ellipsis">
<span class="_3c21">ft.com</span><br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-44454419252223330772015-12-13T18:02:00.001+00:002018-02-21T17:56:12.089+00:00ethical fashion PR invented 2005<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
ethical fashion PR invented 2005</h2>
The meaningless phrase "ethical fashion" was invented in September 2005
in London, and searches peaked with news stories about ethical fashion
shows for firms like Terra Plana</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/994558_401593973280359_728001259_n.png?oh=b9046d44a00fdcacc174a7d14e5e865a&oe=56D9B457" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/994558_401593973280359_728001259_n.png?oh=b9046d44a00fdcacc174a7d14e5e865a&oe=56D9B457" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><a class="" dir="ltr" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.craftscouncil.org.uk%2Fwhats-on%2Fview%2Fwell-fashioned-eco-style-in-the%2Fdetail&h=wAQE0l2Us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/.../well-fashioned.../detail</a> was another government-sponsored exibition of the usual suspects - Terra Plana for example - which our taxes helped show at </span></span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span class="_1az _1a- _4_t_"></span>Crafts Council Gallery: 23 Mar to 4 Jun 2006</span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span class="_1az _1a- _4_t_"></span>The City Gallery, Leicester: 15 Jul to 26 Aug 2006</span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span class="_1az _1a- _4_t_"></span>The Design Centre, Barnsley: 7 Sep to 20 Oct 2006</span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span class="_1az _1a- _4_t_"></span>City Museum & Records Office, Portsmouth: 4 Nov 2006 to 7 Jan 2007</span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span class="_1az _1a- _4_t_"></span>Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton: 20 Jan to 3 Mar 2007</span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">Estethica room at London Fashion Week, various dates starting 2005 </span></span></li>
</ul>
<a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/you-are-invited-to-masterclass-in.html">http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/you-are-invited-to-masterclass-in.html says something about the formatting of an ethical fashion PR press release that's meant not to promote UK manufacturing but sell the competition from China instead</a>. In other words to say it's <i>"ethical"</i> to close UK factories.<br />
<br />
One of the techniques used to sell sweatshop products is to say that torture by Nike contractors and their autocratic states is better than torture by henchmen of the East India Company, who cut of the thumbs of rival loom owners. So: you see a speech my a rep from some far-eastern trade union about injustice there and think <i>"at least she still has her thumbs: things are getting better"</i>. I think this is an unfair example of progress to pick. I don't know the source for the story, but if the East India Company still existed it would have its own PR office to rebuff claims from rival Nike.<br />
<hr align="LEFT" />
<a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="Ethical Fashion blog from Veganline">PlanB4fashion</a> is a link to this ethical fashion blog on a single long page</div>
This blog is by a <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="vegan bouncing boots, vegan belts made to order, vegan monkey boots and more">vegan shoe company called Veganline.com that sells vegan shoes boots & belts</a>
</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-57740769830246199102015-12-13T17:50:00.004+00:002015-12-16T15:05:47.011+00:00Monsoon the party donation and the embassy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Monsoon, the party donation, and the embassy</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://searchthemoney.com/associate/3903">Monsoon donated £100,000 to the Conservative party in 2008 - 2009. </a></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"In
August 2012, our Prime Minister announced that UK Trade & Investment
will provide strategic support for the [retail] sector, focused on
helping the UK retail sector win more business internationally and
securing more valuable investment in the UK"</i> and in 2013, Monsoon had a
stand at a UK-subsidised trade show in Malaysia, organised by UK Trade
and Investment and introduced by the British High Commissioner who gave
the quote above about this notorious company that buys its products in India to sell in Malaysia. </blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Monsoon sponsor Estethica at London Fashion Week</h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It looks as though Monsoon had to wait three years for a
result: did they get anything in 2008-13?<br />
<br />
<div class="UFICommentContent">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">£100,000
would get you access to the <i>"bottom of the premier league"</i>, according
to Peter Cruddas, then treasurer of the Conservative Party. Mr Cruddas
has cleared his name but I can't google a full text of what he said -
only the edited video. <b>Monsoon a</b><b>lso
sponsor Etsethica at London Fashion Week</b>, which might otherwise ask for
more from UK Trade and Investment, so maybe Monsoon is middle of the
Premier League? They're also founder members of Ethical Trade Initiative (which refused to sign some of their corporate documents like codes of conduct about ethical standards) and get a huge advert for a not-yet-existing range of artizanal products, presented as a <i>"case study"</i> like the teaching aids produced by Centre For Stustainability in Fashion. It shares the same style of layout, photos, and of quoting a case that has not yet happened, just like the case of Juste produced in earlier materials. The <i>"case study"</i> was presented by Ethcal Fashion Forum to its members. <br /><br />The other odd thing about this is the zest that UK prime
ministers have had for making speeches to introduce obviously stupid
policies, like subsidising the expansion of a shop that sells Indian
goods into Malaysia, and is well known for paying late and failing to
meet its own hopes of "ethical" claims like paying the minimum wage in
India. The shop's Irish arm was also in <i>"examinorship"</i> or administration
until 23rd of June. So it isn't a good business partner to recommend to
anyone else.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<hr align="LEFT" />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Monsoon handout in the style of Centre for Sustainable Fashion teaching materials, quoting a "case study" of something that has not yet happened. </h3>
<h3>
<a href="http://veganline.com/"></a></h3>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: left;">
This handout is very much like the London e-book, <i><a href="http://issuu.com/shomil/docs/growing_sustainable_fashion_economies">Growing Sustainable Economies, a collection of entrepreneurial case studies in Bangladesh and the UK</a>, ed Hammond, L and Higginston, published by London College of Fashion. </i>quoting things that might in future happen from the most active staff of Ethical Fashion Forum. Each one has "case study" written next to it, in hope of being quoted in some poor fashion student's essay. <i>Juste, </i>the Ethical Fashion Forum's dress import business that never came to exist gets a long mention, <i>Sari Dress Project</i> by another Ethical Fashion Forum staff member gets another, alongside a new organisation which, as you can guess, is called <i>Ethical Fashion Forum</i>. "Project partners Department for Enterprise and International Development at London College of Fashion and BGMEA Institute of Fashion Technology give special thanks to the principal funders of this project, Development Partnerships in Higher Education (DelPHE), The British Council, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and the companies featured in this publication. (There are also logos from the Department for International Development on the page among others).<br />
<br />
Monsoon's handout doesn't have an EU funding logo on it or Dfid backing, but it keeps the strange phrase "case study", as though someone in a fashion college is going to quote this stuff in an essay.</div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Case Study: Monsoon / SEWA. Head of Corporate Responsibility Olivia Lankester on Monsoon’s artisan heritage</h3>
<i>Monsoon, much like fellow British retailer EAST, have artisan collaboration embedded in their brand heritage. Founded by Peter Simon in 1973 after an epic road trip across Asia, the earliest Monsoon collections comprised clothes made in Indian villages using vegetable dyes, hand-loomed cotton and block printing (Monsoon, 2013). </i><br />
<i><br />Though now a global brand Monsoon continues to value artisan skills such as beading and embellishment. Monsoon is a founding member of the Ethical Trading Initiative and has its own code of conduct for all suppliers, paying unexpected visits to factories to ensure standards are met. Alongside this Monsoon is involved in a number of community projects in Asia, including a project reviving the silk cultivation industry in Afghanistan to provide livelihoods for widows and vulnerable women<br />.<br />Though most production has now shifted to larger factories Monsoon still trade with some of their original and smaller suppliers. This creates jobs and develops local communities at a time when the number of artisans in India has declined 30% over the past decade (DASRA, 2013). According to Olivia Lankester, Monsoon’s Head of Corporate Responsibility, “artisans in India increasingly ind it hard to make a living from their craft, many living on the poverty line and struggling to meet their basic needs. This has lead to a generational loss of craft skills and contributed to mass migration to urban areas.” Monsoon aims to tackle this through their commitment to supporting craft communities in India.</i><br />
<i><br /> Launching this October, Artisan Trade is a range of clothing, accessories and gifts made in collaboration with Indian artisan co-operatives. ”Many artisan groups have incredible skill and beautiful product but very limited access to market. This is where we can help – while also providing technical support to help artisans upgrade and update their product offer.” Artisan Trade is an expansion and rebranding of the Monsoon Boutique range, which provides sorely needed market access for Indian artisans. If successful the range will provide sustained employment for women which will move them away from the poverty line and enable future social mobility and economic growth.<br /><br />Monsoon Boutique not only provides a sales channel for craftspeople, it also focuses on upcycling Monsoon’s fabric offcuts by using them to produce items such as quilts, aprons and childrenswear. All profits are donated to the Monsoon Accessorize trust which provides grants to artisan co-operatives such as SEWA (Self Employed Womens Association). SEWA is an embroidery co-operative in Delhi that over the past four years has received funding from Monsoon for a new embroidery centre, training programmes for women, a micro-credit programme and an education programme for children.<br />Rather than work through an intermediary Monsoon have always worked directly with Indian suppliers to design and produce their products. A team in Delhi are on hand to provide technical support, training and advice to producers, which Olivia feels makes a “huge difference” to the success of the operation. When necessary Monsoon have linked artisan co-operatives with larger suppliers to help with operations such as sourcing, packaging and testing requirements. Although not yet launched, Monsoon’s Artisan Trade has good prospects as an expansion of Monsoon Boutique. Their 40 years of experience working with artisans means Monsoon are well placed to bring such products onto the marker as the range already has a deined niche among Monsoon customers. The first Artisan Trade collection has taken 9 months from concept to delivery. Monsoon already have a well established network of suppliers which would help shorten the lead time on the range of artisan clothing for such a large market. The success of Monsoon’s community work is extensive, helping 10,000 disadvantaged women and children every year (Monsoon, 2013). The Artisan Trade line will not only provide employment for these women but proits from sales will be reinvested into community projects to create livelihoods and provide healthcare, education and shelter. </i><br />
Photos:<br />
Traditional hand block printing in India <br />
Artisan Trade supplier, quilting cooperative<br />
Yasmin Le Bon, visiting Monsoon Artisan Trade supplier Photography: Sam Faulkner<br /><br />Below: Monsoon's offices in West London. Photography: Google Street View<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/1000519_398751786897911_1672661525_n.png?oh=103b2134f939d941f414fa3688b7ca7f&oe=57116157" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Expensive car cordoned outside Monsoon's offices" border="0" src="https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/1000519_398751786897911_1672661525_n.png?oh=103b2134f939d941f414fa3688b7ca7f&oe=57116157" title="" /></a></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<hr />
<a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="Ethical Fashion blog from Veganline">PlanB4fashion</a><a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"> is a link to this ethical fashion blog</a> on a single long page<br />
This blog is by a <a href="http://veganline.com/">vegan shoe company called Veganline.com that sells vegan shoes boots & belts</a></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-85109574809085955152015-12-13T17:45:00.006+00:002018-04-07T23:13:31.617+01:00We pay several times for each badly-run country<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
We pay several times for each badly-run country.</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
</h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We benefit once, or I do, because I'm wearing Primark's cheapest jeans.</div>
<br />
<i class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_0d2058"><u>♦</u></i> We pay in having fewer jobs, because there's less rag trade here.<br />
<br />
<i class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_0d2058"><u>♦</u></i> We pay in having fewer taxes for the same reason.<span class="text_exposed_show"></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> <i class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_0d2058"><u>♦</u></i>
We pay because our politicians send our army to those poor and unstable
parts of the world that have no secondary education or welfare state.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> <i class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_0d2058"><u>♦</u></i> We pay in having unstable desperate parts of the world that refugees and economic migrants leave, overcrowding parts of the UK.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> <i class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_0d2058"><u>♦</u></i> We probably pay in the spread of disease - thinking more about African governments which choose not to set-up a health service.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> <i class="_4-k1 img sp_UkKp2mjPS47 sx_0d2058"><u>♦</u></i>
We pay 0.7% of our GDP, out of our taxes, towards the social services
bills of badly-run countries like Bangladesh. Pakistani taxpayers pay
less than that for their own few state hospitals, and many Pakistani MPs
do not even bother to pay Pakistani tax. It's probably the same in
Bangladesh or India.</span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
So we
have all paid six times for my pair of trousers and politicians' failure
to write a proper tariff against goods from badly-run countries. That's
before any ultuism towards people in Bangladesh. My jeans are beginning
to feel a bit special now!<br />
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-83451615691600165742015-12-13T17:41:00.002+00:002018-04-07T23:14:05.947+01:00Cheap factory expensive shop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_3z">
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_566dac486a7797697277778">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/28/india-sweated-labour" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cheap factory expensive shop</a></h2>
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/28/india-sweated-labour" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/…/2013/jul/28/india-sweated-labour</a> - after reading six pages of comment after this article I discover <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
(1) a challenging rant with a challenging headline that offers no
solution begs <b>six pages or more of feebdack</b> on a national newspaper site
<br />
<br />
(2) <b>the fairtrade label is not completely trusted; people could
do with a link on a swing-tag or something to help them check the
checking system.</b> Someone said it's a bit like labels on eggs - there's a
lot to l<span class="text_exposed_show">earn. Others distrust all
claims. The article itself is a rant that lumps all ethical claims
together and asks consumer to ask more questions </span></blockquote>
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<blockquote>
(4) <b>UK-made or European-made goods are looked-for but not found</b>. No
surprise when our government rules-out compulsory labels to say where
clothes come from, and ignores requests for more data from which to
write trade directories. <br />
<br />
(5) <b>Several people - not just me - ask
why the Bangladeshi government doesn't do its job and introduce some
list of changes if it is to get 0% tariff access to the European market</b>.
This is in the spirit of the rant article, which questions respect for
Indian authorities "Last week India's powerful planning commission
claimed that poverty was at a record low of 21.9% of the population. It
did so on the basis that people could live on 26 rupees (29p) a day in
rural areas (33 rupees in urban areas). Many inside India baulk at this.
Few outside the country did so." <br />
<br />
(6) <b>Every Guardian reader,
Indian or British, is puzzled by the cost of shipping something to
well-organised warehouse and from there to branches of some smart and
advertised chain store in shopping centres or high streets. </b>Nike and
Addidas may be extreme in how much their brand costs and matters, but
everything sold in modern shopping centres carries a big price tag for
the shopping centre itself and getting stuff there, branded or not. The
common debate is why M and S charge so much more than Primark when the
technicalities of their shops are only so-much different and what they
pay their suppliers is only so-much different. Nobody knows! One reader
suggested that Gieves and Hawkes of Saville Row now sends some of its
handmade work to India and back without the client knowing.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
This is the article copied from the Guardian, with a link.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="lfloat _ohe">
<span class="_3m6-"></span><br />
<div class="_6ks">
<span class="_3m6-"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/28/india-sweated-labour" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></span><br />
<div class="_6l- __c_">
<div class="uiScaledImageContainer _6m5 fbStoryAttachmentImage" style="height: 246px; width: 470px;">
<span class="_3m6-"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/28/india-sweated-labour" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="246" src="https://external-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQA0jTOEcTvKaqge&w=470&h=246&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic-secure.guim.co.uk%2Fsys-images%2FObserver%2FPix%2Fpictures%2F2013%2F7%2F26%2F1374862233811%2Fchild-trafficking--010.jpg&cfs=1&upscale=1&ext=png2jpg" width="470" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<span class="_3m6-"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/28/india-sweated-labour" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">
</a></span></div>
<span class="_3m6-">
</span>
<br />
<div class="_3ekx">
<div class="_6m3">
<div class="mbs _6m6">
<span class="_3m6-"><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fworld%2F2013%2Fjul%2F28%2Findia-sweated-labour&h=iAQH2GOoW&enc=AZMVefCNNxBpPwfA78a9KAeZx6g8crrDxKgRe1I752UCjJjbzhuUSNwatcjQ0JltzO7bkQ-84uyGiazZFCFh50jEghLcewlFRIxzaNkuGTuDf5baJtrKEP9ckg78r1vmo2L6UGBhTYIJG95iRA4XRNb4lNWodgGr-kGnLIYVGCTIg4p_4UGio0jTQgeuh7vFimOZZ4dsQSYZk9_5IswRMWNT&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Admit it. You love cheap clothes. And you don't care about child slave labour</a></span></div>
<div class="_6m7">
<div class="content__article-body from-content-api js-article__body" data-test-id="article-review-body" itemprop="articleBody" style="display: block;">
<span class="_3m6-">Until three years ago I did not believe in magic. But that was before
I began investigating how western brands perform a conjuring routine
that makes the great Indian rope trick pale in comparison. Now I'm
beginning to believe someone has cast a spell over the world's
consumers.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">This is how it works. Well Known Company makes shiny, pretty things in <a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/india">India</a> or China. The <i>Observer</i>
reports that the people making the shiny, pretty things are being paid
buttons and, what's more, have been using children's nimble little
fingers to put them together. There is much outrage, WKC professes its
horror that it has been let down by its supply chain and promises to
make everything better. And then nothing happens. WKC keeps making
shiny, pretty things and people keep buying them. Because they love
them. Because they are cheap. And because they have let themselves be
bewitched.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">Last week I revealed how poverty wages in India's tea industry fuel a
slave trade in teenage girls whose parents cannot afford to keep them.
