The Jeans Industry - How much for a pair of Jeans and Who actually Pays

ThisarticleonJeansappearedinaneditionoftheGuardianNewspaper

TuesdayMay29,2001
TheGuardian


Just off the Buttermarket in Ipswich, in a glass‐and‐steel
mall with double doors and escalators, you will find it:
Cromwell'sMadhouse.Awide‐openjumbleofashopona
corner site, piled high with jeans, sweatshirts, casual
trousersandyetmorejeans.

And somewhere in the middle, on a dais, there they are,
underahugesignsaying:"FamousBrandsfor£19.95."Just
a pair of jeans, nestling among dozens of identical others.
Bluestonewasheddenimfive‐pocketjeans,straightleg,zip
fly. Lee Cooper LC10s, to give them their proper name.
Waist
32in,leg34,averypopularsize.

Nothing special at all. Bog‐standard, everyday, kicking‐a‐
ball‐about‐with‐the‐kids jeans. Thirtyfortysomething jeans.
Toputitbluntly,middle‐agedjeans.

"Wash inside out separately", it says on th e inside label.
100% cotton. But it doesn't say where they come from,
whichisperhapsjustaswell,forwhatwouldyouput,ifyou
really knew? "Made in Tunisia, Italy, Germany, France,

Northern Ireland,Pakistan, Turkey, Japan, Korea, Namibia,
Benin,Australia,Hungary"?


For Cromwell's Madhouse is the last stop on a jo urney
which,ifitwereputendtoend,wouldgorightaroundthe
earth and half way round again. At a very rough, very
conservative estimate, a journey of about 40,000 miles on
which components and raw materials criss‐cross the
 globe
inasortofjerky,derangeddance.

Thesejeans,ourjeans,arrivedhereafewdaysagoinavan
that came up the A12 from Lee Cooper's warehouse at
Staple's Corner, just at the bottom of the M1 in north
London. There they had the Cromwell's label attached to
thembeforebeingpackagedupandpostedoff
inplentyof
timefortheweekendrush.Beforethat,theycamethrough
the Channel tunnel on a lorryfrom a similarwarehouse in
Amiens, France and before that, by boat and train from
TunisinTunisia.FromRasJebel,tobemoreprecise,agood
hour's drive north  of
the city through flat Mediterranean
farmland where the fields are fat with artichokes and the 
pencilcypressesswayinasurprisinglychillyspringbreeze.

You can see the red Perspex Lee Cooper sign as you
approachtheoutskirtsofRasJebel.Andit'sfittingthatyou
should,for Ras Jebel is Lee Cooperville.Somuchso that it

wouldbenosurprisetoseeasaloondoorswinginglazilyin
themiddaysun,and a
horseswishingitstailasitmunches
lazilyonanosebag.

But this is north Africa, not the wild west. A quiet, dusty,
slightly faceless town of 3,000 souls with no fewer than
threefactoriesmakingLeeCooperclothes;apresencethat
has drawn in other garment producers and spawned
textilesandsewingcoursesatthelocalcollege.

Ithasgiventheplaceawholenewdimension,accordingto
ChedlyChtourou,managingdirectorofLeeCooperTunisia.
When the first  factory opened 25 years ago, he says,
womenhereusedtodressfromheadtofootinblackcloth.
Now they have their own in comes. Some of them even

wearjeans.

Ourjeanscomefromthatfirstfactory,whereeverythingis
made for export and  there is a customs post on the gate.
Theothersmanufactureunderlicenseforthelocalmarket
andmakeavarietyofotherLeeCooperclothing.

Drivethroughasthesecurityguardopensthebarredmetal
gate and there is no sign of  activity. Just smooth, white
wallsandan air of calm. Through double glass doors,past
thereceptionistandintoacorridorlinedwithcool,white‐
painted offices with tiled floors, where computers hum
contentedly,

wheretheringingoftelephonesseemsmuted
andwheremeninopen‐neckedshirtssmilepolitelyasthey
passbackandforthwithsheavesofpaper.

Burst through this protective layer, though, through more
double doors‐heavy wood  this time‐and there is an
eyebrow‐scorchingblastof activity,heat,noise.Forherein
one huge, grey, shed‐like room is the nerve centre of the
LeeCooperempire;theengineroom;thefurnace.

Here,500womenworkfuriously,eyesdown,everymuscle
clenched. Each has her own small part to play; zips,
pockets, side‐seams, hems. And each function like an
automaton, pulling a garment from a trolley by her side,
throwing it on to her sewing machine, roaring down the
seam at full
 throttle, ripping it off, throwing it back. Over
andover.Bonusesdependonit.Therearenosafetyguards
on the machines and the women concentrate hard,
keeping their fingers from the pounding needles. If they
slipup,theycanvisitthefactorynurse.

Trained machinists here take home 220 dinars a month‐
about £110, or  58p an  hour. Comfortably above the legal
minimum of 47p per hour before tax, but well below the
Tunisian garment industry average of 92p per hour,
according to a study published a few years ago. If they
meet their
 targets they can make another 30 dinars, or
£15,permonth.


