Labour Behind the Label (LBL) is a UK-based non-profit co-operative organisation with an office in Easton, Bristol, which campaigns for

workers' rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

in the

clothing industry Clothing industry or garment industry summarizes the types of trade and industry along the production and value chain of clothing and garments, starting with the textile industry (producers of cotton, wool, fur, and synthetic fibre), embellishme ...

. It is the platform of the international

Clean Clothes Campaign The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) is the garment industry's largest alliance of labour unions and non-governmental organizations. The civil society campaign focuses on the improvement of working conditions in the garment and sportswear industries ...

in the United Kingdom. LBL's members include trade unions and their local branches, consumer organisations, campaign groups, and charities. Its main activities are consumer education, lobbying companies, lobbying government, and solidarity with workers in disputes in factories producing for UK clothing companies.

History

Labour Behind the Label was involved with the global 'Play Fair at the Olympics' campaign in 2004, which brought together trade unions and campaign groups to call for greater action from the Olympic movement and the sportswear industry on workers' rights.

Reports

Labour Behind the Label carries out research and produces reports. It has produced, on its own or in conjunction with other organisations, the following reports that were reported on in national media: * ''Fashion Victims: The True Cost of Cheap Clothes at

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not u ...

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...

and

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

'' (2006) in conjunction with War On Want and Alternative Movement for Resources and Freedom Society (AMRF).The ''Fashion Victims'' report is available in the LBL sit
here
''The Guardian'' reported that this "brought huge public attention". * ''Let's Clean Up Fashion'' (2007), in conjunction with War on Want, revealed that workers making clothes for British high street stores receive around half of the money they need to live a decent life.The ''Let's Clean Up Fashion'' report is available in the LBL sit
here
*''Asia Floor Wage'' (2009) calculated a wage it says should be used as a minimum for workers in Asia, enough to pay for food, water, clothing, housing, taxes, utilities, healthcare and education, that would prevent countries competing at the expense of workers.The ''Asia Floor Wage'' report is available in the LBL sit
here
*''Taking Liberties: the Story Behind the UK High Street'' (2010) in conjunction with War on Want, describes "how Marks & Spencer, Next, Monsoon, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge ... use Indian sweatshops which pay poverty wages and break labour laws to keep costs to a bare minimum."The ''Taking Liberties'' report is available in the LBL sit
here
*''Killer Jeans'' (2011) about companies such as Asda, Diesel, Matalan and Primark selling jeans made using sandblasting to give denim a worn look, and how silica dust from the sand can get into workers' lungs, causing

silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis. Silicos ...

and possibly death.The ''Killer Jeans'' report is available in the LBL sit
here

Labour Behind the Label Trust

The Labour Behind the Label Trust is a separate organisation who raise funds for Labour Behind the Label's charitable activities. The Trust is a charity, independent of Labour Behind the Label, but the two organisations work together closely.

Notes

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org
Clean Clothes Campaign
Workers' rights organizations Anti-corporate activism Business ethics organizations Social responsibility organizations Co-operatives in England Worker co-operatives of the United Kingdom Research organisations in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Bristol Political organisations based in the United Kingdom