Tea drinkers were naturally upset. So the ethical bodies that certified
Assam tea estates paying a basic 12p an hour were wheeled out to give
the impression everything would be made right.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">For many consumers, that is enough. They want to feel that they are
being ethical. But they don't want to pay more. They are prepared to
believe in the brands they love. Companies know this. They know that if
they make the right noises about behaving ethically, their customers
will turn a blind eye.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">So they come down hard on suppliers highlighted by the media. They
sign up to the certification schemes – the Ethical Trading Initiative,
Fairtrade, the Rainforest Alliance and others. Look, they say, we are
good guys now. We audit our factories. We have rules, codes of conduct,
mission statements. We are ethical. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">But they are not. What they have
done is purchase an ethical fig leaf.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--dfp ad-slot--inline1 ad-slot--inline" data-link-name="ad slot inline1" data-mobile-landscape="1,1|300,250" data-mobile="1,1|300,250" data-name="inline1" data-node-uid="28" data-tablet="1,1|300,250" data-test-id="ad-slot-inline1" id="dfp-ad--inline1">
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</div>
<div class="ad-slot__content" id="google_ads_iframe_/59666047/theguardian.com/world/article/ng_1__container__" style="border: 0pt none;">
<div dir="ltr" id="ebDiv9213026886341803" style="border: 0px none; display: inline; font-size: 0px; height: 250px; left: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0px auto; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; text-align: left; top: 0px; width: 300px;">
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<span class="_3m6-"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<span class="_3m6-">In
the last few years, companies have got smarter. It is rare now to find
children in the top level of the supply chain, because the brands know
this is PR suicide. But the wages still stink, the hours are still
brutal, and the children are still there, stitching away in the
backstreets of the slums.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">Drive east out of Delhi for an hour or so into the industrial
wasteland of Ghaziabad and take a stroll down some of the back lanes.
You might want to watch your step, to avoid falling into the stinking
open drains. Take a look through some of the doorways. See the children
stitching the fine embroidery and beading? Now take a stroll through
your favourite mall and have a look at the shelves. Recognise some of
that handiwork? You should.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">Suppliers now subcontract work out from the main factory, maybe more
than once. The work is done out of sight, the pieces sent back to the
main factory to be finished and labelled. And when the auditors come
round the factory, they can say that there were no children and all was
well. Because audits are part of the act. Often it is as simple as two
sets of books, one for the brand, one for themselves. The brand's books
say everyone works eight hours a day with a lunch break. The real books
show the profits from 16-hour days and no days off all month.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">Need fire extinguishers to tick the safety box? Hire them in for the
day. The lift is a deathtrap? Stick a sign on it to say it is out of use
and the inspector will pass it by. The dark arts thrive in the
inspection business. We, the consumers, let them do this because we want
the shiny, pretty thing. And we grumble that times are tight, we can't
be expected to pay more and, anyway, those places are very cheap to live
in.</span><br />
<div class="js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--dfp ad-slot--inline2 ad-slot--inline" data-link-name="ad slot inline2" data-mobile-landscape="1,1|300,250" data-mobile="1,1|300,250" data-name="inline2" data-node-uid="29" data-tablet="1,1|300,250" data-test-id="ad-slot-inline2" id="dfp-ad--inline2">
<div class="ad-slot__label" data-test-id="ad-slot-label">
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</div>
<span class="_3m6-">This
is the other part of the magic trick, the western perception of the
supplier countries, born of ignorance and embarrassment. India, more
than most, knows how to play on this. Governments and celebrities fall
over themselves to laud India for its progress. India is on the up,
India is booming, India is very spiritual, India is vibrant. Sure, the
workers are poor, but they are probably happy.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">No, they are not. India has made the brands look rank amateurs in the
field of public relations. Yes, we know it is protectionist, yes, we
know working conditions are often diabolical, but we are in thrall to a
country that seems impossibly exotic.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">Colonial guilt helps. The British in particular feel awkward about
India. We stole their country and plundered their riches. We don't feel
able to criticise. But we should. China still gets caught out, but wages
have risen and working conditions have improved. India seems content to
rely on no one challenging it.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">Last week India's powerful planning commission claimed that poverty
was at a record low of 21.9% of the population. It did so on the basis
that people could live on 26 rupees (29p) a day in rural areas (33
rupees in urban areas). Many inside India baulk at this. Few outside the
country did so.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">But times are tough, consumers say. This is the most pernicious of
the ideas the brands have encouraged. Here's some maths from an <i>Observer</i>
investigation last year in Bangalore. We can calculate that women on
the absolute legal minimum wage, making jeans for a WKC, get 11p per
item. Now wave your own wand and grant them the living monthly wage –
the £136 the Asia Floor Wage Alliance calculates is needed to support a
family in India today (and bear in mind that the women are often the
sole earners). It is going to cost a fortune, right? No. It will cost
15p more on the labour cost of each pair of jeans.</span><br />
<span class="_3m6-">The very fact that wages are so low makes the cost of fixing the
problem low, too. Someone has to absorb the hit, be it the brand,
supplier, middleman, retailer or consumer. But why make this a bad
thing? </span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">Why be scared of it?</span><br />
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">Here is the shopper, agonising over ethical or cheap. What if they
can do both? What if they can pluck two pairs of jeans off the rail and
hold them up. One costs £20. One costs £20.15. It has a big label on it,
which says "I'm proud to pay 15p more for these jeans. I believe
everyone has the right to a decent standard of living. My jeans were
made by a happy worker who was paid the fair rate for the job."</span><br />
<span class="_3m6-">Go further. Stitch it on to the jeans themselves. I want those jeans.
I want to know I'm not wearing something stitched by kids kept locked
in backstreet godowns, never seeing the light of day, never getting a
penny. I want to feel clean. And I want the big brands and the
supermarkets to help me feel clean.</span><br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span class="_3m6-">I want people to say to them: "You deceived us. You told us you were
ethical. We want you to change. We want you to police your supply chain
as if you care. Name your suppliers. Open them to independent
inspection. We want to trust you again, we really do, because we love
your products. Know what? We don't mind paying a few pennies more if you
promise to chip in too."</span></h4>
<br />
<span class="_3m6-">And here's the best part: I think they would sell more. I think
consumers would be happier and workers would be happier. And if I can
spend less time trawling through fetid backstreets looking for the
truth, I'll be happier.</span></div>
<span class="_3m6-"><br /></span>
<span class="_3m6-"><br /></span></div>
<div class="_59tj">
<div class="_6lz _6mb ellipsis">
<span class="_3m6-">guardian.co.uk <span class="phs">|</span> By Gethin Chamberlain</span><br />
<span class="_3m6-"><br /></span>
<span class="_3m6-">-----------------------</span><br />
<div class="UFICommentContent">
<span class="_3m6-"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">Photo
of ten <i>"Young boys rescued from child traffickers at Katihar station in
Bihar state, India, waiting for their parents to collect them"</i>. I have
no idea what stories are hidden here, but know that some kind of welfare
state in more of India could be part of the answer</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-6882101934472212772015-12-13T17:31:00.001+00:002018-04-07T23:14:42.056+01:00ethical footwear<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://bit.ly/shoefactories" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/shoefactories</a>
is a list of ethical shoe factories. How ethical? Not sure, but more so
than the best of fairtrade in terms of NHS services to workers, access
to sickness and unemployment benefits, pensions, factory building
inspections and environmental laws. This is just a list of most UK shoe factories<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-11353280795453860282015-12-13T17:27:00.003+00:002018-04-07T23:15:31.961+01:00London College of Fashion and Fur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
</h2>
Someone asked London College of Fashion if they had a policy about the use of fur. There was no direct reply, so this one from <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="the vegan shoe shop that sells shoes made in the UK">veganline</a> will do.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ethics_4#comment-41586">https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ethics_4#comment-41586</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/university_of_the_arts_london">https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/univ...</a>
is the new contact page and London College of Fashion aren't great at admin jobs like forwarding an old email address to a new one.
<br />
<br />
I can answer the question on their behalf.
<br />
<br />
Ethics are an important part of the PR training which is taught at the college and practiced by some government-funded offices based in its buildings. The trick is to say "Ethical" at the beginning of the sentence, so that everyone things you mean their particular ethic, and then come-up with a really vague ethic like "sustainable" in the next breath, and only to talk about that. There has been great success in using this technique to increase help for sponsors in the fur trade, which you can read about here:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ecocred.me/2012/10/25/fur-fashion-and-ecocred/">http://ecocred.me/2012/10/25/fur-fashion...</a>
<br />
<br />
One of the groups based in our buildings - Own-it - has hosted a lecture featuring a young fur trade designer and how she managed to manufacture her designs out of dead animal fur in China without threat of copy write infringement, or prosecution from a UK manufacturers who she paid late. You can read more about her work on the own-it link below. The East Meets West lecture co-incided with another LCF project, Creative Connexions, and their lectures such as "Making it Ethically in China"; you can see that we do not just undermine the ethic of
boycotting fur, but do so as a broader effort to undermine the ethics of a range of people.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.own-it.org/knowledge/east-meets-west-fashion-manufacture-in-china" title="London College of Fashion hosts an event promoting the fur trade and chinese imports at the same time">http://www.own-it.org/knowledge/east-mee...</a>
<br />
<br />
Some of our work is done in conjunction with other agencies. In
the words of Ed Gillespie at Futerra Communications [footnote 1],
ethical messages have to be about "agency", or what to do,
"infrastructure", or how to do it, and "Social factors: We are communal,
communicative animals at heart and what other people are doing around
us really matters. There are multiple unconscious, subconscious and
intuitive influences that affect our behaviours all the time. We
instinctively mirror and echo the behaviour of others – what
psychologists call 'social proof'."
<br />
<br />
Other agencies with overlapping staff or buildings are Own-it,
an agency offering designers help with IP, Centre for Sustainable
Fashion, which among other things offers admin. support (possibly public
funded) to the All Party Group on Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion.
A broader grouping is based at Rich Mix in London, and formally made up
of two companies, Ethical Fashion Consultancy Ltd and Ethical Fashion
Forum Ltd. You can read their lists of directors on Duedil.com [footnote
3]. The Ethical Fashion Forum web site lists Centre for Sustainable
Fashion among its partners' pool (alongside Futerra Communications), and
staff of Centre for Sustainable Fashion have organised government
grants for projects managed by Ethical Fashion Forum. The forum (which
is a web forum, not a democratic organisation) is often quoted in the
media and so presumably has helped exclude more clear and less sanitised
ethics from being reported. Another partner agency of Ethical Fashion
Forum is Estethica at London Fashion Week, which has helped get Chinese
Leather shoes reported as "ethical". Estethica and London Fashion Week
are connected to a fashion colleges council, of which London College of
Fashion plays a part.
<br />
<br />
It is hard to comment clearly on exactly who uses what money to
influence reporting and production of fur products, given the network of
agency names and people involved, some of them spending specific pieces
of government grant money, possibly paid separately from the Higher
Education Funding Council or Defra, and some of them presumably working
on London College of Fashion salaries or using offices in the buildings.
We also influence other colleges through Centre for Sustainability in
Fashion by writing course materials and text books.[footnote 4]
<br />
<br />
I will attempt to illustrate the position with an example of a
broad group of people, who appear influential, and who's position can be
manipulated and made to appear disinterested in fur and animal cruelty,
or UK manufacturing, or the need for a welfare state in Bangladesh, or
democracy in China.
<br />
<br />
One of our staff have "been instrumental in setting up an All
Party Parliamentary Group in the UK focusing on addressing issues
related to sustainability and ethics in fashion", according to our web
site.
<br />
<br />
The All Party Group has one member from the Lords who refused to
wear an fur-topped robe and mentioned People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals in her speeches [footnote 5]. There is no way that the chair
of the committee could be unaware or unable to report on other ethics.
She chooses not to. Her speeches suggest quite another consensus - the
"social proof" mentioned by Futerra Communications (who happen to be
members of Ethical Fashion Forum's partners' list) - in her speech a few
weeks later to the Ethical Fashion Forum.
<br />
You can read excepts from her opening speech to a lords debate here, with annotations:
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/posts/399762653463491" title="example of ethical fashion PR">https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/p...</a>
(titled "you are invited to a master class in fashion PR]. You can read
another of her speeches, given a few months later to a trade
association, below and see how well she did at avoiding specific ethical
choices like the use of fur.
<br />
<br />
I hope this gives you some background to London College of Fashion's ethical position on fur.
<br />
<br />
As for your specific questions
<br />
<br />
"Do you have an ethical policy in place? If yes, can be accessible?"
<br />
There will be a corporate document somewhere on ethics but we
probably photocopied one from our bank and anyway it would have to take
the detailed points above into account, so it won't say anything much.
<br />
<br />
"Do your college use fur on your courses? If yes, would you please state of which animals?"
<br />
It depends who is willing to sponsor us. Also, our courses have bad
reviews and a relatively small amount of staff support, so I imagine
that students drop-out. If the previous crop of students left-over some
fur, all the better.
<br />
<br />
"Do you use products not tested on animals on your "cosmetics" courses?"
<br />
That's a technical question and, although we are a technical
college, we don't have a track record of detail; we closed most of our
technical courses down and assume that the cosmetics are made in China
where they can write what they like on the label without anyone finding
them out.
<br />
<br />
If you have any other questions about the work of London College
of Fashion or its courses, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
<br />
<br />
PlanB4fashion
<br />
<a href="https://facebook.com/planB4fashion">https://facebook.com/planB4fashion</a>
<br />
answering in the absence of comment from London College of Fashion
<br />
<br />
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<br />
<br />
Footnote 1: Ed Gillespie at Futerra Communications gives fashion PR advice
<br />
<a href="http://www.pimpmycause.org/content/information/interviews/a-conversation-with-ed-gillespie-cofounder-of-futerra#sthash.gcKaqnzS.dpuf">http://www.pimpmycause.org/content/infor...</a>
<br />
<br />
Footnote 2: "Since meeting in 2009, the CSF and Baroness Young
quickly established a rapport of shared goals and energy focusing on the
promotion of ethical fashion at a parliamentary level. The All Party
Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethical Fashion held its preliminary
meeting in 2009 and we were proud to be announced as the secretariat. We
will continue to develop activities for the APPG in 2010, bringing
together a mix of industry innovators and politicians to further debate
the issues."
<br />
<br />
Footnote 3: Ethical Fashion Consultancy Ltd & Ethical Fashion Forum Ltd directors
<br />
<a href="https://www.duedil.com/company/05916585/the-ethical-fashion-forum-limited/people">https://www.duedil.com/company/05916585/...</a>
<br />
<a href="https://www.duedil.com/company/05906505/ethical-fashion-consultancy-limited/people">https://www.duedil.com/company/05906505/...</a>
<br />
<br />
Footnote 4: "We have worked with the Higher Education Academy
since 2008, when we were commissioned to research and write the report
Volume 4.0: Green Collar Graduates for the Fashion Industry. We are
currently delivering a further project for the HEA for Art, Design and
Media under the theme of education for sustainable development, working
with three undergraduate courses at London College of Fashion to develop
toolkits for teaching sustainability in fashion."
<br />
<br />
Footnote 5: Baroness Young of Hornsey could not have helped hearing of other ethics -
<br />
<a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2013-03-19a.561.0">http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid...</a> straightforward uncontroversial speech from Baroness Parminter [<a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/baroness_parminter%5D">http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/baron...</a>, fellow member of the all party group, speaking at its motion debate on 19th of March 2013
<br />
<div class="event_actions">
<a class="link_to_this" href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ethics_4#comment-41586">Link to this</a>
</div>
<div class="comment_in_request box" id="comment-41587">
<h2>
<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/john_robertson">John Robertson</a> left an annotation (<time datetime="2013-07-28T15:32:21+01:00" title="2013-07-28 15:32:21 +0100">28 July 2013</time>)
</h2>
<div class="comment_in_request_text">
<a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2011-03-03a.1273.3&s=speaker%3A13048#g1273.4">http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=...</a>
- There was another debate on ethical fashion in the lords, before
their lordships were coached in what to say and it was more interesting.
Lord Suger suggested incubator factories set-up in empty space with an
emphasis on training.
<br />
<br />
Baroness young mentioned fur!
<br />
<br />
I haven't worked-out how to find-out whether government
ministers and ministries did anything in response to any of the
speeches.