Eight lines, each of more than 60 people, each producing
2,000 garments a day. More than three tasks per worker,
perminute,onaverage.From7.15amuntilnoon,1pmuntil
5.45pm, an hour for lunch, a maximum of two 15‐minute
toiletbreaks.Between thelinesisaseaof trolleys
draped


in hard, dark denim which stains the workers' hands blue.
Nowhere for a leg‐stretch, but then again everyone is too
busytogetuporwalkaround.Fortunately,therehasnever
beenaseriousfire.

Chedly Chtourou, a pleasant, mild‐mannered man who
seems to be universally known as Chedly, takes our jeans
and peers at the batch number on the inside label:
W002920.March162001,linenumbertwo.

Ejallah Dousab did the "English stitch", the most difficult
part,racingdownthebackseam,underthecrotchandup
to the zip, holding the legs out in her stretched handslike
thereinsofagallopinghorse.She is21andhasbeenhere
fouryears.Doesshelikeit?
ShelaughsshylyunderChedly's
gazeandsaysyes,ofcourse.Butmaybeoneday,insh'Allah,
shewillmarryandleave.

There are men working here, but mostly they're found in
the cutting and washing areas, or staring studiously at

computers in side offices. But there are so many young
women that there's a shop by the front entrance selling 
sheetsandtowelsfortheirtrousseaux.Timesarechanging,
though, and some
 stay on until their first child arrives, or
evenlonger.

Among these is Fasedj Sihem, who sewed the pockets on
ourjeans.A chatty,forthright30yearold,sheismarriedto
a policeman and has a 15‐month‐old son, Iheb. She has
donelotsofdifferentjobsinher14yearshere,butpockets
are a new departure for
 her and she isn't fast enough to
earnabonus.

"IfIcouldI'dliketohavemyownbusiness,asmallbusiness
makingdressesforwomen.ButIneedmoremoneytostart
it. And we're going to build a house, so I have to work to
earnmoneyforthattoo,"shesays.

Althoughthefactory‐gatecostofthesejeansisjust£5and
the cost of transport to France only 10p, Fasedj isn't a bit
surprisedthattheirstandardpriceatCromwell'sMadhouse
is £29.95. Her brother lives in France and there they cost
£30‐£50.

"Youcan'tcompareoursalarieswiththesalariesinFrance
and you can't compare the prices. It isn't the same," she
explains with mild exasperation, as if speaking to a small
child.


Most of the factory's900 workers are membersofatrade
union, the Federation of Textile Workers, which is part of
the Tunisian Ge neral Workers' Union. Its representative is
Grundi Armor, who says it's not a bad place, really.
Althoughsomeoftheworkersinthefinishingarea,where
thereare
twoshifts,areangrythattheysometimeshaveto
workuntil11pmwhen10pmisthelegallimit,andsomesay
thetoiletsaretoofarawayforthemtogetthereandback
ina15‐minutebreak.

"I act as an intermediary," he says. "We always find a
solutionthat'ssatisfactorytoeveryone."Chedlylaughsand
raisesaneyebrow,mock‐weary.

Butthisfactory,thislittlecommunityofworkers,isnotthe
beginning for our pair of jeans. In one sense  it's the end.
The destination. The place at which dozens of different
components, materials, goods, chemicals and sprockets,
come together in readiness for a transformation. Like the
passengers on the train
 in Larkin's Whitsun Weddings, a
"frailtravellingcoincidence‐readytobeloosedwithallthe
powerthatbeingchangedcangive".

Take that hard, dark‐blue denim, for example. Kansas
denim, to give it its proper name, is brought here by land
andseafromItaldenim inMilan,600miles away,whereit
is spun and milled and  dyed using synthetic indigo made

316 miles north of there in Frankfurt, Germany. At
 Ras
Jebel it is cut, sewn and then altered again into a soft,
wearable fabric in huge, indu strial washers, using pumice
fromaninactivevolcanoinTurkey.

This stonewashing, by the way, is one of  the dirtier
processes involved in jeans production. Although the
Italdenim factory has all the bestenvironmentally friendly
equipment, much of the dye is washed out at Ras Jebel,
which does not. The indigo itself is benign, but when it
finds its way into
 local streams it cuts out the light in the
water and kills plants and fish. The pumice, replaced now
by an enzyme treatment in modern European factories,is
reducedtoapowderandthendiscarded.Afactorylikethis
canproduceseveraltonsofpowderedpumiceeveryyear.

And what of the cotton that goes to make the denim?
Italdenimbuysfromseveralsources,butmainlyfromBenin
in west Africa. So after travelling some 2,700 miles north,
toMilan,thiscottontravelsseveralhundred milesbackto
Tunis before setting off north again on its journey to
England.


Benin is one of several cotton‐growing countries in west
Africa,andthereis a permanent carnivalair.Here,parrot‐
bright robes make a blessed change from the drab
Americancast‐offsthatdresstherestofthecontinent.But

acloserlookatBenin'scottonindustry,themainstayofits

economy, is not so cheering. Corruption and
mismanagementkeepmostcotton‐farmershereaspooras
when France introduced the crop to the region 100 years
ago. And where a little technology filters down, in
insecticides and fertilisers, people are dying. During last
year's cotton season here, about 100 people
died from
poisoning thanks to the pesticide endosulfin, one of a
number of dangerous chemicals being dumped on west
Africa's cotton‐growers, despite being banned by some
wealthier countries. Calliope, the French company that
supplies the chemical, points out thatendosulfin is widely
used in Australia‐where cotton is grownon
 vast prairies,


miles from other foodstuffs. Benin's cotton farms are of a
differentorder.

