Scottish Fair Trade Forum
Campaigns
Fairtrade Cotton Schoolwear Campaign
Cotton: Key Facts and Fairtrade Cotton
The Scottish Fair Trade Forum's Schoolwear Campaign, headed by Forum Volunteer Schools' Advisor Angela Oakley, was launched in May 2010 in East Dunbartonshire as a pilot scheme which has now been completed. You can download the evaluation and the executive summary.
The campaign is now being rolled out across Scotland and complements the Wear Fair campaign organised by student campaign group People & Planet, which aims to get Fairtrade cotton uniforms and sports kits in all primary and secondary schools by 2015.
Taking part will help schools achieve Fairtrade School and Eco-School status, meet requirements for the Curriculum for Excellence and contribute to Education for Citizenship.
We have put together some Frequently Asked Questions for you to download. If your question is not there, then please get in touch.
Successes so far
In East Dunbartonshire the pilot campaign was well supported. Some pupils are already wearing Fairtrade cotton school uniforms and schools are considering Fairtrade options.
Good news! The Scottish Fair Trade Forum has completed some research regarding the availability of Fairtrade cotton schoolwear in the shops in Glasgow. There is a significant increase in the availability of Fairtrade cotton schoolwear, which is very encouraging. Click here to access the report which gives a list of the Fairtrade cotton items available, the prices and in which shops they can be purchased.
- to raise awareness in primary and secondary schools across Scotland of Fairtrade clothing, including school uniforms and sportswear
- to help schools switch to Fairtrade cotton uniform and sportswear
- to show suppliers that there is a demand for Fairtrade cotton school uniforms and sportswear
We want:
- pupils to wear Fairtrade cotton schoolwear
- parents to buy Fairtrade cotton schoolwear
- shops to sell Fairtrade cotton schoolwear
1) Cotton is known as a "dirty crop" because of the damaging pesticides used. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that thousands of cotton workers die every year because of pesticide poisoning. (Read about the EJF's Campaign to eradicate child labour and the deadliest pesticides from cotton production here.)
2) Non-Fairtrade uniforms may have been produced by school-aged children for as little as 5p per hour, 80 hours a week. (Read about child labour in Uzbekistan's cotton industry here.)
3) Cotton is often picked by children who have been trafficked and denied basic human rights.
4) Cotton prices are too low for many cotton farmers to keep their children in school, buy food or pay for healthcare.
5) The UK school clothing market is worth £1 billion per year, but very little of this money goes to the people who grow the cotton.
Why Fairtrade Cotton?
Fairtrade-certified cotton farmers get a guaranteed price for their crop. This price never falls below the amount it costs them to grow the cotton, which means they can afford to improve the lives of their families and develop their communities. Fairtrade cotton is produced without using pesticides, child labour or forced labour. It gives workers in the cotton fields and factories decent wages and working conditions.
Fairtrade cotton school uniform and sports gear suppliers
Download a list of suppliers of Fairtrade school uniforms, staff wear, course wear, other cotton garments and sports gear. This was updated in September 2011.
The Fairtrade Foundation has some excellent resources on Fairtrade cotton. It has six short films on Fairtrade cotton, information on Fairtrade cotton growers and on sources of Fairtrade clothing as well as a PowerPoint presentation called from Seed to Garment that you can download to use in schools. It follows the journey from cotton seed to cotton garment and includes useful notes. You can also download their guide on how to organise 'fashion shows' as well as their report, the Great Cotton Stitch-Up, about the wall of subsidies preventing the world's poorest cotton farmers from making a living.
Wear Fair packs (Secondary Schools)
Download all you need for a 'Wear Fair' campaign from People & Planet, including fashion show resources and a list of where to source Fairtrade cotton uniforms and sportswear.
SFTF Cotton Game: Making Shirts
Making Shirts is a game exercise designed to encourage children aged 7 to 10 to think about how trade works through making them experience unfair trade directly. It can be used either on its own or in conjunction with other cotton resources. Click on the above link to download a free copy of the game.
SFTF Story: The Cotton Fields and the Astronaut
This short story, especially written for the Forum by David Armstrong, is an excellent resource to use as an introduction to cotton and the issues surrounding it. It is written from the viewpoint of an Uzbekistani school pupil who works in the cotton fields. David has very kindly given permission for it to be used in schools.
SFTF Fairtrade Schools Workshop: Focus on Cotton
Materials from this workshop which was presented at the Scottish Fair Trade Forum Campaign Day 2010 are now available to download. Please click on the link above to access them.
