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WELCOME TO THE ARCHIVE (1994-2014) OF THE MAQUILA SOLIDARITY NETWORK. For current information on our ongoing work on the living wage, women's labour rights, freedom of association, corporate accountability and Bangladesh fire and safety, please visit our new website, launched in October, 2015: www.maquilasolidarity.org

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December 7, 2006

Revealing Clothing

2006 Transparency Report Card

Revealing Clothing cover Revealing Clothing, ETAG's second Transparency Report Card, picks up where Coming Clean on the Clothes We Wear left off. It assesses and compares public reporting on labour standards compliance by 30 top apparel retailers and brands selling clothes in the Canadian market, including Levi Strauss, Nike, adidas, H&M, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Roots, La Senza, Reitmans and 22 others. This year's report also discusses worker involvement, purchasing practices and sustainable compliance.

More information.

September 19, 2006

Is Fair Trade a Good Fit for the Garment Industry?

Discussion Paper #1 CoverCan a ‘fair trade' apparel brand expand the fight for worker rights or would it reduce the pressure on mainstream apparel companies to change their labour practices? Would fair trade apparel brands finally give consumers an effective way to "vote with their dollars" or could they actually confuse and demobilize consumers? And what will it mean for worker organizing in the apparel industry?

Download the Discussion Paper here (PDF format, 500k)

December 1, 2005

Coming Clean on the Clothes We Wear

2005 Transparency Report Card

Coming Clean on the Clothes We Wear assesses and compares 25 retailers and brands based on the information they provide to the public on their efforts to address labour rights issues in their global supply chains.

April 2, 2005

Ethical Licensing and Purchasing Policies: Implementation Guide

A simple guide for public institutions and campaigners on how to effectively implement No Sweat policies. PDF format

October 1, 2004

Living Wage Standards in Codes of Conduct

This 2004 paper surveys various Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on how they determine a living wage for apparel workers, and recommends clauses on wages to include in codes of conduct.

June 19, 2000

Sweatshop education and action kits

Between 1995 and 2010, MSN acted as resource for educational and campaign work in Canada on sweatshop abuses in the Canadian and global garment industries. As part of that work, MSN produced two education/action kits for people interested in becoming involved in the movement to end sweatshop abuses.