JustShirts

3rd Party Certification

Certification is a tricky issue for us because there are numerous certification and monitoring organizations, each "certifying" and "monitoring" something different and each with different concerns and interests. Some organizations are primarily concerned with the environment, others with the working conditions of agriculture workers who farm the cotton and finally those that focus on the workers who make the clothing.

 

At Justshirts we have decided to work with the organizations that start from the interests of the apparel workers. This doesn't mean that we are uninterested in the environment and the plight of agricultural workers. Indeed we believe that our decision to use leftover fabric from local mills is both socially and environmentally responsible in that it provides jobs for local communities and cuts down on the cost of transporting fabric from China or India. While these decisions prevent us from using the "organic" or "fair trade" label on the actual cotton, we believe that this decision actually is more environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.

 

Currently we work with four organizations to help us ensure that our practices are responsible and sustainable:

 

Sweatshop Watch is an organization that is primarily concerned with the working conditions of apparel workers. Sweatshop Watch not only conducts an external assessment but helps us to engage in an internal assessment of our business practices.

 

Fair Labor Association is another organization that is primarily concerned with the working conditions of apparel workers. We are a licensee member of the Fair Labor Association and comply with their code of conduct.

 

The Fair Trade Federation is affiliation of organizations working in the area of fair trade. The Fair Trade Federation assesses whether the business practices are "fair", both when organizations wish to join and on a continuing basis. Membership in the Fair Trade Federation helps us to learn about the "best practices" of other organizations and provides a form of moral suasion to ensure that our business practices are fair.

 

The Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) is another organization that monitors the working conditions of apparel workers. The WRC works directly with universities and colleges to ensure that the factories that produce their clothing are following certain standards. Companies that wish to provide clothing for universities and colleges must agree to follow the WRC's standards. We follow these standards for all of our production.