OnNestorZinkponon'sthreehectaresinthevillageofSaklo
Agoume, central Benin, Atingounon Desire Souo, 45, is
hoeingcotton‐drillsintheheatoftheday.Bentdouble,he
inches along the field, ladling th e soil aside to leave a
shallowtrench.Sandy,redearthcovershimentirely,except
where
 rivulets of sweat carry it away. Souo has two
hectares of his own, but the soil has become sodegraded
through decades of cotton‐growing that it no longer

supports him and his three sons. He starts work before
light, collecting discarded wads of cotton seed to fertilise
his fields.
At sunrise, he goes to workfor Zinkponon in an
effort to keep his boys at school in the nearby town of
Bohicon."I'dlikethemtobeimportantmen,notfarmers,"
hesays.

Between the cotton crop, there are spindly coconut and
orange trees, and tiny plots of groundnut and cassava. It
would beimpossible to spray onecrop and notthe other.
Zinkponon, 33, says a lot of people became ill after using
endosulfin,butnoneonhisland.Allthesame,he
prefersto
leavethesprayingtohisemployees.Atthebusiesttimesof
the season, sowing and picking, 48 people work in these
fields for about 60p a day. This outlay leaves Zinkponon
dangerouslyexposedbyapoorharvest.Lastyear,theearly
rains failed and his freshly sprinkled fertiliser
blew away.
Consequently,hemadejust£15profitfromone‐and‐a‐half
tonnes of  cotton‐enough to buy one leg of a pair of Lee
CooperLC10s.

Theonly way to make cashoutofcottonistohaveplenty
of family members working for free, says Zinkponon, who
hastwowivesbutonlyoneson:"Somefarmershavesixor
eight wives." According to the UN Children's Fund, the
north‐centralcottonareasaretheonlyparts
ofBeninfrom

which children are not trafficked to the region's wealthier
countries.They also have the highest school dropout rates
inBenin.Allthechildrenareneededinthefields.

Benin'scottonmarketingboard,LaSocieteNationalpourla
Promotion Agricole, is tailor‐made to rob the small
producer, Zinkponon says. Corrupt government officials
routinely keep small farmers' payment for themselves.
"Then when you can't pay for the fertilisers you've used,
they seize your land or whatever you have, your bicycle

maybe," he says. Back in Tunis, though, the denim that
comesfromBeninisn'ttheonlycottonbeingusedtomake
our jeans. There's the pocketing, grown in Pakistan or
Korea,milledandheat‐treatedinPakistan.There'salsothe
cottoncoatingonsomeofthepolyesterthreads,whichis
a
wholestoryinitself.

CoatsViyellamakesthesethreadsandtheymayalllookthe
sametoyouorme,apartfromtheirorange,whiteor blue
colouring, but there are different thicknesses, different
strengths, for different parts of the job. They get made in
Lisnaskea,inNorthernIreland,aswellasinHungaryand
in
Turkey.They get dyedin Spain and  woundontospoolsin
TunisbeforebeingdeliveredtoRasJebel.

The polyester fibre which gives the thread its strength is
bought by the company from Japan, where it is

manufacturedfrompetroleumproducts.Asisthepolyester
tapeforthezip,whichcoincidentallyismadeinFrancebya
Japanesecompany,YKK.Thebrasswirethatmakesupthe
teethof
thezipcomesfromJapan,too.

Back, then, to Africa, to southern Africa this time, where
thecentreoftheNamibiancopperindustryisatTsumeb,in
thenorth.Herethemineandsmelter havejustre‐opened
afteratwo‐yearclosurethatfollowedastrike.Thetownis
breathingasighofreliefatthe
returnofitsmainindustry.

But there is a downside, according to Derek Sherratt, a
community centre manager from Chesterfield in
Derbyshire who spent two years in Namibia as a VSO
beekeeperandwhonowkeepsahouseinTsumeb,visiting
regularly with his Namibian wife Saima. The town could
earnmuchmoreforitsvaluable
mineralresourceifitcould
make things from it, ornaments for tourists perhaps,
insteadofexportingitasraw"blistercopper",hesays.

And there's the vexed question of what's in the air.
Sherratt passed on his beekeeping skills to a local family
while he was living in Namibia, but the bees kept dying.
Afterthemineclosed,though,themunicipalityhadtrouble
keeping them under control. They kept forming nests at
the top
 of the lamp‐posts, making bulb‐changes a

hazardousbusiness.

"It seems they had been falling fo ul of the pollution from
the mine. There are some strong pollutants such as
arsenic," he explains. He hasn't checked on their welfare
since the mine reopened, but already there are concerns
about the effects of pollution on the human population.
Some of the miners
 who worked in the mine before the
closure are planning to sue its former owner for severe
lungdamage,accordingtotheNamibiannewspaper.

