Posted on March 4: McMaster makes ethical purchasing no sweat

In Titles Bookstore, a student holds a maroon sweater with the McMaster crest and words of the University emblazoned artfully across the chest. The student is thinking about more than the cost or trendiness of the sweater. Instead he asks, “where was this sweater made?”

It's a question asked by more students and the University has responded. Not only does McMaster have one of the most comprehensive and emulated no sweat' and fair trade' purchasing codes in the country, it now requires that all McMaster suppliers that fall under the code certify they are compliant with it. McMaster's purchasing codes cover all licensed goods and apparel purchased by the University. Click here to read a background on the codes.

“A code isn't worth anything unless there is compliance with it,” says Don Wells, who teaches labour studies and politics at McMaster, and has worked on McMaster's 'no sweat' and 'fair trade' buying codes.

McMaster is one of the only Canadian universities to require its suppliers to complete a compliance form, according to Ian Thomson of Maquila Solidarity Network, a Canadian network promoting solidarity with groups in Mexico, Central America, Africa and Asia. The University of Toronto has developed a compliance form for its licensees. In the United States, close to 200 colleges and universities that are affiliated to the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) and/or Fair Labor Association (FLA) require their licensees to do likewise, he says.

Suppliers are responsible for sending the questionnaire to each factory in the production chain producing a product for the University. The answers provided are the main basis for deciding if a supplier is in sufficient compliance with the code. In cases where a factory is not, suppliers will be asked to provide remediation plans to bring conditions up to code standards.

A key element of the form is that suppliers must publicly disclose the locations of factories producing items for the University. All addresses are posted on the WRC Web site.

McMaster is the only Canadian university that belongs to the WRC, a non-profit organization created by college and university administrations, students and labor rights experts. The WRC performs spot checks of factories and responds to complaints that factories are not code-compliant.

“We're a leader in Canada in several respects,” says Wells. “We have developed the strongest code in terms of the language, our code applies to all apparel and anything that has the University's name on it and we're also the first Canadian university to join the WRC. Without belonging to the WRC, I'm not sure how other universities ensure compliance,” he says.

Titles Bookstore manager Donna Shapiro will be handing out the compliance forms to suppliers at the March 8-9 National Campus Retail Exhibition in Calgary, an annual event for Canadian university and college bookstores.

“We're still way beyond the point of saying everything we sell on the floor is sweatshop free,” says Shapiro, “but buyers are looking at items on a whole other level.”

Wells agrees, adding McMaster has consulted with some companies about the form and has received positive feedback. “There is a growing concern in Canada about ethical purchasing and companies are responding to it saying that they abide by ethical standards. People are also willing to pay more for ethical goods.”

McMaster also has established a code for 'fair trade coffee', which ensures fair trade coffee is offered as a choice at campus retail outlets, student residences, conferences and other events catered through university hospitality services. Fair trade is the promotion of more equitable, less exploitative dealings with producers in developing countries.

Wells feels the next step is for Canadian universities to join together and establish an interuniversity consortium. “As more universities develop ethical purchasing policies, it will be logical to create an interuniversity consortium as a common purchasing body built around a core no sweat' policy. This would give universities more collective influence over suppliers. It will also be logical for universities to join with school boards, municipalities, unions and other institutions with similar buying policies to promote an even broader-based and more powerful consortium.”

Since anti-sweat groups formed at Canadian universities in the late 1990s, the awareness of ethical trading among students has grown. “Young people are particularly attuned to these issues for a number of reasons. They are more attuned to the selling of goods on the basis of logos and most of the workers are young people like themselves,” Wells says.

McMaster students prove their concern through the numerous anti-sweat events they host, including the fifth annual Campus Community Peace Symposium that will take place March 5-7 in Building T29 (a temporary classroom located on the tennis courts, facing Mitchell Crescent), at QQ Teashop in Westdale and the Staircase Cafe-Theatre downtown. Discussion sessions include: “What is the significance of choosing fair trade,” “Is ethical business possible,” and “Alternative actions. How do we make trade fair?”

“We are hoping that people with alternative views will come and engage in constructive debate over this issue,” says Andrea Valois, a second-year peace studies & cultural studies student and one of the event organizers for the campus and community peace symposium on fair trade. “I think it is very important because this is a very real issue, and a very big one, but it is something that we can actually do something about, at an individual and a campus level. I know personally, I was never aware of how significant my own everyday buying habits could be and being more aware, I can make better choices.”

Everyone is invited to the symposium that will explore fair trade and its link to cultivating a culture of peace, she says, adding participants will discuss this link through artistry, activism and alternative action.

For details about the symposium visit http://peacesymposium.cjb.net