</div>
<div class="event_actions">
<a class="link_to_this" href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ethics_4#comment-41587">Link to this</a>
</div>
</div>
<h2>
<a href="https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/john_robertson">John Robertson</a> left an annotation (<time datetime="2013-08-10T12:07:33+01:00" title="2013-08-10 12:07:33 +0100">10 August 2013</time>)
</h2>
<div class="comment_in_request_text">
<a href="https://facebook.com/planB4fashion">https://facebook.com/planB4fashion</a> -<br />
<br />
This
is a blog that about the fashion punditry industry, including London
College of Fashion's role in a thing called Graduate Fashion Week which
charges shopkeepers to attend rather than inviting them to attend. So
quite likely, a LCF student would be permitted or encouraged to use fur,
but not find any punters to sell it to after graduating. Graduate
Fashion Week combines some degree show work from these colleges,
although I know deMontford Uni also runs its own in Leicester and the
others may have their own as well.<br />
<br />
Arts University College at Bournemouth<br />
Bath Spa University<br />
Birmingham City University<br />
Bradford College<br />
Carmartthenshire College<br />
Cleveland College of Art and Design<br />
Colchester School of Art<br />
De Montfort University<br />
Edinburgh College of Art<br />
EsMod Berlin<br />
Istituto Marangoni<br />
Kingston University<br />
Limerick School of Art and Design<br />
Leeds College of Art<br />
Liverpool John Moores University<br />
Manchester Metropolitan University<br />
Middlesex University<br />
Northbrooke College Sussex<br />
Northampton University <br />
Northumbria University<br />
Norwich University of the Arts <br />
Nottingham Trent University - School of Art<br />
Plymouth College of Art<br />
Ravensbourne<br />
Southampton Solent University<br />
University of Sunderland<br />
University for the Creative Arts, Epsom<br />
University of Central Lancashire<br />
University of Derby<br />
University of East London<br />
University of Huddersfiled<br />
University of Leeds<br />
University of Lincoln<br />
University of Salford<br />
University for the Creative Arts, Rochester<br />
University of Wales, Newport<br />
University of West England<br />
University of West London<br />
University of Westminster<br />
Wiltshire College Salisbury<br />
Winchester School of Art<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<br /></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-5161375848969760692015-12-13T17:20:00.001+00:002015-12-15T19:58:42.199+00:00Futerra Communications<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_2p">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Futerra Communications</h2>
<br />
<a href="http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1003180/futerra-hits-defra-ogilvy-greenwashing-guides/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.brandrepublic.com/…/futerra-hits-defra-ogilvy-g…/</a>
The agency linked to promoting Chinese leather shoes at London Fashion
Week's <i>"Esthetica"</i> room and writing that China is <i>"arguably more
democratic"</i> than the UK has criticised ministry guidance about
Greenwash. <br />
<br />
Futerra Communications shares directors with Ethical
Fashion Consultancy, which shares an address with Ethical Fashion Forum,
the group that cautions consumers against buying British products on
ethical grounds and has recieved grants from Defra. <br />
<br />
Futerra's
precise link to Chinese leather shoes in the Esthetica room at London
Fashion Week, or ministry grants to promote non-british products as
"ethical", is probably available to anyone who asks but slightly complex
to google: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/posts/393401827432907">https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/posts/393401827432907</a> gives some detail.</div>
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<span class="_3c21"><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brandrepublic.com%2Fnews%2F1003180%2Ffuterra-hits-defra-ogilvy-greenwashing-guides%2F&h=BAQFXomsd&enc=AZP7yuz8a0aikzaE3Sz1u9S8F4DSVhP2rom_5Z_jbqvJivVpLgzm8ayuW7hQ9NcRmnrcoeKXtKA5eG3HTAYOPs7t9XCma68TT97WYAUfXLA-jUOg3VaTPaNqZav2sGTT3ONzJllQ-Ax2cUZzIZIeUR-opo0W8J9n3MsULr_6jjiWuCORfmVwgl_k0wIvtAkdb8Jh_wv3VZGTx2TFSEdtz69C&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Futerra hits out at Defra and Ogilvy greenwashing guides</a></span></div>
<div class="_6m7">
<span class="_3c21">An
environmental PR agency has hit out at two recent greenwashing guides
by client the Department for Environment, Food and Rural…</span></div>
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<div class="_6lz _6mb ellipsis">
<span class="_3c21">brandrepublic.com <span class="phs">| </span>By Haymarket Business Interactive</span><br />
<span class="_3c21"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<figure id="hero"><figcaption><span class="_3c21">Futerra co-founder and CEO: Solitaire Townsend</span></figcaption><span class="_3c21">
</span></figure><span class="_3c21">
<section id="articleBody" style="float: left; width: 72%;">
Futerra Sustainability Communications has commented on Defra’s
‘Green Claims Code’ and Ogilvy’s ‘From Greenwash to Great’ reports,
stating that they ‘simply leave a list of things we cannot do and a
nasty taste in the mouth’.<br /><br />Futerra co-founder and CEO Solitaire
Townsend said that Defra’s revised ‘Green Claims Code’, currently in
consultation, needed more future-proofing. <br /><br />Futerra has worked for Defra previously, for example on the department’s 2005 climate change comms strategy.<br /><br />‘It
should be future-proofed for a year at least,’ said Townsend. ‘That’s
where I’d like to see more work than we’re seeing in the consultation.
I’d like to see the UK setting the agenda rather than following.’<br /><br />Townsend
added that the guidance needed to be more specific, for instance with
regards to what levels of carbon emissions should be labelled as
low-carbon. Futerra is currently reviewing its own Greenwash guide,
initially issued in 2008.<br /><br />A Defra spokesperson commented: ‘We
want the Green Claims guidance to be as helpful as possible to
businesses and we therefore welcome any feedback on the draft guidance
during the consultation period, which runs to 15 June.’<br /><br />Townsend
said of Ogilvy’s report, which was published last month: ‘What I’d like
to see more of is what you can do, rather than guidance on what you
can’t.’<br /><br />Townsend also questioned what Ogilvy was doing to train
its own employees about steering clear of greenwash: ‘I believe BP is
one of Ogilvy’s clients – how is Ogilvy implementing its greenwashing
guidelines for clients such as them?’ <br /><br />Ogilvy PR senior director
Ross Cathcart said: ‘We welcome all comments that work towards
establishing a dialogue on how best to communicate corporate
responsibility, build better businesses and avoid greenwash.’<br />
</section></span></div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-74702410192368883432015-12-13T17:16:00.002+00:002015-12-15T11:52:36.458+00:00more specific ethics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2013-03-19a.561.0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2013-03-19a.561.0</a>
This lord notes specific ethics - not just the trick of saying <i>"ethical
/ sustainable"</i> to avoid mentioning cruelty-free fashion, fairtrade, or
made in the UK. She welcomes <i>"the commitments from the Business
Secretary in support of the UK textile manufacturing industry [...] to
future-proof the industry and to support sustainable and ethical
fashion."</i> So lords can say this, but Lola Young had nothing about UK
manufacturing or very specific ethics in her opening speech nor in her
speech to Ethical Fashion Source Summit a month or two later: none of the
2,000 words of it were about UK manufacturing. <br />
<br />
Why does one lord in the all party group for ethical and sustainable fashion talk more sense than another?<br />
<br />
Why does the first Lord go-along with the idea of Esthetica which has taken taxpayers' money to promote Chinese leather shoes?<br />
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<h2 class="debate-speech__speaker">
<span class="_3c21">
<a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/?p=25002"><b class="debate-speech__speaker__name">Baroness Parminter</b>
</a>
<a class="debate-speech__meta__link time" href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2013-03-19a.557.1#g561.0">
7:45 pm,
19th March 2013 </a>
</span></h2>
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<span class="_3c21">My
Lords, on entering this House in 2010 I wore fur-free <i>"non-ermine
ermine". </i>However, I am not just passionate about cruelty-free fashion,
so I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Young, for securing this debate and
for chairing with such pizzazz the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-Party_Parliamentary_Group" rel="nofollow">All-Party Parliamentary Group</a> on Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion, of which I am proud to be an officer.</span><br />
<span class="_3c21"><br /></span>
<span class="_3c21">Sustainability,
green, eco, organic and ethical are increasingly a part of the fashion
conversation. That is to be welcomed although I am not sure everyone has
the same view of sustainable fashion. Is it a timeless, classic handbag
I can pass on to my daughter-the opposite of the cheap, disposal
fashion epitomised by Primark? Is it a dress made from locally sourced
materials, with limited transport and a light carbon footprint, or is it
a Fairtrade cotton t-shirt produced in a factory where the needs of
employees are taken into account?</span><br />
<span class="_3c21"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="indent">
<span class="_3c21"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_London_College_of_Fashion" rel="nofollow">The London College of Fashion</a> defines <i>"sustainable"</i> as <i>"harnessing resources ethically and responsibly without destroying social and ecological balance".</i></span></div>
<span class="_3c21">I
like that definition; it does not go so far as to pin it down but
allows the creativity of individuals to flourish as they interpret what
it could mean for their business. As the impacts of climate change hit
harder, with resource constraints and more severe weather, we need the
clothing industry to develop the necessary resilience to satisfy the
colossal appetite for clothing sustainably. The commitments from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Secretary" rel="nofollow">Business Secretary</a> in support of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK" rel="nofollow">UK</a>
textile manufacturing industry are very welcome but more needs to be
done to future-proof the industry and to support sustainable and ethical
fashion.</span><br />
<span class="_3c21"><br /></span>
<span class="_3c21">Sadly, 20 years after the first child
labour and labour standards scandals in our high street fashion chains,
we still face the same problems. Clearly, current audit approaches are
failing. They rely too much on cheap, bribable inspectors. It is
analogous with food supply chain issues, reflecting huge pressures to
reduce costs combined with an "unlikely to be found out so don't worry"
mentality. Some companies are trying hard to address these issues. One
is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Worldwide" rel="nofollow">BBC Worldwide</a>,
which refuses to rely on third-party certification and makes its own
unannounced checks of its suppliers, has credible and enforced sanctions
and promotes its speak-up line to managers and workers in supplying
factories.</span><br />
<span class="_3c21"><br /></span>
<span class="_3c21">However, spot checks alone will not
address all issues. The fires in a number of Bangladesh factories just
before Christmas highlight a problem of ethical culture. During the
audits the fire doors were open but when the fires happened they were
locked. We need companies such as the GoodCorporation, which argues
powerfully to encourage debate about ethics and culture in factories, to
move away from blame, to push managers and to take more responsibility
for standards.</span><br />
<span class="_3c21"><br /></span>
<span class="_3c21">We also need more opportunities to showcase best practice, such as the Estethica at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Fashion_Week" rel="nofollow">London Fashion Week</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSPCA" rel="nofollow">RSPCA</a>'s Good Business Awards, which have supported the development of animal-friendly clothing policies. Can the <a class="glossary" href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=35" title="Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of...">Minister</a>
say what plans the Government have to address this and to help give
companies advice and support as they develop the standards to take on
the ethical and sustainability issues, and to provide more platforms to
share best practice?</span><br />
<span class="_3c21"><br /></span>
<span class="_3c21">We need also to focus on
clothing, from creation right through to disposal. With around £140
million-worth of used clothing going to landfill each year, we urgently
need to address the issue of reuse, exchange and disposal of clothes. I
was therefore very pleased to see that the Government's consultation on
waste prevention, launched last week, identifies clothing as one of the
priority areas for action. We have come a long way with compassionate
fashion, largely thanks to powerful campaigning by organisations such as
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PETA" rel="nofollow">PETA</a>.
Opinion polls show that 95% of Britons would never wear real fur and top
designers including Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_McCartney" rel="nofollow">Stella McCartney</a> leave fur out of their designs. Even on the high street, icons such as Topshop, H&M and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Look" rel="nofollow">New Look</a> are fur and exotic-free.</span><br />
<span class="_3c21">Green
is not the new black; it is not just another trend to come in and go
out with the seasons. I applaud the work of the all-party group with
partners in industry and government to develop a new space for fashion
which respects the need for social and ecological balance and can help
create more British jobs.</span><br />
<hr />
<span class="_3c21">
<span class="_3c21">transcribed from Whatdotheyknow and Hansard by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="vegan shoes and UK-made footwear">Veganline.com for vegan shoes online</a></span></span></div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-24237685890540654912015-12-13T17:11:00.003+00:002015-12-15T20:00:36.221+00:00"On a journey ... with a long way to go"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theyworkforyou.com%2Flords%2F%3Fgid%3D2013-03-19a.560.1&h=IAQE4EZM0AQGIJ1hmcTRMotMDdgtm77GZ7Z9kLR1urvW4Aw&enc=AZMAuunlpcogwB5OKZiF_M9-lWU79lWIlGnTjc74XXDX5-ln1uATZ93XIGug94tl5rDItPFBMTz-EnGvJHimY8ahHlkpWU3S49875_gxLnRs8gfZj5fJAW5iwAOWRCrhrEhKOx1jhQlZwI9HwFLSbiteBMsKDmgy_2-JXDdKUVOqww5ZAFhpPELJWHE86YtSbQwzyL3z77rgnFogsV8QT-Pq&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2013-03-19a.560.1</a>
<br />
<br />
Ethical Trading Initiative members are <i>"on a journey ... with a long
way to go"</i>, says ETI's vice chair. One possible positive thing: <i>"UK Government
support the UN business and human rights agenda and that we are
awaiting a document on the human rights and democracy programme from the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which is co-ordinating the policies of
12 government departments. I wish it luck in this. Can the Minister
tell us when the document is likely to be published?"</i><br />
<br />
<a class=" UFICommentActorName" data-ft="{"tn":";"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=170918243014601&extragetparams=%7B%22hc_location%22%3A%22ufi_admin%22%7D" dir="ltr" href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/" id="js_21">planB4fashion</a> <span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">This
man is vice-chair of Ethical Trade Initiatve, a subsidised trade
association for companies that import from the third world and worry
about it. Which is fine. So his speech is about third world production,
just because that's his expertise. Also the
chair of the committee hasn't mentioned UK jobs and has agreed to speak
at a trade association that cautions people against buying british
goods on ethical grounds. So it would be a change if she started trying
to promote UK production. And some of the government funded projects
managed by this agency were organised by the son of another committee
member, who works at Centre for Sustainable Fashion. So that's three
committee members who are unlikely to talk about UK production.</span></span><br />
<hr align="LEFT" />
This blog is by a <a href="http://veganline.com/">vegan shoe company called Veganline.com that sells vegan shoes boots & belts</a><br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-59708472690665589892015-03-01T16:29:00.000+00:002018-01-12T11:44:43.714+00:00You are invited to a masterclass in fashion PR for big business<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>TACTIC ONE: <br />Say the meaningless <i>"ethical" </i>word and then the quite vague <i>"sustainable" </i>word very quickly afterwards. That way you sound agreeable but can avoid talking about organic, vegan, or fairtrade fashion, and if you want you can avoid talking about the politics of China or Bangladesh and importing goods from those countries on a 0% tariff. Example:<br /><i>"I am particularly grateful to colleagues on the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion for their hard work".</i></li>
<li>TACTIC TWO <br />Pretend that all apparel manufacturing is done in the third world, so that you can compare conditions between one bad place and another rather than with conditions in the UK and other democratic countries with welfare states and good human rights records. This rules-out any mention of local jobs being lost as clothes are imported from China, and makes discussion of whether a welfare state paid for by garment factories seem rather distant and irrelevant.<br /><i>"Fashion today is both global and local, and even much of the produce of many of our high-profile "heritage" British brands, such as Burberry, Aquascutum and Crombie, is often all or mostly made outside the UK. The global nature of the fashion industry means that it is imperative that we work with colleagues internationally"</i></li>
<li>TACTIC THREE<br />Make up some figures suggesting that the fashion import company which runs a chain-store and imports the clothes is the real beneficiary to the UK economy, helping money circulate right around the UK to create jobs growth and taxes.<br /><i>"Despite the high level of garment manufacture carried out overseas, the estimated value of UK-manufactured clothing and textiles in the UK was £8.1 billion in 2011, and the overall estimated export value of UK clothing and textiles was £7.3 billion"</i> (source probably The Value of Fashion report commissioned by British Fashion Council from Oxford Economics)</li>
<li>TACTIC FOUR IS VERY SIMILAR TO TACTIC ONE<br />Start talking about UK manufacturing very broadly, without mentioning recession, jobs, defecit between tax and spending, poverty, voters, food-banks, factory closures, and then suddenly introduce ethics-sorry-I-meant-other-issues and divert discussion to the other issues. So fashion is <i>"within the BIS [Department for Business] agenda because of the manufacturing element [...] in November last year, Business Secretary Vince Cable promised government support to breathe new life into UK textile manufacturing as a study revealed that the cost gap with Asia is narrowing. Can the Minister tell the House how far such plans have gone and the extent to which sustainability and ethics in fashion is a priority consideration?"</i></li>
<li>TACTIC FIVE:<br />Try to get another department to handle fashion than the Department for Business. Defra will do.<br /><i>"Will the Minister undertake to set up a meeting with me and other Members of both Houses on the APPG to discuss how we can best help to support the development of this part of the fashion sector? We need to get a commitment to develop practical, effective strategies across the different departments for realising the potential of rethinking how we "do" fashion. Because of its experience with the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, Defra is perfectly placed to broker and animate the necessary discussions."</i><br /> </li>
<li>AND FINALLY A MESSAGE FROM...<br /><i>"the British Fashion Council's Esthetica Showcase at London Fashion Week", sponsored by Monsoon</i>. So if their lordships think that debating is dull and irrelevant to anything, it sounds as though real people believe all this stuff. Ask anyone about Esthetica Showcase sponsored by Monsoon, and maybe thay'll say<i> "you politicians aren't popular, but now I know that you're helping Esthetica Showcase sponsored by Monsoon instead of talking about tax and jobs and the welfare state, I know you're one of the good ones"</i>. (made-up quote).</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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planB4fashion In their words:"SOURCE MASTERCLASS: Communicating Sustainability<br />
Contributor Ethical Fashion Forum<br />
We introduce SOURCE market research including global market developments. Plus an exclusive presentation and workshop by Futerra, the global leaders in Sustainability Communications on how to touch hearts, minds, and change behaviours."<br />
Like · Reply · 31 July 2013 at 19:17 · Edited<br />
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2 Replies<br />
<br />
planB4fashion<br />
<b>Inquiry into All Party Groups - News from Parliament</b><br />
<b>The new Committee on Standards launches an inquiry...</b><br />
<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/standards/news/inquiry-into-all-party-groups/">http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/standards/news/inquiry-into-all-party-groups/ </a>unfortunately I missed the deadline for trying to think of something to say about all party committees. I don't know what I would have said. Volunteer juries to monitor videos and report what they believe to be claptrap?<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-978055540590111722013-09-11T19:05:00.000+01:002015-03-01T12:28:00.866+00:00UK Journalists paid by government to promote Chinese goods out of UK taxes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A government programme paid over £550 each in subsidised trips to sixty journalists & buyers every six months to report on shoes and clothes made overseas for London Fashion Week. MPs with shoe factories in their constituencies - Peter Bone in Wellingborough and Patricia Hewitt in Leicester East - did not write a single letter to protest..<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="article" name="article"></a> Peter Bone MP is an accountant and MP for Wellingborough. His constituency has more shoe factories in it than anywhere else in the UK, but when the Sanders and Sanders factory was running-up to closure last year he showed no sign of knowing that the department for Business Innovation and Skills was subsidising the competition by sending buyers and journalists to report on glossy shows of Chinese shoes such as Terra Plana at London Fashion Week. If he did know that his constituents were paying taxes towards putting themselves out of work, he certainly didn't write a letter about it to the UK Trade and Investment, a ministerial agency which funds this joint scheme with London Development Agency. The department's only correspondence with him or the now-closed factory was a series of email tip-offs about export opportunities, such as overseas trade shows. They sent fifteen over about four years.Patricia Hewitt MP is MP for Leicester West, another shoemaking area with an unemployment rate of 13.8% . Equity Shoes was a major local employer until closure in January 2009, with a recent payroll of 200 and a 100 at closure. Like Sanders, it was a tenacious company - Sanders was a family trust and Equity was a staff co-op, so neither closed lightly. Patricia Hewitt had every reason to know about the scheme to put her constituents out of work because she had to sign for it: she was secretary of state for trade and industry (now the department for Business Innovation and Skills) between 2001 and 2005. She could have picked-up the phone during any of those years and asked<br />