Fair Trade Football Manufacturer
Download this three-minute film from teachers.tv which shows a case study of how Fair Trade practices are improving the lives of Pakistani villagers who make footballs. It is aimed at 11 to 14 year-olds.
Fair Trade Wales has teamed up with other organisations, such as Oxfam, to put together a great Fairtrade Cotton Resource Pack, containing lesson plans and assembly presentations. Much material from Oxfam's The Clothes Line is in this pack, a resource exploring cotton production and the textile industry in India for pupils aged 7–11.
Oxfam has produced these excellent materials for an assembly for pupils aged 13 and over.
This resource can be used in Business Studies as well as Global Citizenship and Fair Trade. Labour behind the Label is no longer a project of Norfolk Education and Action for Development (NEAD) and is now based in Bristol. This resource was originally published on the website of 'Just Business', a project of NEAD, and has been given to the Forum by kind permission of NEAD and the Project Director, Stephen Fairbrass. The resource may be reproduced and used free of charge in formal or informal educational settings, but not exploited for commercial gain.
This new resource pack has been produced by Labour Behind the Label for you to download, which is aimed at 14 to 16 year olds. It focuses on sportswear and is aimed specifically at schools in the run up to 2012, dealing with issues of procurement and workers' rights. Labour behind the Label has also released a new report on India, Taking Liberties: the Story Behind the UK High Street, which can be downloaded. Click here to browse and download their other general educational resources and reports.
Trading Trainers
A 14-page game from Christian Aid that highlights the situation facing many poor countries that manufacture trainers - where working hard for a living does not equate to earning a fair amount. For ages 13+.
Organising an Ethical Fashion Show
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has put together some hints and tips for organising an ethical fashion show. They also have lots of information on cotton production, the environmental problems and child labour issues on their campaigns page.
Brand New Andrew and Fair Trade Fred
These teaching packs, put together by Gillian Geddes of the Hopscotch Theatre Company, are based on their theatre production 'Brand New Andrew and Fair Trade Fred', which looked at the sweat shops and child labour in the clothing supply chain. The packs include lesson plans and activities, some of which are concerned with the fashion industry. Click on the following links to download the three packs: Lower Primary pack, Middle-Upper Primary pack and Secondary (S1-2) pack.
This pack has been produced by RISC and enables young people to explore their links with contemporaries in the Majority World.
Sustainable Fashion: A Handbook for Educators, Fashioning an Ethical Industry
This handbook brings sustainability and ethics into your teaching and, by doing so, motivates students to consider the people and environment when making decisions in their future careers.
This report from 2008 looks at whether the large fashion retailers are 'cleaning up their act' and working towards improving wages and working conditions for those who make our clothes.
A buyer's guide to school uniforms from the UK's leading alternative consumer organisation giving facts and information and showing the ethical ratings of the High Street brands.
Not only do Koolskools supply Fairtrade cotton clothing and school uniforms, but they also have information and videos on the cotton production and manufacturing process, Fairtrade quizzes, and give presentations in schools.
- Raise awareness with your fellow pupils, teachers and parents, so more people understand the problems faced by workers in the cotton fields and factories.
- Ask if you can give a presentation at your assembly to raise the issue.
- Speak to the Pupil Council, Parent Council and PTA about the importance of Fairtrade schoolwear.
- Join the Campaign Working Group.
- Set up a group in school to take the campaign forward.
- Encourage your school to adopt a Fairtrade school uniform policy. (Click here to download an example policy)
- Introduce a Fairtrade cotton project to the enterprise class.
- Ask your uniform supplier to stock Fairtrade cotton school uniforms and sportswear
- Why not hold an event like a Fashion Show. This is a fun way of building support for Fairtrade uniforms at your school!
What you can do (teachers/parents)
Get involved at different levels. We need people to:
- use the resources above in your lessons
- set up a group in school to take the Campaign forward
- volunteer to be trained as a Fairtrade cotton campaigner
- invite a speaker to teach about the school uniform supply chain
- invite a speaker to talk with staff and/or parents
- adopt a Fairtrade school uniform policy
- ask your school uniform supplier to stock Fairtrade cotton uniforms and sports gear
- buy Fairtrade cotton uniforms and sports gear
- support the Campaign in any other way you can!
Contact
If you wish to support the Campaign in any way, or would like more information, please contact us on schools@sftf.org.uk.