Butdespitethis,Tsumebisdelightedtoseeitsmineopen
again. Coincidentally, the town is twinned with
Chesterfield,atownthatknowsonlytoowelltheeffectsof
pitclosures.

"It'sadifficultsubjectbecauseit'seasytobeintheUKand
to be concerned about environmental issues, which I am.
But when hundreds of people are without jobs,and when
thatmeanstheygetnomoneywhatsoever,consideringthe
environmentseemslikealuxury,"Sherrattsays.

So, who will buy our jeans? Sherratt and the other
members of the Chesterfield Tsumeb Association?
Maybe, maybe not.



"I'd like to consider myself a spot-on sort of person, but

sometimes, without giving it much thought, I just buy
the cheapest," he says. "I suppose I don't really
consider myself part of the designer jeans market."

Back in Ipswich it's 5.30pm and Cromwell's Madhouse
is closing for the night, the sound of its grey metal
shutters reverberating around the mall as they crash to
the floor one by one. And inside, in the middle, on a
pile under a sign saying "Famous Brands for £19.95",
Ejallah's English stitch, Fasedj's pockets, maybe even
a little of Zinkponon's cotton, sit silently waiting for their
journey to end.




It takes about 1.6 meters of denim fabric, several
hundred meters of sewing thread, 6 rivets, 1 or 5 jeans
buttons, 4 labels (usually imitation leather), and
optionally a zipper to make a pair of jeans. An average
jeans factory can make about 2.500 pair of jeans per
day.

A stonewash for 150 pairs of jeans takes 150 kilos of
pumice stone and more than 750 liters of water.
Depending on how faded the look will have to be, they
will be washed somewhere between 30 minutes and 6
hours.







Theseimagesarefrom />



Brass rivets
made from
Namibian
copper and
Australian zinc
Thread from
Lisnaskea in
Northern
Ireland
Zip teeth made
in Japan
Sewn up by
21year old
Ejallah in
Tunisia for
58p per hour
Dyed in Milan
using synthetic
German indigo
Cotton from
Benin where
pickers earn

60p a day
Stonewashed
using pumice
from Turkey
You may think your jeans came from the high
street but these ones travelled 40,000 miles
before you were able to purchase them.


Workshop: The Jeans Game

Itusedtobethat youjust walked into a shopandboughtsomethingwithoutsparingathoughtforwhereitcamefrom,or
who'dmadeit.Nowthereis a growingawarenessofworkingpracticesandethics.Toillustratesomeoftheenvironmental,
socialandeconomicfactorsthatweshould
takeintoconsiderationwhenmakingpurchases,wewilllookatthemanufacture
ofjeans,inthiscaseLeeCooperLC10s:blue,straightleg,stonewasheddenimwithazipfly.Bogstandard,everyday,kicking‐a‐
ball‐about‐with‐the‐kidsjeans.

"Washinsideoutseparately",itsayson the inside label, “100% cotton”.Butitdoesn'tsaywheretheycomefrom,whichis
perhapsjustaswell,forwhatwouldyouput,ifyoureallyknew?"MadeinTunisia,Italy,Germany,France,NorthernIreland,
Pakistan,Turkey,Japan,Korea,Namibia,Benin,Australiaand
Hungary"?

Theshopyou’vejustpurchasedthejeansfromisthelaststoponajourneywhich,ifitwereputendtoend,wouldgoround
theearthoneandahalftimes!Ataveryrough,conservativeestimate,ajourneyofabout40,000milesonwhichcomponents
andrawmaterials
criss‐crosstheglobeinasortofjerky,derangeddance.

Thejeansarrivedhere afewdaysagoinacontainerthatcame fromLeeCooper'swarehouseatStaple'sCorner, just atthe
bottomoftheM1innorthLondon.Theretheyhadtheshoplabelattachedtothembeforebeingpackagedupandpostedoff

in plenty of time for
 the weekend rush. Before that, they came through the Channel tunnel on a lorry from a similar
warehouseinAmiens,Franceandbeforethat,byboatandtrainfromRasJebelinTunisia.

ThefactoryinRasJebel,withitscommunityofworkers,isnotthebeginningforourpairofjeans.Inonesenseit’stheend,
thedestination,theplaceatwhichdozensofdifferentcomponents,materials,goods,chemicalsandsprocketscometogether
inreadinessfortransformation.

Takethathard,dark‐bluedenim,forexample.Kansasdenim,togiveititspropername,isbroughtherebylandandseafrom
ItaldeniminMilan,600milesaway,whereitisspun,milledanddyedusingsyntheticindigomade316milesnorthoftherein
Frankfurt,Germany.AtRas
Jebelitiscut,sewnandthenalteredagainintoasoft,wearablefabricinhuge,industrialwashers,
usingpumicefromaninactivevolcanoinTurkey.

Thisstonewashing,bytheway,isoneofthedirtierprocessesinvolvedinjeansproduction.AlthoughtheItaldenimfactoryhas
allthebestenvironmentallyfriendlyequipment,muchofthedyeiswashedoutatRasJebel,whichdoesnot.Theindigoitself
isbenign,butwhenitfindsitswayinto
localstreamsit cutsoutthelightinthewaterandkills plantsandfish.The pumice,
replacednowbyanenzymetreatmentinmodernEuropeanfactories,isreducedtoapowderandthendiscarded.Afactory
likethiscanproduceseveraltonsofpowderedpumiceeveryyear.