<br />
"why are we subsidising the competition?".<br />
<br />
It is not revealed what she said in the office when she was minister, but a recent freedom of information act request that she did not write a single letter on the subject of Equity Shoes to the department between 2005 and the end of January 2010, even after being tipped-off in November that the question was going being asked.<br />
<br />
"We have completed a search of our electronic information management systems and we do not have any record of UK Trade & Investment having received letters from the MPs for Leicester or Rushden on the subject of UK shoe manufacturers. "<br />
<br />
Published freedom of information requests & replies on Whatdotheyknow.com describe a scheme that UK Trade and Investment call the International Buyers Programme, funded over roughly four years and still in place.<br />
<br />
"since September 2005, UK Trade & Investment have paid British Fashion Council £215,555. This funding is for the international buyers programme for London Fashion week. The aim of the programme is to bring the most significant and influential buyers and press to London Fashion week each season."<br />
<br />
London Development Agency quotes "£120k more than budgeted for 2008/9 was spent on LFW support as funding was allocated to support the International Guest Programme to cover reduced funding from UKTI", but it still got "UKTI support during 2008/09" of £33,000. Some of the money may be counted twice as British Fashion Council is also sponsored by the Mayfair Hotel and British Airways "The official airline of London Fashion Week", which are both likely to have catered for these expenses-paid trips: ""The LFW International Guest Programme, supported jointly by LDA and UKTI, saw 60 key, targeted international press and buyers assisted in their visits to LFW, through flight subsidies and accommodation. These visitors are given welcome packs and are accompanied through their stay as they visit the exhibition, catwalk shows and showrooms. Feedback on media coverage generated and orders placed is collected after their visits."<br />
<br />
Did the money achieve anything good?<br />
<br />
There are attempts to quote outputs on the projects report to the London Development Agency, but the list omits manufacturers. The only figures broken down in any detail are figures of media coverage, reported by an agency paid for by British Fashion Council. And there are anecdotal quotes. It's not often that Vogue is quoted on Indymedia but we may even add to the list of outputs by repeating this quote:<br />
<br />
""The Season London Shone" wrote US Vogue's Sarah Mower. "Who'd have thought that London would shine at its brightest during a crisis. London's Designers squared up to the fall with an exceptional out-flowing of creativity and polish ... that made Fall 2009 this city's most dazzling performance for years."<br />
<br />
...ends. Sources:<br />
"Record Figures for London Fashion Week"<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/news_details.aspx?ID=86">http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/news_details.aspx?ID=86</a><br />
<br />
"AGREEMENT FOR FUNDING RELATING TO CREATIVE<br />
SECTOR SUPPORT - DESIGNER FASHION Parties: LDA / BFC<br />
Ref: 23300 QUARTERLY REPORT 2008/9: Q3&4 [biannual update]"<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/london_fashion_week_biannual_upd#comment-7716">http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/london_fashion_week_biannual_upd#comment-7716</a><br />
<br />
"Consultation re closed UK shoe factories" information request and reply on Whatdotheyknow.com:<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/consultation_re_closed_uk_shoe_f_2#comment-8530">http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/consultation_re_closed_uk_shoe_f_2#comment-8530</a><br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicester_West">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leicester_West</a><br />
<br />
Pictures of Equity Shoes buildings post closure:<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=40786">http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=40786</a><br />
software too.<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-83140772457805636212013-09-08T18:20:00.000+01:002015-12-13T19:54:59.553+00:00Correction: there was a debate "supported by..."<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/news/197/Tax-Breaks-for-Eco-Fashion-Businesses">http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/news/197/Tax-Breaks-for-Eco-Fashion-Businesses <i>"</i></a><i>This call for action follows this week’s RE: Fashion Summit and the recent British Fashion Council’s <a href="http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/content.aspx?CategoryID=695" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window">Estethica debate [^]</a> on the promotion of ethical fashion and consumer engagement. The campaign, supported by Monsoon, Vivienne Westwood, Edun, George at ASDA, From Somewhere and London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion, calls on all parties to recognise that to effect change, sustainability and ethical fashion also needs to make commercial sense."</i><br />
<br />
So European regional development money is not investing in my future or my region, as the label on Centre for Sustainable Development says, but on a press release by taxpayer-funded people asking for them to be exempt from tax. Along with their other sponsors, of course, who make things in other parts of the world.<br />
<br />
<i>"RE: Fashion Summit"</i>, is just the usual suspects under another name. This is Ethical Fashion Forum's web site:<i> "<b>Launched the RE:Fashion Awards</b>- the official awards for ethical fashion, creating a platform for best practice across the supply chain. Held the RE:Fashion summit bringing together industry leaders and initiated the <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=off&client=ubuntu&hs=G8j&channel=fs&q=%22RE%3AFashion+manifesto%22&oq=%22RE%3AFashion+manifesto%22&gs_l=serp.3...18078.18078.0.19756.1.1.0.0.0.0.141.141.0j1.1.0....0...1c.1.26.serp..1.0.0.IgAHqtPbRKw" title="google search for "RE:Fashion manifesto"">RE:Fashion manifesto</a>, setting out sustainability parameters and targets for the UK industry."</i> The link is to a google for "RE:Fashion manifesto", which finds two references, both on the Ethical Fashion Forum web site.</blockquote>
<br />
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="240"]<a href="http://www.sustainable-fashion.com/"><img alt="European Union - Investing in your Future" src="http://www.sustainable-fashion.com/wp-content/themes/cfsflcof/images/erdf-logo.jpg" height="60" width="240" /></a> Centre for Sustainable Fashion is paid for by the European Regional Development Fund 2007-13[/caption]<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-38370112279126731162013-09-08T17:55:00.000+01:002015-12-20T12:03:01.153+00:00Monsoon called for tax breaks on itself, after doing this to others...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What Monsoon said after a debate calling for tax breaks:<br />
<i>"<a href="http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/news/197/Tax-Breaks-for-Eco-Fashion-Businesses" title="British Fashion Council asks to pay less tax">We need ethical fashion to become part of the mainstream if the industry is to play its part in a more sustainable future</a>"</i> - Peter Simon,Chairman<br />
<br />
What Monsoon suppliers say about being paid by Monsoon<br />
Anonymous on Drapers' record | 27 February 2013 9:17 am<br />
<i>"We have worked with Monsoon in the past. The ruthlessness has always been there... unfortunately this is not a "one of a kind" example from the High Street."</i><br />
<br />
Anonymous on Drapers' record | 8 June 2013 11:05 am<br />
<i>"Drapers should investigate Monsoon more carefully they have now asked each supplier to fill out a costing form to show how much they are making. They want a detailed breakdown of overheads and % profit! This along with their terms of payment and discount makes them one of the most unattractive retailers to work with.</i><br />
<br />
<i> I always thought it was a partnership supplying a retailer but Monsoon are incredibly ruthless and someone needs to speak up and investigate."</i>This is a press release promoted by Monsoon.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">PRESS RELEASE</span><br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
Industry Calls for Tax Breaks for Eco Fashion Businesses</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Harold Tillman, Chairman of the British Fashion Council is spearheading a campaign that will incentivise fashion businesses to work in a more sustainable way and to make eco fashion more affordable and accessible to consumers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This call for action follows this week’s RE: Fashion Summit and the recent British Fashion Council’s estethica debate on the promotion of ethical fashion and consumer engagement. The campaign, supported by Monsoon, Vivienne Westwood, Edun, George at ASDA, From Somewhere and London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion, calls on all parties to recognise that to effect change, sustainability and ethical fashion also needs to make commercial sense.</span></blockquote>
Maybe they want to get the money back that they donated to a political party. Everybody knows that multinationals channel payments through different countries and claim that the profit was made in the one with the lowest tax - Luxemburg for example - but Monsoon wants to save the costs of putting the money through somewhere like Luxemburg and to take the tax break right here in the UK. Oh here is a bit more about ethical fashion.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="standfirst">
<a href="http://www.drapersonline.com/news/wrist-slap-for-monsoon-over-minimum-wage-error/5080592.fullarticle">Monsoon Accessorize has been ‘named and shamed’ by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage.</a></div>
<br />
The
retailer was found to have owed £104,508 to 1,438 workers - putting it
at the top of a list of 115 companies published today.<br />
<br />
Monsoon
said the failure occurred between 2011 and 2013 because of its policy of
offering staff discounts upwards of 50% on its clothing, which they are
encouraged to wear to work.<br />
For a proportion of its 5,000 UK
store employees the discount was mistakenly deducted from their wages,
bringing them below the minimum wage threshold.<br />
<br />
The issue came to light when HM Revenue & Customs reviewed Monsoon’s payroll system.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/1000519_398751786897911_1672661525_n.png?oh=103b2134f939d941f414fa3688b7ca7f&oe=57116157" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/1000519_398751786897911_1672661525_n.png?oh=103b2134f939d941f414fa3688b7ca7f&oe=57116157" width="640" /></a></div>
Staff parking space outside the Monsoon office .</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-13234514422226834282013-09-08T17:48:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.164+01:00Socially aware fashion degree uses the "s" word for vagueness about
human rightsSyllabuses for these Ethical Fashion courses tend to be written by the state-backed Centre for Sustainable Fashion which says "Ethical" in the same way that some prople say "Hullo" to open a conversation, begging the question of which ethic, immediately followed by "Sustainable", which sounds less vague next to "Ethical". Basically they want big business to be a bit greener and for everyone but big business folk to be paid starvation wages. For that bit of propaganda they get paid by us via Higher Education Funding Council and sometimes Department for International Development.<br/><div class="llynx_print"><a title="Go to First socially aware fashion degree launches | Ms Wanda's" href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/03/12/first-socially-aware-fashion-degree-launches/"><img alt="First socially aware fashion degree launches | Ms Wanda's" src="http://planb4fashion.byethost10.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Buckinghamshire-new-university-fashion-course-300x178.jpg" width="100" height="59.3333333333" /></a><br/><div class="llynx_text"><a title="Go to First socially aware fashion degree launches | Ms Wanda's" href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/03/12/first-socially-aware-fashion-degree-launches/">First socially aware fashion degree launches | Ms Wanda's</a><small>http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/03/12/first-socially-aware-fashion-degree-launches/</small><span>Fashion students in the UK will now get sustainability and ethics embedded in their studies thanks to Buckinghamshire New University.</span></div><br/></div>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-78632009235734589642013-09-08T17:45:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.159+01:00Campaign by Ms Wanda's: Because they're worth it<div class="llynx_print"><a title="Go to Because they’re worth it… | Ms Wanda's" href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/07/22/because-theyre-worth-it/"><img alt="Because they’re worth it… | Ms Wanda's" src="http://planb4fashion.byethost10.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/ActionAid-MS-1-300x165.jpg" width="100" height="55" /></a><br/><div class="llynx_text"><a title="Go to Because they’re worth it… | Ms Wanda's" href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/07/22/because-theyre-worth-it/">Because they’re worth it… | Ms Wanda's</a><small>http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/07/22/because-theyre-worth-it/</small><span>For the next two weeks we want to work with you across social media to spread the word about ethical fashion. Will you join us?</span></div><br/></div>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-32251802311423956052013-09-08T17:42:00.000+01:002018-04-07T23:09:55.047+01:00Baroness Young of Hornseas' full speech at Ethical Fashion Source Summit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Baroness Young of Hornsey of the all-party committee on fashion gave a speech, criticised in the post below. The is in favour of clearer explanations by shopkeepers, collaboration in industry internationally, and compromise. The speech was to an organisation that claims to be a forum but selects speakers from big business and related consultants.<br />
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
Baroness Young of Hornsey's speech to Ethical Fashion Source Summit, July 2013 [video times in minutes and seconds from the video below]<br />
<br />
Oh Gosh!<br />
<br />
No. It's so refreshing. I love coming to these events because it's so different to the house of lords, as some of you might guess! It's not known for its fashion sensibility. I've had some interesting adventures there as some of you might imagine. I have to share with you, although I am not going to name names, that a colleague of mine was told , first of all, that it was against the rules to wear cropped trousers. For a woman anyway - it didn't say anything about men.<br />
And then she was reported to one of the highest authorities in that house of lords for being dressed "flamboyantly". In the bar! [11.19] So that's part of the context in which I work. So it's refreshing to be here. Although I have to say that I have been involved in arts and culture for many years.<br />
<br />
Although, again I would say, though, that since I started working in the fashion sector. In this bit of the fashion sector, I hasten to add, I've found a really refreshing engagement with politics with a small "p". I think that comes naturally, as it were: if you are concerned about<br />
-the environment; if you are concerned about<br />
-workers' rights,<br />
-all of these different issues, how can you not be political?<br />
So after years of having worked in a sector that kind-of wanted to distance itself from politics, for me it's very refreshing and energising to work with a group of people for whom that - that, linked with the creativity and the innovation with is at the centre of what they do.<br />
<br />
Now sustainability is a word that has so much currency in so many different ways, that it has started to become, I think, a bit devalued, and perhaps over-used and mis-used. When I introduced that into the terminology of my all party parliamentary group, there were some questions about it, particularly as it was linked to fashion. And I think that, even in the three of four years in which I have been involved in this sector and working with these campaigns, there has been a change, as Tamsin [the chair] has already indicated. But even: there has been a change within the House of Lords. Because the people there that I am working with have come to understand. So actually I have got an excellent group of people who are working with me on this issue. And they come from lots of different perspectives. And that's absolutely fine. They also come from different political parties which is really great, because it means we have a common understanding of some of the key issues that we are working with.<br />
<br />
I just want to go back a little bit and say how I cam to be involved. I have always loved clothes and fashion ever since I was a kid, in the old days, when people would make their clothes from the bits of fabric that they would get in the remnant box in John Lewis in Oxford Street, run-up something on the machine (glue it together if there wasn't time) and then go out to a party. And of course, at that time, there wasn't High Street Fashion. There wasn't that sense that you were being driven by magazines of by celebrities to go out to these shops and buy-buy-buy, because the shops weren't there. All of that has changed. I think that, while there are some good aspects to that, it's actually becoming increasingly difficult to argue that that represents a democratisation of fashion, when other people are being oppressed, and indeed loosing their lives, because of that change. So there are a lot of issues here for us to think about, whether that's as consumers, as retailers, as makers, as designers, or as educators.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, I think that fashion still has this sense of being something that is a little bit frivolous, and something that girleys do and are interested in, and so not very important. Or, that we are all pretty stupid and dumb, and we go-out and buy things because we've been told to do that. And of course in some respects, there is a little bit of truth in that, in the pressures that are put upon - particularly - young women to conform to certain ways of wearing clothes; certain ways of being in the world. But there is also so much that is to do with stereotyping and stigmatisation of certain groups in society.<br />
<br />
I'm very much against the idea that there are a load of young people who all like sheep and go-out and do-stuff. However, I think I do want to make it clear that consumers do have a responsibility. And interestingly, I think that young people are at the heart of that sense of responsibilty. Of course, there will always be some who say "I don't care what happens to those people over there; those people mean nothing to me, and therefore I am going to shop the way I shop", whatever that is. But I think for the most part - certainly the young people I come across when I go out to schools to do talks or have young people in the houses of parliament to do talks, there is a very keen sense of responsibility [16'00'] but a lot of it is about not knowing what to do with it. Not knowing where to go. The questions I get asked most frequently are "OK: what clothes should I wear; where should I shop, what should I do?". And those are really difficult questions to which one has to answer: "it's very complex". And that, you know, is not an easy idea to get across: "it's very complex". What kind of a response is that? It feels like you are trying to sit on the fence and not say very much. [She doesn't say: "buy from democratic welfare states if you can".]<br />
<br />
So one of the things I want to say is that: we have got to find new fresh ways of explaining ...<br />
very succinctly and in a way that has real impact, to the market; to consumers, what it is that we are about and why it really matters what they buy, how they buy, where they buy it, and so-on.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to replay the statistics to you. Although I've got this one about us all having about £30bn of clothes stashed-away in our wardrobes, and I sometimes think or feel that most of that £30bn is in my wardrobe! It has overtaken my bedroom, which looks like a teenage girls' at times. But, you know, it is a serious point. There are loads of these statistics - whether it is to do with the amount of water we use; the kinds of chemicals that we use in dry-cleaning. So all this work which we have to do about post-consumer waste and over-use of water and so-on and so-forth. So again this adds to the complexity and the number of messages that we need to get across to people.<br />
<br />
"Those people": the reason I am emphasising consumers is that in a capitalist society, it is about making money. It is about a very kind of crude sense of what it takes for an organisation to make a profit. And that needs to be linked to a sense of Consumer Action, Consumer Urgency, and indeed there is a sense in which we need to think about throwing-out that word Consumer because it does imply a certain passivity which we would not want to encourage necessarily. So I think it is very important to think about what it is that we want people to do and to think about.<br />
<br />
In February, earlier this year, I was in Copenhagen giving a presentation to Danish MPs on our all party parliamentary group, and explaining how we structure that, and how it works, and what we were meant to do. And again that was very instructive, because this is all about an international movement. It's not something we can do or think-of, only in terms of one particular country or one particular market. It is very much about how we can collaborate with people across the world. And I know that there's a lot of initiatives going-on as a result of what happened in Rana Plaza, which hopefully will gather even more momentum. [18'56"]<br />
<br />
It was interesting: during the horse meat scandal, horse-meat-gate, I think people became more aware of the difficulties which lie behind and industry with a highly distributed supply chain. This idea that - you see people, even when we look very carefully at a packet of whatever it is. Burgers. And we see that it is £1 for 2 burgers. There is no connection in peoples' heads about what that actually means. And again in relation to the fashion industry, I sort of thought of our horse meat scandal as being something like Uzbekistan cotton, with all of the issues and problems around that. However, all of that was overtaken by the disaster that happened at Rana Plaza. Like many others, I would say "of course we do not want that to happen again", but the issue is, how do we do that? How do we stop that happening?<br />
<br />
I think that. Well. You know this phrase "don't let the best be the enemy of the good". [20'00"]<br />
Personally, I'm not into beating retailers about the head. I'm not into going to Primark and saying "you've got to do this", or "you've got to do that". I'm really interested in what sort of dialogues we can set-up. So one of the pieces of work, if you like, that the all-party parliamentary group does, is to be open to every discussion, to find out how the business works, and make suggestions about who to contact and who to work with, with a view to improving that situation.<br />
<br />
I think that government - I've been pleasantly surprised, that after Rana Plaza, the government did call on major retailers and say "look: what are you going to do about this?". And fortunately Labour Behind the Label have produced the Accord, which a number of major retailers have signed-up to, and there are other initiatives which are going on elsewhere. And I wanted to - I don't want to take up too much more of your time because I know that you are running late, and there's lots more to get in, so I am just going to summarise what I was going to say, very quickly here.<br />
