The eco guide to prison labour – The Guardian

Whistle-blower: director Ava DuVernay, whose Neflix documentary 13th explores the prison industry. Photograph: Vera Anderson/WireImage

We are all, at heart, ethical consumers. Ive never met anyone actively looking for a dose of slave labour with their teabags, window frames or underwear.

71% of companies surveyed in 2015 believed their supply chains might contain some form of slavery

But the supply chain for everyday products is in a parlous state. An incredible 71% of companies surveyed by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) in 2015 believed their supply chains might contain some form of slavery.

So the Modern Slavery Act (ratified in 2015) deserves a cheer, requiring a raft of companies doing business in the UK and Ireland to eradicate child, bonded, forced prison and human-trafficked labour.

But this excludes voluntary prison labour, which is on the rise. The UKs rehabilitation revolution plans to double the number of employed offenders in the UKs prison population to 20,000 by 2020.

And thats nothing compared to the US where inmate labour is enshrined by the 13th amendment, which ended slavery except as a punishment for crime. The biggest brands in the world from Starbucks to Victorias Secret have used prisoners to bolster their businesses. Ava DuVernays Netflix documentary 13th explores this huge prison industry.

Inmate labour is often dressed up as an ethical intervention, the idea being that inmates working for multinationals in prison factories or loaned out as crews to call centres are learning important skills and paying their way. Except that its not altogether clear how these skills are transferable. Certainly the minimum wage does not apply.

The US state Viriginia was more upfront when its department of corrections took to promoting prison factories using the enticement inmate labour: the best- kept secret in outsourcing. Oops. Never buy the idea of prison products as ethical labour.

Londoners looking for respite from the capitals atrocious air pollution can take a deep breath at one of three new bus stops cited in pollution hot spots. The system from technology company Airlabs has been incorporated into Body Shop advertising boards, and works by trapping harmful particles (PM2.5) via a filtration system before gas pollutants, such as N02, are absorbed, delivering clean air to bus stop users.

At the risk of wishing the summer away, I can hardly wait for next month and the launch of the first People Tree collection with the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Its a small but perfectly formed eight-piece capsule collection which was inspired by the 1930s and based on dress fabrics originally produced by the Calico Printers Association in Manchester, now held in the V&As archive.

Its great to see an ethical fashion pioneer like People Tree continue to evolve. This is a brand that supports around 4,500 farmers, producers and artisans through 34 Fair Trade producer groups in 13 countries. This collection is sewn by a group working with female producers in Mumbai.

Clothes will be available from People Tree, with some styles on sale in the V&A shop. Available in sizes 8-16 online at peopletree.co.uk from July.

Email Lucy at lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk or follow her on Twitter @lucysiegle

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The eco guide to prison labour - The Guardian