And what of thecottonthatgoesto make the denim? Italdenimbuysfromseveral sources, but mainly from Benin in west
Africa.Soaftertravellingsome2,700milesnorth,toMilan,thiscottontravelsseveralhundredmilesbacktoRasJebelbefore
settingoffnorthagainonitsjourneyto
England.

BackinRasJebel,though,thedenimthatcomesfromBeninisn'ttheonlycottonbeingusedtomakeourjeans.There'sthe
pocketing,grown in Pakistan or Korea,milled andheat‐treated in Pakistan. There's also the cotton coating on some of the
polyesterthreads,whichisawholestory
initself.


Thesethreadsmayalllookthesametoyouorme,apartfromtheirorange,whiteorbluecolouring,buttherearedifferent
thicknessesandstrengths,fordifferentpartsofthejob.TheygetmadeinLisnaskea,inNorthernIreland,aswellasinHungary
andinTurkey.Theygetdyed
inSpainandwoundontospoolsinTunis,TunisiabeforebeingdeliveredtoRasJebel.

ThepolyesterfibrewhichgivesthethreaditsstrengthisboughtbythecompanyfromJapan,whereitismanufacturedfrom
petroleumproducts.Asisthepolyestertapeforthezip,whichcoincidentallyismadeinFrancebyaJapanesecompany,YKK.
Thebrasswirethatmakesuptheteethof
thezipcomesfromJapan,too.

Brass,ofcourse,is an alloy mademainlyofcopperwithalittlezinc. And it is brass,again,thatgoes to maketherivetsand
part of the buttons. They come from Prym, a German‐based firm that makes its own brass using zinc from Australia and
copperfromNamibia.


This workshop makes you think about the everyday items that you purchase.





Beninisoneofseveralcotton‐growingcountriesinwestAfrica,andthereis
apermanentcarnivalair.Here,parrot‐brightrobesmakeablessedchange
fromthedrabAmericancast ‐offsthatdresstherestofthecontinent.Buta 
closer lookat Benin'scotton industry,the mainstayof itseconomy, isnot
so cheering. Corruption and mismanagement keep most cotton‐farmers
here as pooras whenFrance introducedthe crop to theregion 100years
ago. Andwhere a little technologyfilters down,in insecticidesand fertilizers,people aredying. During
lastyear'scottonseasonhere,about100peoplediedfrompoisoningthankstothepesticideendosulfin,

oneofanumberofdangerouschemicalsbeingdumpedonWestAfrica'scotton‐growers,despitebeing
banned by some wealthier countries. Calliope, the French company that supplies the chemical, points
outthatendosulfiniswidelyusedinAustralia‐wherecottonisgrownonvastprairies,milesfromother
foodstuffs.Benin'scottonfarmsareofadifferentorder.









Benin

–

Cotton

Making

KeyFacts
• ThecottonindustryisthemainstayoftheBenineconomy(70%).
• CorruptionandmismanagementkeepfarmerslikeSamuelpoor.
• Theuseofinsecticides(bannedinmanycountries)poisonspeople,theirfoodandthelocalwildlife.
• Growingcottonrequiresalotofwaterandtheindustry
isparticularlysusceptibletoclimatechange.
• Treesareremovedtobringmoresuntothecottoncropturningthelandtodesert.
• Lastyearbecauseofapoorharvesthemadejust£15fromoneandahalftonnesofcotton(enoughtobuyone
legofa

pairofLeeCoopers)
Whatexternalfactorscouldaffectthecottonindustry?
Samuel Oketola
On Nestor Zinkponon's three hectares in the village of Saklo Agoume, central Benin, Samuel Oketola, 45, is hoeing
cotton‐drills in the heat of the day. Bent double, he inches along the field, ladling the soil aside to leave a shallow
trench.Sandy,redearthcovershimentire ly, exceptwhererivuletsofsweatcarryitaway.Samuelhastwohectaresof
hisown,butthesoilhasbecomesodegradedthroughdecadesofcotton‐growingthat itnolongersupportshimand
histhreesons.Hestartsworkbeforelight,collectingdiscardedwadsofcottonseedtofertilisehisfields.Atsunrise,he
goestoworkforZinkpononinanefforttokeephisboysatschoolinthenearbytownofBohicon."I'dlikethemtobe
importantmen,notfarmers,"hesays.

Between the cotton crop, there are spindly coconut and orange trees, and tiny plots of groundnut and cassava. It
would be impossible tospray one cropand not theother.Zinkponon, 33, says a  lot ofpeoplebecame ill after using
endosulfin,butnoneonhisland.Allthesame,hepreferstoleavethesprayingtohisemployees.Atthebusiesttimes
ofthe season,sowing and picking, 48 people work inthese fields forabout 60p a day. Thisoutlayleaves Zinkponon
dangerouslyexposedbyapoorharvest.Lastyear,theearlyrainsfailedandhisfreshlysprinkledfertilizerblewaway.
Consequently,hemadejust£15profitfromone‐and‐a‐halftonnesofcotton‐enoughtobuyonelegofapairofLee
CooperLC10s.