<br />
In terms of what needs to happen next.<br />
<br />
Well obviously, you are all here because you all feel very strongly about it. Part of what it is about getting the word out to more people.<br />
<br />
And some of the proposals that are coming forth. I think that some of them are really good. But what we need to do is to try and formulate them into a kind of global strategy, if that is not much of a world domination type of speech! But it is about being strategic in what we do. Otherwise we will all be running-around, using lots of energy in what we do, and duplicating, and not being as effective as we might be [by letting Ethical Fashion Forum ignore human rights or the need for new tariff conditions against Bangladesh forcing Bangladesh to introduce a welfare state. She didn't say that].<br />
<br />
So post Rana Plaza, the situation has changed. One would hope that it would be impossible for it not to change. So there is a momentum. It is up to us all to keep up the momentum, and as Tamsin has already said, "it can't happen again". But, you know, it is really easy to say that. [22'00'] But I don't, at the moment, without being particularly pessimistic, I can't have the confidence to say that there isn't another Rana Plaza waiting to happen, whether that is in Bangladesh or in India or in Burma, where new factories are being built to - kind-of - cope with the fallout from what has happened in Bangladesh. We can't be confident about that.<br />
<br />
So that work which we have to do. We have to keep on doing it and we have to collaborate. I would be very much in favour of some kind of coalition being formed. [It has in the EU parliament. She didn't say that.] But that kind of thing has to be organic. It has to have people to drive it forward. But if it isn't to happen again; if there is anything we can do to stop that happening again, then obviously we need very much to be involved with that and make sure that we have some kind of global campaign that has clout, and nous, and intelligence, and is formed from all the different parts of the sector that we really like. Thank you.<img alt="Baroness Young of Hornsea, All Party Committee Ethical Fashion, stooge" class="alignnone" height="225" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/p480x480/24418_397702320336191_1292197668_n.jpg" title="Baroness Young of Hornsea, Cross-party member. Saying exactly what Futerra Communications, who were in the building and on the discussion groups, would have wanted her to say" width="400" /><br /><br /><br />
<br />
<hr />
<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-22491924926422911122013-09-08T17:33:00.000+01:002018-02-21T16:15:59.397+00:00Not sure if Baroness Young called activists a hinderence - it mighthave been in a discussion that wasn't on video<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I watched the free video of her speech: glad I'm not the only one to think it weird!<br />
<ul><br />
<li><b>No mention of a welfare state as a way of reducing poverty.</b></li>
<br />
<li><b>No mention of American tariffs on a token amount of Bangladeshi products being raised.</b></li>
<br />
<li><b>No mention of an EU parliamentary motion reminding the Bangladeshi government of its commitments.</b></li>
</ul>
<br />
I had used Writetothem.com to tip her off about Ethical Fashion Forum's position, and to urge her to mention the political world outside.<br />
<br />
Sadly, Ethical Fashon Forum isn't just for the big business insiders who appear as <i>"experts"</i> and run <i>"masterclass"</i> events. It's a pop-up lobby that has only existed for a few years, and sprang-up at the same time as some taxpayer-funded lobby groups, <b>Esthetica at London Fashion Week</b>, <b>The Centre for Sustainability in Fashion</b> at <b>London College of Fashion</b>, <b>Own-It</b>, and the one that sponsored <i>"Making it Ethically in China"</i>, <b>Creative Connexions</b>. <b>Creative Connexions</b> closed after swallowing millions of pounds of higher education funding council money, but the others are influential lobby groups and highly selective in what they choose not to say. They would be pleased with Baroness Young's speech.<br />
<div class="llynx_print">
<a href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/07/19/baroness-young-calls-activists-a-hinderance/" title="Go to Baroness Young calls activists a hinderance | Ms Wanda's"><img alt="Baroness Young calls activists a hinderance | Ms Wanda's" src="http://planb4fashion.byethost10.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Greenpeace-activists-300x162.jpg" height="54" width="100" /></a><br />
<div class="llynx_text">
<a href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/07/19/baroness-young-calls-activists-a-hinderance/" title="Go to Baroness Young calls activists a hinderance | Ms Wanda's">Baroness Young calls activists a hinderance | Ms Wanda's</a><small>http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/07/19/baroness-young-calls-activists-a-hinderance/</small>At The Source Summit last week Baroness Young called “puritanical activists” a “hinderance”. Fashion Mob founder, Esther Freeman, thinks she’s…</div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-6065559842038168212013-09-08T17:26:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.139+01:00Ethical Fashion Source Summit - Future etc etc...<div class="llynx_print"><a title="Go to SOURCE Summit Speakers 2013 | Future Business Panel" href="http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/source-summit-speakers-2013"><img alt="SOURCE Summit Speakers 2013 | Future Business Panel" src="http://planb4fashion.byethost10.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Daliah_Simble2.jpg" width="100" height="100" /></a><br/><div class="llynx_text"><a title="Go to SOURCE Summit Speakers 2013 | Future Business Panel" href="http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/source-summit-speakers-2013">SOURCE Summit Speakers 2013 | Future Business Panel</a><small>http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/source-summit-speakers-2013</small><span>"On the Future Business Panel - Daliah Simble ... previous ... Production Manager at Monsoon. Daliah is a dedicated advocate for sustainable sourcing & best practice in the industry." like paying 60 days late? Other people rate Monsoon one of the worst buyers. Not this person's fault personally, I guess, but how can something not being your fault personally make you a pundit?</span></div><br/></div>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-79245815962567531712013-09-05T18:46:00.000+01:002018-04-07T23:12:46.711+01:00Disambiguation: Monsoon Accesorize PLC is real<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Whoops! page needs sorting.<br />
It was just a line to say that Eddie Monsoon of Absolutely Fabulous is fiction, while Monsoon sponsors of the Estethica room at London Fashion Week, members of the Ethical Trade Initiative who have had their corporate responsibilility statements rejected by the organisation, Conservative Party donors who got a plug for their Indian-made garments for sale in Indonesia at the UK embassy in Indonesia, and occasional platform speakers at Ethical Fashion Forum alongside Futerra the advertising agency - that Monsoon is real. I think that was the gist.<br />
<br />
<br />
Here are some other disambiguation aids for telling fact from fiction<br />
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You see much better dress sense on the tube going home from London Fashion Week than you do at the event. The first photo is fact: a downing street reception for fashionistas. The second photo is fact. Better dressed people on the tube. The third photo is fiction but quite similar to the first one.<br />
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This blog is by a <a href="http://veganline.com/">vegan shoe company called Veganline.com that sells vegan shoes boots & belts</a></div>
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500">PlanB4fashion.blogspot.co.uk can be read on one long page about ethics fashion and trade</a> </div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-87410515828707802132013-09-05T18:43:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.123+01:00Disambiguation: Eddy Monsoon of Absolutely Fabulous is fiction; Monsoon
is fact<div class="llynx_print"></div><br/><div class="llynx_print"><a title="Go to Absolutely Fabulous - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolutely_Fabulous"><img alt="Absolutely Fabulous - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" src="http://john:81/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/170px-AbFabDVD1.jpg" width="70.539419087137" height="100" /></a><br/><div class="llynx_text"><a title="Go to Absolutely Fabulous - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolutely_Fabulous">Absolutely Fabulous - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a><small>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolutely_Fabulous</small><span>Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays…</span></div><br/></div>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-47538588933014753662013-09-05T18:39:00.000+01:002015-12-20T11:44:28.037+00:00We pay taxes for Etsethica at London Fashion Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><br />We pay taxes to organisations that tell us what to think, such as Esthetica. In doing so we publicise Monsoon, who get a big credit as co-sponsors. There was something about Monsoon in the news which I shall look-up and post here.<img src="" /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk/"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/rOaTzmB5tDbQ_HzEWwuRLSThOu1jV2O4SstmIXL4Goo2GA4GjF002610Gjp_T72CNN8SVOgr9fch2i8z9SlvT4e7_tLTaFiY1WVS3rR-R0ee" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk/">British Fashion Council - Home</a>http://www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk/ British Fashion Council We are committed to developing excellence and growth in a sector that is a significant contributor to the British economy. We nurture, support and…<br /></div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fjohn%3A81%2Fwordpress%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F09%2F23327.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/rOaTzmB5tDbQ_HzEWwuRLSThOu1jV2O4SstmIXL4Goo2GA4GjF002610Gjp_T72CNN8SVOgr9fch2i8z9SlvT4e7_tLTaFiY1WVS3rR-R0ee" -->Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-83597827733933017602013-09-05T18:29:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.109+01:00Nothing changes except the outfits (2) - why no social insurance in
Bangladesh / Bengal?Talking of imperious Bangladeshis, I asked a historian why National Insurance was not introduced in Bengal about 1911 when it started in the UK. My post below about Charles Hardinge (pictured) is wrong; he was the Viceroy.<br/><br/>Wikipedia tells me that Bengal had a former district officer as temporary governor 1911, Edward Duke, who became deputy in 1912 to an ex-governor of Australia, Thomas Gibson-Carmichael. Then as now, failed MPs sometimes happen to get well-paid government jobs and this one had tried being a UK MP for the party that brought-in National Insurance. So he knew what it was. Unusual for the people who worked for the Indian Civil Service who had been toughened-up with a ten-year stretch of boarding school before being "posted" to India. Most of them learned about the UK from surface-mail copies of The Times, arriving in bundles.<br/><br/>The historian usually does West-Indies, but said that if there was a Bengali assembly, discussion of national insurance would show-up in its records. He told me that the experience of empire diverged between white colonies and others from the 1860s to 1914. This surprised people in India, who had been lead to expect something different. Colonies like New Zealand could be the first part of the empire to have women voters. So why not Bengal? It's one of history's un-answered questions, and a reason for poverty in Bangladesh and clothes manufacturing today.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-77910438183128946622013-09-05T18:22:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.104+01:00Fair access to subsidies<img class="alignnone" alt="" src="http://www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk/uploads/media/44/23395.jpg" width="570" height="207" />PlanB4fashion wants fair access to subsidies. London Fashion Week offered subsidised stallls for 3 shows starting February 2008 to Ethical Fashion Forum, who's first archived web page of October 2007 shows connections with other exibitors. EFF were also keen to turn-down members who might be troublesome.<br/><br/>London Fashion Week is funded by the Greater London Assembly (London Development Agency in 2007-8) out of European Regional Development Grant. In other countries like Portugal it is used to help local manufacturers co-operate, train and export.<br/><br/>UK government spends the money in a different way. Centre back at London Fashion Week is Gallahad Clark selling his "arguably more democratic" shoes made in China and centre forward is probably Elizabeth Laskar of Ethical Fashion Forum turning-down awkward members. The money is syphoned-off to promote Chinese factories rather than develop any region of Europe.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-280236638441571552013-09-05T18:19:00.000+01:002015-12-18T19:19:39.220+00:00How to reduce poverty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="userContent">PlanB4fashion wants government to realease more tax data to help people who produce trade directories in the UK; at the moment, you could have a fa<span class="text_exposed_show">ctory a bus-ride away and not be able to find out what they make or the minimum order. There are plenty of wholesalers and consultants willing to help you get stuff from Bangladesh because the margin allows more people to be involved, but if you want to buy from the UK you have to do a lot of homework.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fashioncapital.co.uk/News/25974-ethical-manufacturing-right-here-in-the-uk.html" title="Go to Fashion Capital | Ethical Manufacturing - Right Here in the UK - Ethical Manufacturing - Right Here in the UK ?... | Manufactur"><img alt="Fashion Capital | Ethical Manufacturing - Right Here in the UK - Ethical Manufacturing - Right Here in the UK ?... | Manufactur" src="http://john:81/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/FC-the-factory-north-london.jpg" height="100" width="98.191681735986" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fashioncapital.co.uk/News/25974-ethical-manufacturing-right-here-in-the-uk.html" title="Go to Fashion Capital | Ethical Manufacturing - Right Here in the UK - Ethical Manufacturing - Right Here in the UK ?... | Manufactur">Fashion Capital | Ethical Manufacturing - Right Here in the UK - Ethical Manufacturing - Right Here in the UK ?... | Manufactur</a><small>http://www.fashioncapital.co.uk/News/25974-ethical-manufacturing-right-here-in-the-uk.html</small> Leading the way is our very own FashionCapital factory based in North London. Due to increased demand in production the factory recently moved from 4,500 square foot which…</div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-87883646995798444252013-09-05T18:13:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.095+01:00Redundancies and food poverty encouraged by fashion punditsLast night on telly was a programme about food poverty in the UK and the difficulty of many people in the UK to afford meals from our run-down welfare benefits in a run-down manufacturing economy, broken down by unfair exchange rates, neglect, and lack of respect for the extra costs involved in making something in the fairer working conditions of the UK.<br/><br/>It would be easy to estimate the number of jobs lost in Leicester directly as a result of people like Ethical Fashion Forum and London Fashion Week and Estethica - often job lossses that they have engineered on money paid to them by Greater London Authority, Defra, or Department for Business, out of taxes paid for those who are being put out of work. One of the worst offenders Orsulanda de Castro is speaking at the moment to I am typing this rather than listen!<br/><br/>I just saw a slight glimpse of the world that I recognise overlapping with Ethical Fashion Forum's world when a guest speaker about closed-loop polyesters needing a larger investment than UK textiles mills could afford; about the way production management has usually been removed from college corriculums in favour of design or "fashion"; prioduction people are scarce at large company head offices. There was a great quote "production people are the brokers of fair relationships" in industry.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-76809970235218253992013-09-05T18:11:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.090+01:00Ethical Fashion Source SummitHas anyone spotted any mention of welfare states as ways of reducing poverty in any of the videos from Ethical Fashion Source Summit?<br/><br/>Just posted under the video of political speakers: "Call to Action responses said a lot about what the Bangladeshi and similar governments should have to do. Has there been any mention of a welfare state as a way of reducing poverty for garment workers - in the UK or Bangladesh or anywhere? Or is there some reason not to mention it?Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-50415219774534394962013-09-05T18:09:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.085+01:00Ethical Fashion Source Summitsource.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/live-stream-registration-source-summit-2013<br/><br/>It was possible to register for live viewing of some of the ethical fashion source summit. I just be watched bits. One surprise is that their 300 "Call to Action" results so far are generally polite calls to government, mainly calls to western governments to pressure Bangladeshi government, followed by calls to trade and consumers.<br/><br/>They still have not got specific in what they publish about trade block's ability to influence third world countries through tariff conditions. Nor do they mention any kind of welfare state - either in publicising the benefits of welfare states and using them as a sales point for goods made in them, nor in using tariffs to allow third world governments to introduce something like a national insurance scheme without loosing great market share as the price of their goods rise.<br/><br/>For example it was mentioned that Kenya is likely to get its 0% tariff with the EU renewed without any benefits to people who want affordable schools healthcare and pensions, and not to be undercut in the labour market by people who go without.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsource.ethicalfashionforum.com%2Fdigital%2Fbangladesh-240413-never-again-join-the-industry-in-a-constructive-response&h=2AQHs_leR&s=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow nofollow">http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/digital/bangladesh-240413-never-again-join-the-industry-in-a-constructive-response</a> is where to give your own response, if Ethical Fashion Forum accept itVeganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-23591459615811597832013-09-05T18:02:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.079+01:00The difference between us is... (reply to Ethical Fashion Forum)09.07.2013 18:06<br/>Dear Tamsin Lejeune<br/>the difference between us is on the <a title="The Issues" href="http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/made-in-britain"><em>"issues ... made in britain"</em></a> page of your web site, at the bottom.<br/><div class="llynx_print"><a title="Go to Made in Britain | Ethical Fashion Forum" href="http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/made-in-britain"><img alt="Made in Britain | Ethical Fashion Forum" src="http://john:81/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/madeinbritianL.jpg" width="72.727272727273" height="100" /></a><br/><div class="llynx_text"><a title="Go to Made in Britain | Ethical Fashion Forum" href="http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/made-in-britain">Made in Britain | Ethical Fashion Forum</a><small>http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/made-in-britain</small><span>It is only by raising standards and wages outside of the UK that the UK garment production sector will again be in a position to compete on equal terms with production in what are currently low wage economies.</span></div><br/></div><br/><blockquote>"trade in garments and textiles has created a springboard for industrial development all over the world- with Britain and America being amongst the first to benefit followed by the “Asian Tiger” economies of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, and more recently, China and India. Producing garments or components of garments outside of the UK to sustainable standards can assist development in some of the poorest communities in the world, create sustainable livelihoods and reduce poverty for thousands of people."</blockquote><br/>I think that national insurance, secondary schools, hospitals, accesss to justice, and votes should happen before or during an industrial revolution and be forced to happen.<br/><br/>Votes, for example, happen in Taiwan and Hong Kong but not in China. People in China have been waiting rather a long time, I think, and are unlikely to get universal pensions or healthcare until they have votes. It's an odd country because the single child policy has forced wealth to spread a bit - there is not the population explosion that's happened in Bangladesh.<br/><br/>Thinking of other ways to reduce a population explosion, I think that pensions, healthcare and health education, contraception, and girls' secondary schools all help; if girls are more assertive and there is less pressure to have children to look after you in old age, then the population might not explode so rapidly. People in Bangladesh have been waiting rather a long time national insurance, given that the UK had a National Insurance Act in 102 years ago in 1911. The prime minister of the UK could simply have telegrammed the Viceroy of Inda, Lord Hardinge, (pictured if the upload works) and floated then idea but apparently it didn't work like that. I don't think that Bangladesh or Pakistan are going to change any time soon while some people in the country do very well out of their neighbours being poor. There is even enough money in government for an export subsidy, but not enough for a heath service. There is a risk that Bangladesh could loose market share if other countries do not introduce a national insurance system too. Cheap labour, and the flow of aid, both happen when there are a lot of poor people.<br/><br/>"It is only by raising standards and wages outside of the UK that the UK garment production sector will again be in a position to compete on equal terms with production in what are currently low wage economies."<br/><br/>If you are convinced that there should be national insurance or high tariffs built-in to the prices of clothes from Bangladesh, then we can agree on this last paragraph. And such a large change of position would prompt you to re-write the first part of the page as well,<br/><ol><br/> <li>stating that goods made in welfare states are more expensive for good reason, offering better conditions for their workers than a fairtrade scheme. You might become interested in</li><br/> <li>how people who live in welfare states can seek-out goods made in them, which will probably be by mail-order rather than high street chainstores. An example is the one that your "made in Britain" swing tag logo came from, which has since had to lay-off its staff. You will want to</li><br/> <li>criticsise London Fashion week for the way it puts UK factory workers out of work by offering free PR to companies like Terra Plana which made its shoes in China and made rediculous claims. You would</li><br/> <li>explain how companies in South Europe now, or the UK in 1979-2009, were devistated by whimsical changes of exchange rate dictated by central banks rather than the goods market. That's why their designs are mainstream and their sales methods geared to particular markets.</li><br/> <li>mention how the UK needs a rebalanced economy to pay the taxes that pay for a welfare state, now that payments from financial services have dropped by billions.</li><br/></ol><br/>I'm sure you would want to do some of those things if we agreed with each other.