Fashionably Fair? We don't think so.
Oxford Uni P&P's campaigning scares Topshop away from a debate about Fairtrade clothing.
Topshop representatives, due to take part in a debate on Fairtrade Fashion for the Oxford Fairtrade coalition, withdrew at the last minute, as a result of P&P’s ongoing campaign.
Oxford P&P collected more than 200 signatures in just a few hours, asking their local Topshop manager to support our demands to Philip Green
Lucie Kinchin from Oxford Uni P&P reports:
“Following the national momentum built up at the end of last year, students from Oxford People & Planet set up between Dorothy Perkins and Topshop bright and early (for a Saturday) on 25 January. Pegged with labels reading ‘Slave Labour Chic’, ‘100% Sweat Shop Made’ and ‘Sweat Top’, we spent two and a half hours swooping down upon members of the public to raise their awareness of the conditions in which clothes from the Arcadia group are produced, and to ask them to support our demand that Philip Green join the Ethical Trading Initiative. Chants filled the air - “If it’s gonna be our Topshop it shouldn’t be a sweat shop” and the song created especially for the occasion:
“Top Shop, why are you doing this to us?
We really like the clothes and we wouldn’t make a fuss,
But we’re worried ‘bout the ethics of our fashion wear;
Sir Philip Green of Top Shop doesn’t seem to really care.”
Oxford P&P call on Topshop to Redress Fashion
Oxford P&P engage passers by in the Redress Fashion campaign
Several hours later, we had a pink box filled with 115 signed action cards, and over 200 signatures from those who wanted to add their voices to our petition to Becca Lawson, Oxford’s managing director of Top Shop, asking her to support us in our lobbying of Philip Green.
Not only did our presence have an impact on the shoppers that morning, but our pressure seems to have had some effect within Topshop itself: scheduled to come and speak at a Fairtrade debate named ‘FashionablyFair?’ on the 6th of February, Topshop representatives withdrew at the last minute. Clearly they were not willing to face an audience peppered with students who see through their hypocrisy - we have spread the word that they are not, in actual fact, ‘fashionably fair’!”
Student newspaper, the Oxford Student commented in its editorial:
“So Topshop pulled out of a meeting on Fair Trade - quelle surprise. What we might ask ourselves is why they were coming in the first place. They may have used some friendly dyes and fabrics, and pay fair wages now and again, but last time we checked being fair was not something you do part-time.
If Topshop truly believed in fair pay and conditions for its workers it would treat them well all of the time. but it seems they don’t. One might suggest that what they believe in is a fashion for fair trade to sell more products, and a rack of fair trade products to make people believe that all their products are manufactured equitably.
We salute the campaigners for not falling for this deception. They tried to question Topshop’s commitment to fair trade but funnily enough Topshop weren’t up for the discussion.”
Read Oxford P&P’s press release about Topshop’s withdrawal
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