Theonlyway tomakecashoutofcottonistohaveplentyoffamilymembersworkingforfree, saysZinkponon,who
has two wives but only one son: "Some farmers have six or eight wives." According to the UN Children's Fund, the 
north‐centralcottonareasaretheonlypartsofBeninfrom whichchildrenarenottraffickedtotheregion'swealthier
countries.TheyalsohavethehighestschooldropoutratesinBenin.Allthechildrenareneededinthefields.

Benin's cotton marketing board, La Societe National pour la Promotion Agricole, is tailor ‐made to rob the small
producer,Zinkpononsays.Corruptgovernmentofficialsroutinelykeepsmallfarmers'paymentforthemselves."Th e n
whenyoucan'tpayforthefertilizersyou'veused,theyseizeyourlandorwhateveryouhave,yourbicyclemaybe,"he
says.




The centre of the Namibian copper industry is at Tsumeb, in the north.
Here the mine and smelter have just re‐opened after a two‐year closure
thatfollowedastrike.Thetownisbreathingasighofreliefatthereturnof
its main industry. But there is a downside, according to Derek Sherratt, a
communitycentremanagerfromChesterfieldinDerbyshirewhospenttwo
years in Namibia as a VSO beekeeper and who now keeps a house  in
Tsumeb,visitingregularlywithhisNamibianwifeSaima.Thetowncouldearnmuchmoreforitsvaluable
mineralresourceifitcouldmakethingsfromit,ornamentsfortouristsperhaps,insteadofexportingitas
raw"blistercopper",hesays.

And there's the vexed question of what's in the air. Sherratt passed on his beekeeping skills to a local
family while he was living in Namibia, but the bees kept dying. After the mine closed, though, the
municipality had trouble keepingthem under control.They keptforming nestsat thetop
 of the lamp‐
posts, makingbulb‐changes ahazardous business. "It seemsthey had been fallingfoul of thepollution
from the mine. There are some strong pollutants such as arsenic," he explains. He hasn't checked on
theirwelfaresincetheminereopened,butalreadythereareconcernsabouttheeffectsofpollutionon
thehumanpopulation.Someoftheminerswhoworkedintheminebeforetheclosureareplanningto
sue itsformer owner for severelung damage,according tothe Namibian newspaper. But despite this,
Tsumebisdelightedtoseeitsmineopenagain.Coincidentally,thetownistwinnedwithChesterfield,a
townthatknowsonlytoowelltheeffectsofpitclosures.

"It'sadifficultsubjectbecauseit'seasytobeintheUKandtobeconcernedaboutenvironmentalissues,
which I am.But when hundreds of people are without jobs, andwhen that means they get nomoney
whatsoever,consideringtheenvironmentseemslikealuxury,"Sherrattsays.

Namibi

a

–

Copper Mining

KeyFacts
• InTsunebcopperminingisthemainsourceofemployment
• Aslocalwagesincreasesodopricesforgoods.
• Pollutionisabigproblembecauseofthearsenicfumesgivenoffbytheprocess
• Manyworkerssufferlungdamage
• Cropsandlivestockarealso
affected
• Peoplecanaffordeducationandhealthcare
What
i
f
theminewastoclose again?
Muna Mbuta
He isa 29year old, fatherof two whoworks inthe minein Tsumeb. Whenthe mineclosed, things
weredifficultbuthemanagedtogetworkonanearbyfarm,albeitforalowerwagethanhewasused
to.Nowthattheminehasre‐opened,hehaswentbacktoworkthere.





Üçler Mining, established in 1978, supplies pumice stone to the
construction and textile industries. It is Turkey’s biggest producer
andexporterofpumiceandholdsthelargestreservesofpumicein

Turkey. They have a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes/year
withareservecapacityof50years.

AtthejeansfactoryinRasJabel,Tunisia,thedenimfabriciscut,sewnandthenalteredagainintoasoft,
wearablefabricinhuge,industrialwashers,usingpumicefromaninactivevolcanoinTurkey.

Thisstonewashing,bytheway,isoneofthedirtierprocessesinvolvedinjeansproduction.Althoughthe 
Italdenimfactoryhasallthebestenvironmentallyfriendlyequipment, muchofthedyeiswashedoutat
RasJebel,whichdoesnot.Theindigoitselfisbenign,butwhenitfindsitswayintolocalstreamsitcuts
outthelightinthewaterandkillsplantsandfish.Thepumice,replacednowbyanenzymetreatmentin
modernEuropeanfactories,isreducedtoapowderandthendiscarded.Afactorylikethiscanproduce
severaltonsofpowderedpumiceeveryyear.








Turkey

–

Pumice Mining

KeyFacts
• PumiceminingisawellcontrolledandimportantindustryinTurkey
• Thisa‘good’companywhereconditionsanpayaregood
• Theenvironmentalimpactofminingincludesnoiseandpollutionfromtherunoffwastewaterwhichcan

pollutethewatertable.
• Thesefactorshave
affectedlocalwildlifehabitats.
• Therecontinuestobeagooddemandforpumiceandthemineisunlikelytoclose
Whatconditionscouldcausethistochange?
Hasan Elmas
Heisa49yearoldwhohasworkedforÜçlerMiningsinceitopenedin1978andhasgoneontobecomeaforeman.
Heearnsagoodwageandhasasafejob.