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, I'll type another draft of your "issues/made-in-britain" page in case you can use it for the moment as you're busy with a trade show, and Bangladesh is the hot topic at the moment rather than Middleton or Rushden or Rossendale or Nottingham or Hinckley or Northampton.<br/>regards<br/>John Robertson<br/><br/>John Robetson, blogging as planB4fashion<br/>mail e-mail: brittaniabuckle@yahoo.co.uk<br/>- Homepage: https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion<br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/>This was written in answer to a post to indymedia and to planB4fashion on 08.07.13<br/>No reply has been recieved 05.09.13. The original post is quoted below<br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/><h3><a id="c295942" name="c295942"></a>Response from the Ethical Fashion Forum</h3><br/><em><strong>08.07.2013 19:13</strong></em><br/><div>Dear Indymedia,I am a fan of what you do and what you stand for. As Managing Director of the Ethical Fashion Forum, I am writing to give our side of the story on the Ethical fashion Forum and the SOURCE Summit.<br/><br/>We are a small not for profit organisation, absolutely committed and dedicated to better practices in the fashion industry. You quote £225 as the price of attending the SOURCE Summit- in fact our prices started at £65, and we are also live streaming the event - free for people to attend from anywhere online. However, we are determined to be heard with this event- and that means running it in a higher profile way. You can't do that without any money- even if you run an event at cost, which is what we are doing.<br/><br/>As a forum for collaboration in the industry, we have always been inclusive- by bringing together individuals and businesses from every part of the industry , we are able to get constructive debate going, and this has catalysed some very effective partnerships and initiatives. There is no question that the majority of the industry is not doing enough to address the appalling conditions for workers that remain endemic in many parts of the world. There are organisations whose remit it is to campaign against this and expose the companies that are not doing enough about it- this is important, and it needs to continue.<br/><br/>Our remit is to work with companies, offering them the tools, access to information, inspiring and motivating their staff, building connections and fostering collaboration across the sector, in order to meaningfully improve standards and conditions.<br/><br/>We recently launched a Call to Action on Bangladesh, and it has had a very wide response from the professional fashion sector: <img alt="" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" border="0" /> <a href="http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/bangladesh-240413-never-again-join-the-industry-in-a-constructive-response">http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/bangladesh-240413-never-again-join-the-industry-in-a-constructive-response</a><br/><br/>We would be very interested to work with you, PlanB4fashion, and take on board your ideas.<br/><br/>We would also absolutely welcome speakers from the European Parliament to this and other events. Panel speakers do not pay to attend- they do normally ask for expenses if travelling though- so, as a social enterprise, we do need a business model for our events! Which means charging a fee to attend. Our fees are a fraction of the event fees of other mainstream industry events. If anyone has bright ideas on how we can run an event like this without charging fees to delegates, they are most welcome!<br/><br/>Finally, we really welcome the voices of the readers of Indymedia at SOURCE Summit- attend online, FREE of charge, by registering here - <img alt="" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" border="0" /> <a href="http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/live-stream-registration-source-summit-2013">http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/live-stream-registration-source-summit-2013</a><br/><br/>Hoping to connect with you there, and welcoming you to join the debate,<br/><br/>Tamsin Lejeune<br/>Managing Director<br/>Ethical Fashion Forum and SOURCE<br/><br/></div><br/><strong>Tamsin Lejeune</strong><br/><img alt="mail" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/mail_small.gif" /> <strong>e-mail:</strong><br/><img alt="-" src="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/link_small.gif" /> <strong>Homepage:</strong> <a href="http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com">www.ethicalfashionforum.com</a>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-10966929320341190742013-09-05T17:47:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.073+01:00Nothing changes except the outfits - no national insurance in BangladeshCharles Hardinge, diplomat to Russia and then Viceroy of India did not introduce national insurance in 1911. Maybe people like him were not much aware of it, or there was no pressure on them to do anything. Maybe the UK government rather liked the benefits of cheap labour. Nothing changes except the outfits!<img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/p480x480/1291_393104577462632_898812012_n.jpg" width="200" height="319" class="alignnone" />Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-23649156662214698602013-09-05T15:05:00.000+01:002015-12-20T19:43:49.490+00:00Good luck with the people power speech<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2012/07/23/the-summit-from-the-ethical-fashion-forum/" title="Go to Source Summit from the Ethical Fashion Forum | Ms Wanda's"><img alt="Source Summit from the Ethical Fashion Forum | Ms Wanda's" src="http://john:81/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Slide22.jpg" height="100" width="100" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2012/07/23/the-summit-from-the-ethical-fashion-forum/" title="Go to Source Summit from the Ethical Fashion Forum | Ms Wanda's">Source Summit from the Ethical Fashion Forum | Ms Wanda's</a><small>http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2012/07/23/the-summit-from-the-ethical-fashion-forum/</small>The first event of it’s kind, the Ethical Fashion Forum’s Source Summit 2012 brings together people from around the world. Be there to be inspired.</div>
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Good luck with your people power speech!<br />
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I hope you urge delegates to thank their euro MPs (via writetothem.com) for their non-legislative motion on Bangladesh, with its threat of changing the 0% tariff if the Bangladeshi government doesn't meet human rights targets. I'm no expert on what they are, but I think that recognition of legal trades unions is one of the areas where they need to change the law - there's a lot of detail quoted in the motion.<br />
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I hope your urge delegates to ask their Euro MPs to go further, and require some kind of national insurance scheme in every country that gets 0% tariff access to the European market. I think this is what reduced poverty in the UK over 100 years ago (along with health education and secondary schools for girls), and in parts of Germany 169 years ago. So governments in Bangladesh have kept the people waiting 169 years for a national insurance system and I don't think we can expect it to happen any time soon, just because there is a bit more trade nowadays, unless European governments pressure them to change.<br />
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John Robertson<br />
<a href="https://facebook.com/planB4fashion">https://facebook.com/planB4fashion</a></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-53951476443893788802013-09-05T15:01:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.061+01:00https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2013/07/511228.html<a href="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2013/07/511228.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow nofollow">https://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2013/07/511228.html</a>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-91414701592252535772013-09-05T15:00:00.000+01:002015-12-17T11:42:58.271+00:00£225 buys an exclusive view of ethical fashion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ethical Fashion Forum's slideshow to promote the £225 event</div>
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<b>planB4fashion</b><br />
<img alt="mail" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/mail_small.gif" /> <b>e-mail:</b> <a href="mailto:brittaniabuckle@yahoo.co.uk">brittaniabuckle@yahoo.co.uk</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c295930" name="c295930"></a>In their own words... Ethical Fashion Forum</h3>
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<i><b>07.07.2013 17:50</b></i><br />
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<img alt="In their own words... Ethical Fashon Forum's Source Summit" height="335" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/images/2013/07/511241.jpg" width="500" /><br />
<i><b>In their own words... Ethical Fashon Forum's Source Summit</b></i><br />
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In their own words... Ethical Fashion Forum</div>
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<b>facebook.com/planB4fashion</b><br />
<img alt="mail" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/mail_small.gif" /> <b>e-mail:</b> <a href="mailto:brittaniabuckle@yahoo.co.uk">brittaniabuckle@yahoo.co.uk</a><br />
<img alt="-" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/link_small.gif" /> <b>Homepage:</b> http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c295932" name="c295932"></a>there was a link from sustainable-fashion.com but it's down just now</h3>
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<i><b>08.07.2013 07:42</b></i><br />
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There was a link from sustainable-fashion.com but it's not online just now. The Centre for Sustainable Fashion at Dray Walk in London was part of University of the Arts' London College of Fashion. It worked within the industry and so was constrained in talking about tariffs or governments, but did have an influence in training fashion students and offering consultancy. To see the story in their own words click below<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20120625170857/http://www.sustainable-fashion.com/about-csf/team-profile/our-story/">http://web.archive.org/web/20120625170857/http://www.sustainable-fashion.com/about-csf/team-profile/our-story/</a></div>
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<b>http://www.sustainable-fashion.com/</b><br />
<img alt="-" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/link_small.gif" /> <b>Homepage:</b> <a href="http://www.sustainable-fashion.com/">http://www.sustainable-fashion.com/</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c295934" name="c295934"></a>tweets will use the hashtag #sourcesummit</h3>
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<i><b>08.07.2013 14:05</b></i><br />
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tweets will use the hashtag #sourcesummit</div>
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<b>planB4fashion #sourcesummit</b><br />
<img alt="-" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/link_small.gif" /> <b>Homepage:</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion">https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c295942" name="c295942"></a>Response from the Ethical Fashion Forum</h3>
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<i><b>08.07.2013 19:13</b></i><br />
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Dear Indymedia,<br />
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I am a fan of what you do and what you stand for. As Managing Director of the Ethical Fashion Forum, I am writing to give our side of the story on the Ethical fashion Forum and the SOURCE Summit.<br />
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We are a small not for profit organisation, absolutely committed and dedicated to better practices in the fashion industry. You quote £225 as the price of attending the SOURCE Summit- in fact our prices started at £65, and we are also live streaming the event - free for people to attend from anywhere online. However, we are determined to be heard with this event- and that means running it in a higher profile way. You can't do that without any money- even if you run an event at cost, which is what we are doing.<br />
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As a forum for collaboration in the industry, we have always been inclusive- by bringing together individuals and businesses from every part of the industry , we are able to get constructive debate going, and this has catalysed some very effective partnerships and initiatives. There is no question that the majority of the industry is not doing enough to address the appalling conditions for workers that remain endemic in many parts of the world. There are organisations whose remit it is to campaign against this and expose the companies that are not doing enough about it- this is important, and it needs to continue.<br />
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Our remit is to work with companies, offering them the tools, access to information, inspiring and motivating their staff, building connections and fostering collaboration across the sector, in order to meaningfully improve standards and conditions.<br />
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We recently launched a Call to Action on Bangladesh, and it has had a very wide response from the professional fashion sector: <img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/bangladesh-240413-never-again-join-the-industry-in-a-constructive-response">http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/bangladesh-240413-never-again-join-the-industry-in-a-constructive-response</a><br />
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We would be very interested to work with you, PlanB4fashion, and take on board your ideas.<br />
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We would also absolutely welcome speakers from the European Parliament to this and other events. Panel speakers do not pay to attend- they do normally ask for expenses if travelling though- so, as a social enterprise, we do need a business model for our events! Which means charging a fee to attend. Our fees are a fraction of the event fees of other mainstream industry events. If anyone has bright ideas on how we can run an event like this without charging fees to delegates, they are most welcome!<br />
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Finally, we really welcome the voices of the readers of Indymedia at SOURCE Summit- attend online, FREE of charge, by registering here - <img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/live-stream-registration-source-summit-2013">http://source.ethicalfashionforum.com/article/live-stream-registration-source-summit-2013</a><br />
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Hoping to connect with you there, and welcoming you to join the debate,<br />
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Tamsin Lejeune<br />
Managing Director<br />
Ethical Fashion Forum and SOURCE<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/maillink.gif" /> <a href="mailto:events@ethicalfashionforum.com">events@ethicalfashionforum.com</a><br />
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<b>Tamsin Lejeune</b><br />
<img alt="mail" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/mail_small.gif" /> <b>e-mail:</b> <a href="mailto:events@ethicalfashionforum.com">events@ethicalfashionforum.com</a><br />
<img alt="-" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/link_small.gif" /> <b>Homepage:</b> <a href="http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/">www.ethicalfashionforum.com</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c295957" name="c295957"></a>The difference between us is on your "made in england" page</h3>
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<i><b>09.07.2013 18:06</b></i><br />
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Dear Tamson Lejeune<br />
the difference between us is on the "issues ... made in britain" page of your web site, at the bottom.<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/made-in-britain">http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/made-in-britain</a><br />
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"trade in garments and textiles has created a springboard for industrial development all over the world- with Britain and America being amongst the first to benefit followed by the “Asian Tiger” economies of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, and more recently, China and India. Producing garments or components of garments outside of the UK to sustainable standards can assist development in some of the poorest communities in the world, create sustainable livelihoods and reduce poverty for thousands of people."<br />
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I think that national insurance, secondary schools, hospitals, accesss to justice, and votes should happen before or during an industrial revolution and be forced to happen.<br />
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Votes, for example, happen in Taiwan and Hong Kong but not in China. People in China have been waiting rather a long time, I think, and are unlikely to get universal pensions or healthcare until they have votes. It's an odd country because the single child policy has forced wealth to spread a bit - there is not the population explosion that's happened in Bangladesh.<br />
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Thinking of other ways to reduce a population explosion, I think that pensions, healthcare and health education, contraception, and girls' secondary schools all help; if girls are more assertive and there is less pressure to have children to look after you in old age, then the population might not explode so rapidly. People in Bangladesh have been waiting rather a long time national insurance, given that the UK had a National Insurance Act in 102 years ago in 1911. The prime minister of the UK could simply have telegrammed the Viceroy of Inda, Lord Hardinge, (pictured if the upload works) and floated then idea but apparently it didn't work like that. I don't think that Bangladesh or Pakistan are going to change any time soon while some people in the country do very well out of their neighbours being poor. There is even enough money in government for an export subsidy, but not enough for a heath service. There is a risk that Bangladesh could loose market share if other countries do not introduce a national insurance system too. Cheap labour, and the flow of aid, both happen when there are a lot of poor people.<br />
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"It is only by raising standards and wages outside of the UK that the UK garment production sector will again be in a position to compete on equal terms with production in what are currently low wage economies."<br />
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If you are convinced that there should be national insurance or high tariffs built-in to the prices of clothes from Bangladesh, then we can agree on this last paragraph. And such a large change of position would prompt you to re-write the first part of the page as well,<br />
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- stating that goods made in welfare states are more expensive for good reason, offering better conditions for their workers than a fairtrade scheme. You might become interested in<br />
- how people who live in welfare states can seek-out goods made in them, which will probably be by mail-order rather than high street chainstores. An example is the one that your "made in Britain" swing tag logo came from, which has since had to lay-off its staff. You will want to<br />
- criticsise London Fashion week for the way it puts UK factory workers out of work by offering free PR to companies like Terra Plana which made its shoes in China and made rediculous claims. You would<br />
- explain how companies in South Europe now, or the UK in 1979-2009, were devistated by whimsical changes of exchange rate dictated by central banks rather than the goods market. That's why their designs are mainstream and their sales methods geared to particular markets.<br />
- mention how the UK needs a rebalanced economy to pay the taxes that pay for a welfare state, now that payments from financial services have dropped by billions.<br />
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I'm sure you would want to do some of those things if we agreed with each other.<br />
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Meanwhile, I'll type another draft of your "issues/made-in-britain" page in case you can use it for the moment as you're busy with a trade show, and Bangladesh is the hot topic at the moment rather than Middleton or Rushden or Rossendale or Nottingham or Hinckley or Northampton.<br />
regards<br />
John Robertson</div>
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<b>John Robetson, blogging as planB4fashion</b><br />
<img alt="mail" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/mail_small.gif" /> <b>e-mail:</b> <a href="mailto:brittaniabuckle@yahoo.co.uk">brittaniabuckle@yahoo.co.uk</a><br />
<img alt="-" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/link_small.gif" /> <b>Homepage:</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion">https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c295962" name="c295962"></a>dear indymedia?</h3>
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<i><b>09.07.2013 22:59</b></i><br />
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Oh dear, you claim to be a "fan of indymedia" but start your comment "dear indymedia" as if addressing a single organisation, without understanding that indymedia is a platform.. rofl</div>
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<b>anonymous</b><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c295981" name="c295981"></a>China "arguably more democratic" than the UK: who approved that?</h3>
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<i><b>10.07.2013 14:29</b></i><br />
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From Ethical Fashion Forum's "founding members" page...<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130116191704/http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/about-eff/founding-members">http://web.archive.org/web/20130116191704/http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/about-eff/founding-members</a><br />
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"Terra plana is a shoe company focused upon innovative, sustainable shoe design.Terra Plana uses a variety of eco friendly materials ... ... ..."<br />
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From Ethical Fashion Forum's "business leaders" page ...<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://newentrepreneurs.ethicalfashionforum.com/business-leaders/foundation-agency">http://newentrepreneurs.ethicalfashionforum.com/business-leaders/foundation-agency</a><br />
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"Jules went on to set up Inside Out agency working with hemp pioneers THTC along with a variety of other innovative brands.<br />
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Jules has been joined at Foundation by ethical fashion consultant Rosie Budhani, who will head up the PR and marketing division of Foundation, Rosie also has extensive experience in mainstream and ethical fashion and most recently ran the PR department for award winning ethical shoe brand Terra Plana."<br />
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From Ethical Fashion Forum's "founding members" page...<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20130116191704/http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/about-eff/founding-members">http://web.archive.org/web/20130116191704/http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/about-eff/founding-members</a><br />
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"From Somewhere<br />
