Ethical Options for Societies

 

The concept of EthOS was devised from discussions about ethical consumerism, with particular focus on companies that promote human rights through the sale of clothing products. Within this industry there have been numerous Human Rights violations throughout the supply chain. From the farming and cultivation of the raw cotton through to the manufacture and sale of the garments, industry workers have been subjected to sub-standard and dangerous working conditions, refused a decent wage and have had internationally recognised rights, such as the right to unionise, violated.

Fairtrade and WRAP are organisations that accredit products that meet minimum standards of ethicality, across the supply chain. EthOS aims to promote awareness of these ethical issues and hopes to engage with the student body and its collective consumer power. Other than private purchases, students purchase a considerable number of Student Union society/club clothing. By targeting this market, EthOS aims to influence society execs to make an informed choice about the products they select for their society members.

We have researched four common suppliers to the Union Societies and profiled them on our website, detailing their positive and negative aspects, with an emphasis on their ethical clothing options.

By committing to a product that EthOS deems ‘ethical’, a society can use the EthOS logo as a form of accreditation to highlight their stance on human rights violations by non-ethical clothing companies. The logo presence spreads awareness of the ethical issues and allows the society to reap the other benefits that come with making an ethical choice. These include:

• Additional incentive for sponsors to support the society, linking in with various CSR policies.
• A favourable perception within the local community.

All a society needs to do gain the accreditation is fill in the application form (online shortly) and attach a copy of their clothing order. If a society uses a supplier not described in the current EthOS portfolio and believes it to be ethical they can inform us of the company and we will investigate. Societies will eventually be able to fill out a more detailed application form listing more companies. This process will allow the EthOS portfolio to grow, providing ever wider choices to societies.

Contact: ethos.warwick@gmail.com