NorthernIrelandhad thelargesttextile industryinthe worldbeforethe
last industrial and technologicalrevolutions, combined with outsourcing
of labour, made production cheaper elsewhere. Two hundred jobs were lost when the Sir Richard
Arkwright factory in Lisnaskea closed. The factory owned by Coats Viyella, the world’s largest sewing
threadmaker,closedduetocompetitionfromAsia.

Polyesterthreadscanbemadewithacottoncoating.Thesethreadsmayalllookthesametoyouorme,
apartfromtheir orange,white orblue colouring,but thereare differentthicknesses andstrengths, for
differentpartsofthejob.TheyweremadeinLisnaskea,inNorthernIreland,aswellasinHungaryandin
Turkey.They getdyed inSpain and woundon tospools inTunis,  Tunisiabefore being delivered toRas
Jebel. The polyester fibre which gives the thread its strength is bought by the company from Japan,
whereitismanufacturedfrompetroleumproducts.






Linaske
a

–

Thread making

KeyFacts
• Itmaybecheapertoproducethethreadabroadbutwhataboutthecarbonfootprintandairmilesassociated
withdistribution?
• Thefactorybuildinghasbeenderelictsincetheclosureandthereisalotofanti‐socialbehaviouronthe
abandonedsite.
• Closureofthe
factoryhashadasignificantimpactonthelocaleconomyandtherearenowhigherthanaverage
levelsofunemployment.
• Peoplehavetheskillsbutnowhavenoplacetousethem.
WhatimpactdoesthishaveinNI?
Mary Hutchinson
Sheisa42yearold,unemployed,singlemum.SheusedtoworkintheSirRichardArkwrightfactory
producing thread. Mary now has skills that are no longer in demand and doesn’t have the time or
financialbackingtore‐train.Asaresult,shenowstrugglestomakealivingtosupportherfamilyand
hastorelyonstatehandouts.





YoucanseetheredPerspexLeeCoopersignasyouapproachtheoutskirts

of Ras Jebel. A  quiet, dusty, slightly faceless town of 3,000 souls with no
fewerthanthreefactoriesmakingLeeCooperclothes; a presencethathas
drawn in other garment producers and spawned textiles and sewing
coursesatthelocalcollege.Ithasgiventhe placeawholenewdimension,
according to Chedly Chtourou, managing director of Lee Cooper Tunisia.
When the first factory opened 25 years ago, he says, women here used to dress from head to foot in 
blackcloth.Nowtheyhavetheirownincomes.Someofthemevenwearjeans.

Ourjeanscomefromthatfirstfactory,whereeverythingismadeforexportandthereisacustomspost 
onthegate.TheothersmanufactureunderlicenseforthelocalmarketandmakeavarietyofotherLee
Cooper clothing. Throughdouble glass doors, pastthe receptionist and into a corridor lined with cool,
white‐painted offices with tiled floors, where computers hum contentedly, the ringing of telephones
seemsmutedandmeninopen‐neckedshirtssmilepolitelyastheypassbackandforthwithsheavesof
paper.Burstthroughthisprotectivelayer,though,throughmoredoubledoors‐heavywoodthistime‐
andthereisaneyebrow‐scorchingblastofactivity,heatandnoise.Forhereinonehuge,grey,shed‐like
room is the nerve centre of the Lee Cooper Empire; the engine room; the furnace. Here, 500 women
work furiously, eyes down, every muscle clenched. Each has her own small part to play; zips, pockets,
side‐seams and hems. Each functions like an automaton, pulling a garment from a trolley by her side,
throwingit ontoher sewingmachine,roaringdownthe seam atfullthrottle, rippingitoff,throwing it
back.Overandover,bonusesdependonit.Therearenosafetyguardsonthemachinesandthewomen
concentrate hard, keeping their fingers from the pounding  needles. If they slip up, they can visit the
factorynurse.

Trainedmachinistsheretakehome220dinarsamonth‐about£110,or58panhour.Comfortablyabove
thelegalminimumof47pperhourbeforetax,butwellbelowtheTunisiangarmentindustryaverageof
92pperhour,accordingtoastudypublishedafewyearsago.Iftheymeettheirtargetstheycanmake
another30dinars,or£15,permonth.

Eightlines,eachofmore than60people,eachproducing2,000garmentsaday. Morethanthreetasks
per worker, per minute, on average. From 7.15am until noon, 1pm until 5.45pm, an hour for lunch, a

maximum of two 15‐minute toilet breaks. Between the lines is a sea of trolleys draped in hard, dark
denimwhich stains  theworkers'handsblue. Nowhereforaleg‐stretch, butthenagaineveryoneis too
busytogetuporwalkaround.Fortunately,therehasneverbeenaseriousfire.