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From Somewhere is a designer womenswear brand. From Somewhere collections are made from left-over fabric from garment factories which would otherwise be discarded."<br />
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"Filippo Ricci and Orsola De Castro, founders of From Somewhere, are dedicated to promoting and facilitating sustainable practices in fashion, and were responsible for initiating the Estethica exhibition which is now an established part of London Fashion Week, as well as a number of other projects in the sector."<br />
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Conclusion: the claim about China "arguably more democratic" was made on Terra Plana's web site from 2008, while they were getting taxpayer-funded PR from part of London Fashion Week, called Estethica. Both the Terra Plana company and the company of the person who manages Estethica, Orsola De Castro's "From Somewhere", were founder members of Ethical Fashion Forum. Orsola De Castro also worked for a year or so as a Director of Ethical Fashion Forum. And the PR agent for Terra Plana, Rosie Budhani, gets a promoted on the Ethical Fashion Forum's site amongst "New Entrepreneurs". So the editor who allowed this brand to be shown, the brand itself as a company, and the PR agent they had at the time, all get promotions on the Ethical Fashion Forum web site.</div>
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<b>planB4fashion</b><br />
<img alt="-" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/link_small.gif" /> <b>Homepage:</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion">https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="c296226" name="c296226"></a>You are invited to an ethical fashion PR masterclass</h3>
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<i><b>27.07.2013 16:52</b></i><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/extlink.gif" /> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/posts/399762653463491">https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/posts/399762653463491</a> is a link to a fake checklist of techniques to make Chinese and Bangladeshi imports sound more ethical and UK-made clothing harder to talk about. Well the list is fake, but the quotes are real.</div>
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<b>Ethical Fashion PR Masterclass</b><br />
<img alt="-" src="https://www.indymedia.org.uk/img/link_small.gif" /> <b>Homepage:</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/posts/399762653463491">https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion/posts/399762653463491</a><br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-91827450459636694512013-09-05T14:55:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.040+01:00Chukka Umunna answers your questions (but not on tariffs)<div class="llynx_print"><br/><div class="llynx_text"><a title="Go to Live Q&A: Chuka Umunna answers your questions | Guardian Small Business Network | theguardian.com" href="http://discussion.guardian.co.uk/comment-permalink/24778818">Live Q&A: Chuka Umunna answers your questions | Guardian Small Business Network | theguardian.com</a><small>http://discussion.guardian.co.uk/comment-permalink/24778818</small><span>Chuka Umunna, shadow secretary of state for business, will be online on Tuesday at 12:15pm to chat directly to you about the issues affecting SMEs</span></div><br/></div>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-68130943080842814882013-09-05T14:49:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.033+01:00plan B 4 fashion manifesto4-point manifesto from the blog at <a href="https://facebook.com/planB4fashion">https://facebook.com/planB4fashion</a> .<br/><b>Points 1 & 2 are about fashion production in the UK.</b><br/><b>Points 3 & 4 are about reducing poverty in the far east - for example Bangladesh.</b><br/><br/>1.<br/><b>UK government can help UK factories compete, by releasing tax data to say what factories exist. </b><br/><br/>Data could be made-up into trade directory by anyone who wanted to do the work as happens already with simlar data. Some companies would find ways of covering their costs and cross-selling other services. If not, perhaps a small grant of a volunteer effort could get good directories written.<br/><br/>Better trade directories are a very cheap way of re-balancing the UK economy so that it begins to pay enough taxes and employ enough people. Factories help money circulate around the UK, bringing taxes back into government, and creating jobs in run-down areas. Factories also have to be very lean to pay the costs of paying for a democratic welfare state with a UK living-standard and rents. They don't all have staff for sales or PR or tendering for contracts or submitting entries to competitions. Some don't even have office or reception staff. They need terse orders from well-informed customers who know exactly what the factory makes, the technique used, and maybe the minimum orders for free set-up or free UK delivery.<br/><br/>2.<br/><b>UK government can change the fashion week that we pay for in taxes</b> (through Greater London Authority and Department for Business' UK Trade and Investment). It can insist that exhibitors are nominated by UK or European factories & display the names of the factories. This would get better value for UK taxpayers' money: UK taxpayers pay to promote employment amongst other UK taxpayers. UK taxpayers promote a clothing brand and a factory for the same budget that just paid to promote a clothes brand in the past; it's two results for the price of one.<br/><br/>Factory-vetted designers are probably reasonable to work with, from a factory's point of view.<br/>At the moment London Fashion Week pays for extra coaching for designers who aren't businesslike - even some in the past who didn't have a way of making the clothes they put on show! There is an export guarantee system that insures their bad debts from overseas buyers, who sometimes take advantage by not paying. So, in the worst case, a fashion week and UK Trade and Investment subsidy can promote a designer who is hard to work with, then pay the bad debts when the designer isn't paid, and put rival producers out of work because they're not in the PR business and get overlooked. An example is Equity Shoes of Leicester who were overlooked as ethical footwear producers while Terra Plana, who bought shoes from China, got the PR. Both are now closed.<br/><br/><br/>For a long time there was only anecdotal evidence that London Fashion Week helped taxpayers. Now they have a 50 page "Value of Fashion" report in very small print which seems to show huge returns. We know from the Olympics' effect on London tourism that these reports are partly a sales pitch; they are not impartial. Read closely, the report admits the opposite of what the headline summaries say. Estimates of how money circulates are based on decades-old data about how many shoe factories existed in the UK, including many like Equity Shoes that have now closed. Most of the money circulates amongst people who could get other jobs in PR and fashion journalism. And no estimate is made of the cost of crowding-out UK apparel suppliers from the market.<br/><br/>3.<br/><b>Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian & Chinese governments can reduce poverty.</b><br/>The methods that worked in the UK 100 years ago were universal schooling and national insurance. Schooling for girls helped them become more assertive and reduced the rate of child birth. Pensions helped parents plan for old age without having to have as many children as they possibly could.<br/><br/>The first modern national insurance scheme was introduced in Germany, just before its industrial revolution. It is not too early for Bangladesh to start one now.<br/><br/>The difficulty is how someone in the UK can effect government in Bangladesh, beyond a few factory checks or a fair-trade scheme. This is the next point.<br/><br/><br/>4.<br/><b>European and US government can change the tariffs that tax trade from countries without democratic welfare states like Bangladesh or China.</b><br/>This helps people in Bangladesh as well as their cousins in Bolton. There is a consensus.<br/>A formula for tariffs be worked-out over time.<br/><ul><br/> <li>More democracy earns a lower tariff - there is already a democracy index that could help this one get started.</li><br/> <li>More of a welfare state earns a lower tariff.</li><br/> <li>More human rights earn a lower tariff. And the reverse could also be true, so a country with more expensive exports because of the cost of a welfare state can still compete on price with China; the worst country no longer sets the market price for garment production.</li><br/></ul><br/>Western governments are already trying to help eastern ones become more stable and better governed, if only to prevent the tide of misery reaching Europe in the form of wars and refugees. Search <i>"Bangladesh"</i> on <i>gov.uk</i> and find this...<br/><blockquote><i>"we are working with Transparency International Bangladesh and other civil society organisations to generate more debate between the government and citizens about progress in improving the providing services like health, education and legal services, and to beat corruption.</i>"</blockquote><br/>Unfortunately, western governments are also paying Bangladesh to keep its poor, with grants, development work and tariff-deals that depend on there being a lot of very poor people in Bangladesh. The rich in Bangladesh do very well out of this system. Their government even has enough free cash to pay for an export subsidy in a country that gets aid from the UK. Factory owners now get some free training for their staff paid by the UK taxpayer. With luck, the firm consistent pressure of conditional tariffs would change their minds and the way they run government. If not, the tariff system would raise some money towards the 0.7% that UK taxpayers pay in aid, to pay for Pakistani healthcare when the Pakistan government only pays 0.8% on health.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-4836259150972769002013-09-05T14:42:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.027+01:00Ralph Lauren company bribes customs<div class="llynx_print"><br/><div class="llynx_text"><a title="Go to Ralph Lauren to pay $1.6 million to resolve Argentine bribery case | Reuters" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/22/us-ralphlauren-fcpa-idUSBRE93L0N920130422">Ralph Lauren to pay $1.6 million to resolve Argentine bribery case | Reuters</a><small>http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/22/us-ralphlauren-fcpa-idUSBRE93L0N920130422</small><span>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Clothing retailer Ralph Lauren Corp (RL.N) will pay more than $1.6 million to settle a criminal and civil investigation of allegations that one of its…</span></div><br/></div>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-7489190295265504182013-09-05T14:38:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.021+01:00Plan A for fashion - in case anyone wonders what plan A was<div><br/><h2>What was plan A?</h2><br/></div><br/><div>27 June 2013 at 15:39</div><br/>Why plan B 4 fashion? (or what was plan A?)<br/><br/>It used to be thought that<br/><ul><br/> <li>Fashion will be fashioned in the far east along with everything else from ships to computers.<br/>This wasn't really a thought based on statistics or such. Just an every-day observation that seemed inevitable until countries like South Korea and Japan got similar living standards to the UK and still had a lot more indiustry. How do they do it? Their governments didn't fiddle their exchange rates and are much more interested in industry.</li><br/> <li>European jobs could come from financial services & invisibles (invisible clothes for example),<br/>because we are so much better and cleaverer and smarter with all our sophistication (sarcastic).<br/>To be fair, the new middle class in the far east are suckers for Western brands because they represent something vaguely good, but it seems silly to rip them off by selling them sweatshop goods as a symbol of the free civilised west. The next generation will choose differently.</li><br/></ul><br/>Since the banking crisis, banks have cut-back service jobs as have walk-in retailers.<br/>The currency manipulation that made countries like the UK look rich in the 1980s-2000s now has to be reversed, so that more things can be made here again. Fashionistas might not be very interested in monetary policy, but it's a label for rigging exchange rates so that imports look cheap and there can be less inflation. An odd policy to keep in place for 30 years, but that was the policy. It's probably not on the syllabus at fashion college.<br/><br/>A compromise view is that posh things can be made in Europe but cheap things must be made in the far east for high street chain stores. But there are other niche-markets than posh. The shoes worn by ballroom dancers who dance after the political party conferences in Blackpool are often made in the UK and sold for lower prices than branded alternatives made in the far east. The problem is the cost of advertising a brand and distributing it on a high street, as well as manufacturing. Now that people are buying online and may be more savvy about brands, there is a chance to promote shoes made in the UK.<br/><br/>Western people were different to eastern people and should not poke their noses into corruption or bad government by rich elites (who could arrest any eastern people who poked nose). In the UK it's hard to know if any one person believed the first part of this, but it's easy to see that westerners did not want to poke their noses into the politics of Bangladesh or Paikistan or India or China.<br/><br/>More trade might lead to a trickling-down of wealth, of human rights, welfare rights & democracy If not, it was thought to be post-colonial nose-poking to have an opinion.<br/>It was not the business of facebook readers. It was the business of people getting very wealthy in the far east.<br/><br/>If western people are much the same as eastern people, and wealth usually needs a push to trickle-down to to most of us, then there are policies to sort out on the western side, because that is where the consumer money is as the moment. Maybe in a hundred years it will be in the east. In business, it is always good to build-up good will in case someone else is making the decisions in a few years' time! So my recommendation is to keep everyone happy by writing happiness tariff laws, leading to good will and happiness all-round.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-23538013921191536012013-09-05T14:35:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.013+01:00Dolce and Gabbana convicted of tax evasion | World news |
theguardian.comMilan Fashion Week late news: 1st, people are paying too big a markup to Dolce and gabbana by the look of it, 2nd a judge found €1bn missing from the stated income on their tax return, complicated by payment through a Luxemburg company. 3rd, if their clothes are made in China which has no welfare state and so lower taxes, isn't that another form of tax avoidance?<br/><div class="llynx_print"><br/><div class="llynx_text"><a title="Go to Dolce and Gabbana convicted of tax evasion | World news | theguardian.com" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/19/dolce-gabbana-convicted-tax-evasion-italy-fashion">Dolce and Gabbana convicted of tax evasion | World news | theguardian.com</a><small>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/19/dolce-gabbana-convicted-tax-evasion-italy-fashion</small><span>Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana found guilty in Milan court of failing to declare €1bn in income</span></div><br/></div>Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-51987969705434251682013-09-05T14:17:00.000+01:002015-12-17T11:48:33.060+00:00European Parliament non legislative motion on Bangladesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The European Parliament takes a tougher view on tariffs than the G8 - and it is the European Commission who set tariffs. Clauses 5 & 6 mention labout conditions among plenty of other clauses about other issues I had never heard of!<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-21570170318135326512013-09-05T14:10:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.003+01:00https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nutrition-for-growth-beating-hunger-through-business-and-scienceUK and Irish governments want to help reduce hunger. UK government also wants to increase trade and wealth. Why not link the two, with higher tariffs on trade with countries that don't reduce hunger?Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-49701935161852789032013-09-05T14:06:00.000+01:002018-04-07T23:01:58.382+01:00The Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion all party group<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/ethics-and-sustainability-in-fashion.htm" title="Go to House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Groups as at 24 July 2013: Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion">House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Groups as at 24 July 2013: Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion</a><small>http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/ethics-and-sustainability-in-fashion.htm</small>To work with the fashion industry to: develop political solutions that address issues such as the environmental impact of excessive consumption; assess what the key issues are… Centre for Sustainable Fashion, part of the London College of Fashion, acts as the group’s secretariat, with assistance from Made-By.<br />
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First, the group has no obvious funding but it does have a treasurer. They do not have to declare their accounts and I know of no public accounts for them.<br />
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Second, the group reads a script very similar to that put-out by Futerra Communications. They tried taking an independant line when first set-up, with a speech put together from the House of Lords Library, but then they had a second westminster hall debate making speeches in the more usual format. The one that slithers from the vague word "ethical" to the pale word "sustainable" while you're not looking; the one that answers its own question "what is ethical fashion?", and the one that hasn't heard of a welfare state as a way of reducing poverty, and the one that pretends manufacturing is impossible in the UK and that instead we taxpayers benefit hugely from the chains of expensive shops with all their warehousing and PR that we all enjoy in our shopping centres.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-86984867865253236352013-09-04T16:44:00.000+01:002018-04-07T23:22:29.060+01:00MPs say ending violence against women is a key to ending poverty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/news/vawg-report-substantive/" title="Go to MPs say ending violence against women is the key to ending poverty - News from Parliament - UK Parliament">MPs say ending violence against women is the key to ending poverty - News from Parliament - UK Parliament</a><small>http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/news/vawg-report-substantive/</small>Ending violence against women and girls is the litmus test for whether ‘development’ is working in poor countries such as Afghanistan, say MPs in report by the Commons…</div>
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A third of girls in the former third world are married by the age of 18. This could by why the countries are overpopulated and the poor in those countries are very poor.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> blog posts are by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-69081377573229342192013-09-03T19:58:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:11.989+01:00https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/form_of_data_re_footwear_clothinWill government release trade data to allow more products to be made in the UK? This FOI request letter and request for government open data might have a result.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-64278151002059698602013-09-03T19:44:00.000+01:002013-09-13T19:02:12.192+01:00http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/news/vawg-report-substantive/A third of girls in the former third world are married by the age of 18. This could by why the countries are overpopulated and the poor in those countries are very poor.Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-63841865243141596592013-09-03T19:42:00.000+01:002018-04-07T23:00:22.590+01:00http://livingwage.cleanclothes.org/top-10-excuses/<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://livingwage.cleanclothes.org/top-10-excuses/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://livingwage.cleanclothes.org/top-10-excuses/</a> - asking for clothes importers to pay a bigger margin to their production workers before governements sort-out the problem<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-63431107114373452482013-09-03T19:41:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:58:45.220+01:00http://www.prfire.co.uk/politics/message-for-the-g8-tariffs-can-make-poor-countries-richer-140732<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Many of my early posts appear to be blank. I am not sure why they have become blank and will write something to fill the gap in due course.<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-55363436405932859372013-09-03T19:39:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:57:42.990+01:00http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2010/10/12/applications-open-for-lfw<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If anyone really understands the ethics of Esthetica, please send them on a postcard or write them on our facebook page!</div>
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Applications for LFW’s most coveted schemes are now open</div>
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-66270085878851871642013-09-03T18:34:00.000+01:002015-12-14T12:03:12.258+00:00http://www.scribd.com/doc/106797587/PTI-Health-Policy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /><br /><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/106797587/PTI-Health-Policy">http://www.scribd.com/doc/106797587/PTI-Health-Policy</a> - there was going to be a post here</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-84075786259352254082013-09-03T18:33:00.000+01:002015-12-15T11:11:14.533+00:00Great attempt to introduce the start of a welfare state in Pakistan -where they pay less on health than we do in aid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Pakistan Tehreeh-e-Insaf presented its healthy policy on 24th September 2012</div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-50077491000004633892013-09-03T18:28:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:56:06.916+01:00http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/news/substantive-pakistan/<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/news/substantive-pakistan/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tax, Pakistan, and Pakistani imports</a></span></h2>
<a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/news/substantive-pakistan/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/news/substantive-pakistan/</a> - the only way to enforce this is to charge an EU tariff on Pakistani imports.<br />
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<a data-reactid=".r[42kz0].[1][4][1]{comment379688418804248_2038064}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][2].[0].[0]" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-supports-pakistan-to-grow-tax-base" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/.../uk-supports-pakistan-to-grow-tax-base</a> still no tariff - just free training to the Pakistani government (not free to UK taxpayer)<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-supports-pakistan-to-grow-tax-base" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">UK supports Pakistan to grow tax base - Press releases - Inside Government - GOV.UK</a></b></div>
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International Development Secretary Justine Greening announces new support for tax collection and skills training on a visit to Pakistan.</div>
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a><a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"> may be easier to read on a single page</a><br />
