I'm wearing red today, while spending zero money, to show solidarity with the A Day Without A Woman strike. There are those who dismiss the campaign as "kind of annoying". To them I say, "Sorry, I can't hear you - I'm on strike."
I understand the charge that only privileged women can afford to down tools for political reasons. But since I'm one of those, I'm happy to use my power to make the point that the gender pay gap persists, casual sexism clings on and the domestic violence crisis has not been solved. And that's just in Australia. Globally women's rights are increasingly under attack. That's why I think the campaign is an inspired one – it's also relevant to sustainable style.
![Susan Carland on her recent recce to Phnom Phen, with Cambodian women’s rights activist Mu Sochua](/web/20170310200757im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/t/1/7/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gut17q.png/1488928736067.jpg)
More than 80 per cent of garment workers are women. What would happen if they all refused to sew our clothes until each and every one of them was granted fair working conditions? The fashion industry would grind to a halt, that's what.
Whatever colour shirt you're wearing today, spare a thought for the person who made it. There's a good chance she was a woman having a crap time.
![Susan Carland visited workers’ accommodation. Carland describes “concrete cells with 3 or 4 young women living in a room ...](/web/20170310200757im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/t/1/7/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gut17q.png/1488928736067.jpg)
According to Labour Behind the Label, many garment workers earn as little as $21 a month, while human rights abuses abound: "Poverty pay, long hours, forced overtime, unsafe conditions, sexual, physical and verbal abuse, repression of trade union rights and short term contracts are all commonplace in the clothing industry."
"This is a feminist issue," says Dr Susan Carland, who teaches gender studies, politics, and sociology at Monash University, "not least because women are buying and wearing these clothes. If we say that we care about women's issues, then we can never allow our comfort to come at the expense of another woman's."
Carland hopes this International Women's Day we will consider the millions who don't have the luxury of choosing to strike. "What we need is systemic change for every woman."
In February, Carland and her 13-year-old daughter visited Phnom Penh with Australian NGO, the International Women's Development Agency to hear directly from female Cambodian garment workers, activists and politicians.
While the Cambodian garment industry is much smaller (employing about 600,000 people) than China's (more than 10 million) or Bangladesh's (4 million), it's growing. As Pacific Brands, which owns Bonds, and currently produces 4 per cent of its products there, says, "Cambodia represents a relatively new sourcing market". No need to say a cheap one. Minimum wage protests have been in the news since January 2014, when a brutal crackdown at a protest outside a factory near Phnom Penh left at least four dead.
According to the Clean Clothes Campaign, brands sourcing from factories in Cambodia include Levi's, H&M;, Inditex (which owns Zara), Gap, Adidas and many more.
In Phnom Penh, Carland talked with about 20 female garment workers (most on the proviso that their identities be kept secret). She also visited workers' accommodation. Carland describes "concrete cells with 3 or 4 young women living in a room the size of king size bed. [It was] so hot, no refrigeration, no privacy, they'd have to share a toilet with maybe 100 other people, and pay a high percentage of what's a very minimal wage for the privilege.
"For me the most confronting thing was hearing them speak about the conditions at work," she continues. "How common it is to faint ,for example, [because of poor ventilation]. There are problems with things like haemorrhoids and UTIs because their [bathroom breaks] are so restricted." She emphasises "the immense stress they're under to churn out garments very quickly. This is actually very cleverly done because they work in teams to reach their targets. If you can't keep up, your friends lose their money too."
Carland heard repeatedly that ethical codes of conduct aren't working. "What we heard on the ground is no one is enforcing these codes of conduct. [The workers said] 'When they come to check on us in the factory, we are told what we have to say.'"
So what to do? It's no use avoiding 'Made in Cambodia' because that means fewer jobs for women who need them. "What they want is for us to hassle brands to do the right thing, to enforce the codes of conduct," says Carland. "The companies need to sincerely care about this, and the only way for that to happen is through consumers demanding it."
Clare Press is the author of Wardrobe Crisis; How We Went from Sunday Best to Fast Fashion.