Fasedj Sihem, who sewed the pockets on our jeans, is a chatty, forthright 30 year old, married to a
policemanandhasa15‐month‐oldson,Iheb.Shehasdonelotsofdifferentjobsinher14yearshere,but
pocketsareanewdepartureforherandsheisn'tfastenoughtoearnabonus."IfIcouldI'dlike tohave
my own business, a  smallbusiness making dressesfor women.But Ineed moremoney tostart it.And
we're going to build a house, so I have to work to earn money for that too," she says. Although the
factory‐gatecostofthesejeansisjust£5andthecostoftransporttoFranceonly10p,Fasedjisn'tabit
surprised thattheir standardprice in the UK is £29.95. Herbrother livesin France andthere theycost
£30‐£50."Youcan'tcompareoursalarieswiththesalariesinFranceandyoucan'tcompare theprices.It
isn'tthesame,"sheexplainswithmildexasperation,asifspeakingtoasmallchild.
Tunisi
a

–

The Factory




Most of the  factory's 900 workers are  members of a  trade union, the Federation of Textile Workers,
which is part ofthe Tunisian General Workers'Union. Itsrepresentative isGrundi Armor, who saysit's
notabadplace, really.Althoughsomeof theworkersinthefinishingarea,wherethereare two shifts,
areangrythattheysometimeshavetoworkuntil11pmwhen10pmisthelegallimit,andsomesaythe
toiletsaretoofarawayforthemtogetthereandbackina15‐minutebreak."Iactasanintermediary,"
he says. "We always find a solution that's satisfactory to everyone." Chedly laughs and raises an
eyebrow,mock‐weary.



KeyFacts
• Factoryworkersearn58panhouror£110permonthstitchingjeansinatextilefactoryinTunisia.Thisabovethe
legalminimumbutbelowtheTunisiangarmentindustryaverageof98pperhour
• Employeesworklonghoursandtheworkisdifficultasthefabricis
heavyandhardtoworkwith.Theyfinish
worklaterthanthelegallimit.
• Therearenosafetyguardsonthemachinesandsheandhercoworkersmustconcentratehardonkeepingtheir
fingersfromthepoundingneedles.Iftheysliptheycanvisitthefactorynurse.
•
Duetoworkingpracticesitisdifficultforstafftoachievetheirbonus.
• PeopleneedtoworkinTunisia,thereisnowelfarestate.
• Ifthefactoryclosedpeoplewouldhavetothinkaboutmigratingtofindotherwork.
Ifthefactoryclosedwhatwouldbetheconsequences?
Ejallah Dousab
She is 21 and has been working in the Lee Cooper factory in Ras Jebel for four years. At the minute she does
the “English stitch”, the most difficult part, racing down the back seam, under the crotch and up to the zip,
holding the legs out in her stretched hands like the reins of a galloping horse. Does she like it? She laughed
shyly under Chedly’s gaze and says yes, but maybe one day she will marry and leave.


What is the solution?

Isitrightthatthishappens?

Whatshouldbedoneaboutit?

Whatcanwedoaboutit?

Below are some examples of how to improve this practice.

• GettogetherwithsomefriendsandwriteaFairTradeCodeofConductforyourschoolandmake
surethatallsportsequipment,uniforms,stationeryandothermaterialsareboughtfromFair
Tradeorsustainableforestrysourcesanddon’tusesweatshoplabour.
• LookforandbuyFairTradewhenyoushop.
• Findoutwhetheryourfavouriteclothinglabelsareethicallymanufactured.Ifthey’renot,writea
lettertothemanagingdirectorofthecompanyexplainingthatyoulovewearingtheirclothesbut
thatyouwon’tunlesstheycommittoFairTradingpractices.
• Petitionyourlocalsupermarkettostock(more)FairTradegoods.Youcandothisbywriting
letters,gettingupapetition,fillingoutcommentscardsandtalkingtothemanager.Be
persistent.
• Holdafashionshowofethicallyproducedclothing.(theadvertsinmagazineslikeTheEcologist
areagoodplacetostart).
• OrganiseaFairTradedebateattheschool.
• EmailOxfamaboutbecomingaFairTradeCampaigner.
• Ifyouaretimerichandmoneypoor,growyourown,makeyourown,cutupoldjeanstomake
shorts,etc,searchforgoodsecondhandshops.
• Ifyouaremoneyrichandtimepoor,begratefulandpaythatlittlebitextraforethicallyproduced
goods.
• Stopthrowingawayclothesandothergoodsjustbecausethey’renotthelatestgear.It’sthe
worldyou’llhavetoliveinthathastoproduceallthesegoods.We’realreadyusingthe
equivalentof3planetstokeepourselvesinthemannerwearenow.Itcan’tgoonthisway.
• Workforsocialchangeinyourcommunity.Formagroupthatwillgivetalkstoothersabout
ethicaltrading.It’syourworldeveryoneisusingandabusing.It’snolongerjustagreenything.
It’sseriousandwillaffectyourlife.
• Understandwhat’shappening–searchthenetforarticlestoinformyourdecisions.Take
responsibilityforyouractionsanddecisions.
• Lookatlabelsandbuyaslocallyasyoucan.Askyourselfhowshopscansellthosejeansfor£5.
Whoisbeingexploited?Whatenvironmentisbeingdamaged?