a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop</div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-8965473687512501202013-09-03T16:52:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:51:16.369+01:00http://enoughfoodif.org/issues/transparency<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://enoughfoodif.org/issues/transparency" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Transparency</a></h2>
<a href="http://enoughfoodif.org/issues/transparency" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><br />http://enoughfoodif.org/issues/transparency</a> - starting with trasparency at home. One of the agencies backing The Big If is CAFOD, an organisation funded by people who want to look like good churchgoers in order to get taxpayer-funded places for their children in exclusive schools! Unlike Oxfam, Action Aid or Christian Aid, CAFOD does not advocate contraception. Another charity with the same loyalty - Cardinal Hume Centre - advertised itself as helping the young street homeless of Westminster while providing grace and favour housing to people well connected with senior figures in failed african regimes. If Cardinal Hume Centre in London does that, how much more transparent does CAFOD need to be?<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a><a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"> may be easier to read on a single page</a><br />
a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<br /></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-50498770667967805612013-09-03T16:50:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:52:23.017+01:00http://enoughfoodif.org/issues/tax<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-60168779485388773682013-09-03T16:47:00.000+01:002015-12-14T11:59:37.039+00:00http://enoughfoodif.org/issues/aid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Aid</h2>
<br />This post appears to be missing.</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-10578434729084674832013-09-03T16:45:00.000+01:002015-12-17T11:47:16.254+00:00V and A misses the lack of a welfare state in Bangladesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/w/what-is-ethical-fashion/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Serious concerns are often raised about exploitative working conditions. End of story.</a></h2>
<a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/w/what-is-ethical-fashion/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/w/what-is-ethical-fashion/</a> - This summery doesn't notice that clothes are made in countries without a welfare state and nobody is doing anything about it! - the nearest they get to a grumble is <i>"Serious concerns are often raised about exploitative working conditions"</i>, and then they interview people from a google of <i>"fashion"</i> rather than <i>"manufacturing"</i>.<br />
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There is nobody on the debating floor who makes clothes in the UK, which is odd in a museum funded by UK taxpayers. So the hosts think it's OK to claim a grant from the Department of Culture Media and Sport of the Arts Council, but don't think it a bit rude to leave out the more important things that taxes pay for when they're choosing guest speakers.<br /><br />There are no speakers who have ever claimed benefits, or used free schooling or the NHS by the look of it, unless they put that difference between UK production and Bangladeshi production in an entirely separate part of their mind that doesn't talk to the public part.<br />
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[first linked 01.06.13]<br />
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<a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a><a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"> may be easier to read on a single page</a><br />
a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop selling shoes mainly made in the UK and Europe<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-7827789526716115072013-09-03T16:43:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:47:44.519+01:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FfisiaIjRFk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FfisiaIjRFk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Make your own underwear factory</a></h2>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FfisiaIjRFk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FfisiaIjRFk</a> It's possible to make undies in a welfare state as long as you don't have to advertise or pay for expensive retail. This is a rather wonderful no-budget video of an undies making hosiery loom worked by the people who own it at a small leicestershire factory. That's how to make clothes and pay the costs of a welfare state I think.<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a><a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"> may be easier to read on a single page</a><br />
a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<br /></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-384616996386707142013-09-03T16:40:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:45:08.722+01:00Bangladesh - the cost of fashion | link to AlJazeera and comment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2013/05/2013524164645166872.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Interview with Muhammad Yunus</a></h2>
<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2013/05/2013524164645166872.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><br />http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2013/05/2013524164645166872.html</a> - long video interview with Muhammad Yunus. He mainly says diplomatic, upbeat, vague things in order to get decision-makers round a table with him, but comes-up with a few specifics about introducing a welfare state when the governments of Bangladesh and Europe aren't interested. <br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Firstly, some high-profile high-volume buyers could ask for a minimum wage to "set the ball rolling". With luck this could begin to effect colleagues in the same company, subcontractors to the contracting company and so-on if there were a consensus that it was a good thing. </li>
<li>Secondly I forget - it was a long interview. </li>
<li>Thirdly he came-up with a rarer point. If trade associations and legislators make information more public about factory ownership, names to blame, safety certificates checked, wages paid, then the existing laws become a lot stronger. There could be something like a wages council to investigate payment below the minimum wage or factories with cracks in the walls. What I didn't hear was why textile workers in Europe and Bangladesh deserve less of a predictable career and a welfare state than other less globalised workers, but as soon as international trade is discussed, welfare rights drop off the agenda.</li>
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a><a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"> may be easier to read on a single page</a><br />
a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<br /></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-72868064975556294502013-09-03T16:36:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:43:23.930+01:00Primark to compensate Bangladesh factory victims | comment and link toMs Wandas.co.uk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a data-ft="{"tn":"k"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=170918243014601" href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion?ref=stream">planB4fashion</a> commented on mswandas.co.uk.</h5>
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<a data-ft="{"tn":"p"}" href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion?sk=page_insights&section=navPosts&subsection=navPostsAllPosts#" id="u_q_8" rel="toggle" role="button"><i title="Options for this story"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Options for this story</span></i></a></div>
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Great news! Odd that Primark's most notorious supplier, TNS Knitwear of Majid House in Manchester sucontracting for Fashion Waves, had free hospitals and GP services on its doorstep and neighbours in the building who were unlikely to let it collapse. In those ways, it was a better employer than companies like New Wave Bottoms of Rana Plaza. I think that economic pressure through the tariff system could change the system that surrounded Rana Plaza as well as the factories inside it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/05/01/primark-compensate-bangladesh-factory-victims/" title="Prmark to compensate Bangladesh factory victims">http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2013/05/01/primark-compensate-bangladesh-factory-victims/</a><br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a><a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"> may be easier to read on a single page</a><br />
a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop</div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-26892726392436770652013-09-03T16:33:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:42:22.288+01:00The former third world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The former third world<br />
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Bangladeshi factory workers share a country with wealthy & sophisticated compatriots. They are like the rich and poor of Edwardian Britain, at a time when National Insurance was introduced here, and they deserve universal access to schools, hospitals, pensions, democracy and human rights there as well. These systems tend to reduce poplulation growth because the next generation do not have to rely on family to look after them in old age. But a welfare state also makes manufactured products a little bit more expensive for the same reason: there are less poor. There are also the costs. That is why the elites in former third world countries want to keep their poor poor. Countries with welfare states continue this system, by out-sourcing their production to the cheapest source. it would be good to help intstead of hindering.<br />
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How?<br />
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Tariffs against countries with the worst human rights records, like Zimbabwe or China, falling for countries that introduce votes, human rights and universal services, like South Africa or Taiwan. A sliding scale.<br />
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The EU already has already used sanctions against some of the worst countries, like Burma, and UK politicians are pushing for more free trade with democracies like India and Mexico. All that's needed is a more subtle sliding scale of tariff.<br />
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[first written 9.5.13 on a facebook page as a note to self]<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop</div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-66963858086287145642013-09-03T16:20:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:39:57.570+01:00EU considers trade action to improve Bangladesh labour standards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/may/03/eu-action-bangladesh-labour-standards" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/may/03/eu-action-bangladesh-labour-standards</a> - more consensus. The current system rewards Bangladesh for increasing poverty, rather than reducing it with state pensions, education and human rights<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a><a href="http://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500"> may be easier to read on a single page</a><br />
a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
<br /></div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-42189930714524455362013-09-03T16:16:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:39:29.197+01:00Made-by.org quote - could argue .... responsibility ... state<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://made-by.org/blogpost/health-safety-and-social-conditions-asian-factories" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://made-by.org/blogpost/health-safety-and-social-conditions-asian-factories</a> <br />
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<i>"Conversely, one may argue that the ultimate responsibility to ensure workers are paid a living wage falls into the hands of the state. Retailers would be legally obliged to pay a living wage if it were represented by the legal minimum. However, the garment industry contributes to 17% of Bangladesh’s GDP and 8.5% of the Pakistan’s GDP. It is figures such as these that may explain why some governments are hesitant to raise the legal minimum wage, as higher labour costs are likely to deter foreign buyers."</i></blockquote>
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-87746829944705855142013-09-03T16:12:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:38:39.198+01:00The Former Third World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">The former third world</span></h2>
<br />
Bangladeshi factory workers share a country with wealthy & sophisticated compatriots. They are like the rich and poor of Edwardian Britain, at a time when National Insurance was introduced here, and they deserve universal access to schools, hospitals, pensions, democracy and human rights there as well. These systems tend to reduce poplulation growth because the next generation do not have to rely on family to look after them in old age. But a welfare state also makes manufactured products a little bit more expensive for the same reason: there are less poor. There are also the costs. That is why the elites in former third world countries want to keep their poor poor. Countries with welfare states continue this system, by out-sourcing their production to the cheapest source. it would be good to help intstead of hindering.<br />
<div>
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How?<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Tariffs against countries with the worst human rights records, like Zimbabwe or China, falling for countries that introduce votes, human rights and universal services, like South Africa or Taiwan. A sliding scale.</h4>
<br />
The EU already has already used sanctions against some of the worst countries, like Burma, and UK politicians are pushing for more free trade with democracies like India and Mexico. All that's needed is a more subtle sliding scale of tariff.<br />
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[late May 2013 - notes to self on facebook]<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-72133359531678301022013-09-03T16:11:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:37:09.479+01:00Muhammad Yunus quotes - Savar Tragedy, Garments Industry & Bangladesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a data-ft="{"tn":"k"}" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=170918243014601" href="https://www.facebook.com/planB4fashion">planB4fashion</a></h5>
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<a href="http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/savar-tragedy-garments-industry-and-bangladesh/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/savar-tragedy-garments-industry-and-bangladesh/</a> <br />
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<b>Muhammad Yunus</b> of Bangladesh was on Newsnight last night promoting a voluntary doubling of the minimum wage to 50 cents, promoted by consumer pressure on international buyers. <i>"Four million peasant girls come to the city"</i>, he said; <i>"we need a little bit of room". "There is a lot you can do with another 25 cents an hour"</i>. The Daily Star, below, quotes him as saying that civil society (hinting that this means factory inspectors, police, laws, benefits agencies, government, elite groups) are as broken in Bangladesh as well as buildings and so concentrates on a private sector solution to poverty. This was criticised in the Huffington Post - quoting the facebook page below for example - as a token and ineffective solution without even any support from labour groups. He is also silent about western trade blocs with their tariff system that undermines a welfare state in Europe and the USA as well as preventing one from forming in Bangladesh.<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-59635994478825628602013-09-03T16:02:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:38:05.221+01:00Avaaz petition: Enough fashion victims<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/gap_enough_fashion_victims_global/?bAiIibb&v=24973" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.avaaz.org/en/gap_enough_fashion_victims_global/?bAiIibb&v=24973</a> -<br />
this Avaaz petition to big shopkeepers is only part of the answer. Tariffs against sweatshops are much better. But every little helps<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-90781215121365368942013-09-03T15:54:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:36:29.112+01:00http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/05/15/topshop-signs-bangladesh-factory-agreement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/05/15/topshop-signs-bangladesh-factory-agreemen">http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/05/15/topshop-signs-bangladesh-factory-agreemen</a>t<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> blog posts are by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop</div>
Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-88794793886714114942013-09-03T15:52:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:35:33.579+01:00Some clothes are made in a welfare state and some are not<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Some clothes are made in a welfare state and some are not</h2>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/10/are-british-made-clothes-more-sustainable" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/10/are-british-made-clothes-more-sustainable</a> - Lucy Siegle of The Guardian quotes clothing importers and their commentators to write about British-made clothes. This misses the point that some clothes are made in a welfare state, and some are not. That's more important to me than miles of travel. A BBC exposure of TNS Knitwear of Manchester, a sub-sub-contractor to Primark, shows the staff telling each other how to claim sickness benefit while working. There are free hospitals are within a mile of the factory: miles of travel to a hospital are more important.<br />
<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Hospital/M12-6JR/Results/3/-2.21687746047974/53.4704437255859/7/0?distance=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Hospital/M12-6JR/Results/3/-2.21687746047974/53.4704437255859/7/0?distance=1</a><br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop</div>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-12999480355328012802013-09-03T15:48:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:35:04.953+01:00Taxes via UK Trade and Investment subsidise London Fashion Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://fbcdn-photos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/936879_370080293098394_1642765121_a.pnghttp://"><br /></a>
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<a href="https://fbcdn-photos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/936879_370080293098394_1642765121_a.pnghttp://">UK Trade and Investment subsidises London Fashion Week</a></h2>
The link says it all.<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-26128676733287755762013-09-03T15:45:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:31:51.040+01:00Taxes from Greater London Authority subsidise London Fashion Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://john:81/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/180274_370079949765095_1958872834_n1.jpg"><img alt="180274_370079949765095_1958872834_n[1]" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20" src="https://john:81/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/180274_370079949765095_1958872834_n1.jpg" height="25" width="190"></a><br />
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[written as a note 13.5.13]<br />
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This appeared to be a post saying that taxes from the Greater London Authority subsidise London Fashion Week, but it's got garbled. Most of the blog posts on a single page are visible from the link below.<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-10899224140242609222013-09-03T15:30:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:30:49.601+01:00Release trade data: who makes socks? or T shirts?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Release trade data</h2>
There used to be careful trade directories in reference libraries, which would tell you where to get stuff made. The Shoe Trades Directory for example. Not any more. The fashion trade, like most trades, needs government to help find lists of potential UK suppliers.<br />
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How?<br />
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Release data from VAT and Income Tax records of what companies are in what trades. Data from Companies House is already available via companies like Duedil. If more of this raw data were available, there would be more chance of a commercial company or an initiative like "Lets Make it Here" being good at what it sets out to do, and getting a proper list of factories, techniques used, materials often stocked, minimum orders, price bands, and so-on.<br />
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[first written 9.5.13 on facebook as notes towards some kind of leaflet to hand-out outside an ethical fashion show]<br />
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<a href="https://planb4fashion.blogspot.co.uk/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500" title="PlanB4fashion is a blog for fair tariffs and a welfare state">Planb4fashion</a> is a blog by <a href="http://veganline.com/" title="Vegan shoes boots belts and jackets mainly made in the UK">Veganline.com</a> which is a vegan shoe shop<br />
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832477224687214691.post-46146907420335610832013-09-03T15:21:00.000+01:002018-04-07T22:30:20.980+01:00Fashion Week subsidy for the UK, not China<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: red;">Fashion Week subsidy for the UK, not China. A proposal</span></h2>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The circulation of tax money spent on London Fashion Week should benefit more taxpayers and help rebalance the economy. The money should not just go to big business, London service industries, and Chinese factories. Think of this like a manifesto idea.<br />
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Current estimates of where the money goes are based on decades-old figures about how many factories make things in the UK. Now there are less. Other money circulates to PR agents, photographers, and the London parts of international fashion operations. These do not help to rebalance the economy towards the regions and manufacturing.</blockquote>
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<span style="color: red;">How? <br />UK factories should nominate and have their names quoted</span></h3>
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Reference requests. Subsidise only the fashion companies that can get a reference from a UK or European factory.<br />
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Publish the names of these factories during the fashion week.<br />
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Hold the event in Leicester or some town with clothing factories in it and cheap hotels, rather than an expensive and over-crowded town like London.</blockquote>
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<span style="color: red;">Who? <br />Taxpayers pay London Fashion week via the Department for Business and Greater London Authority</span></h3>
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London Fashion Week is subsidised by the Department for Business, The Department for Culture, and the Greater London Authority who pay a trade association called British Fashion Council to organise it.</blockquote>
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Veganline.com for vegan shoes boots and beltshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14691394716207902112noreply@blogger.com0