Mountain Equipment Co-op has launched its first in-house line of Fair Trade certified apparel.
The outdoor retailer will start offering Fair Trade certified T-shirts late this summer both online and in the company's 17 brick-and-mortar stores, including the North Vancouver location at 212 Brooksbank Ave. The apparel will include MEC's long-running line of organic cotton women's short and long-sleeved T-shirts. Men's T-shirts will be added to the Fair Trade line next spring.
A press release from the company states that its new Fair Trade certified clothing "will provide tangible benefits for the factory workers who make the T-shirts in Pithampur, India." For every Fair Trade shirt MEC sells, the co-op will pay a cash premium into a special fund directed by the factory workers. A democratic process will enable the workers to decide how to best spend the money. For example, they could choose to enhance local community services in support of health care, education or improved transportation infrastructure - or opt to take the premium as a cash bonus to bolster their own incomes.
"Fair Trade is uniquely positioned to ensure fair wages and safe working conditions for the people who make MEC-brand products," said CEO David Labistour, in the press release. "At the same time, the Fair Trade certified label quickly communicates those benefits to our members who wish to make principled purchases."
MEC says it plans to inform its members about how the Fair Trade premiums are ultimately spent by the workers who will benefit from the program.
For this line, MEC has partnered with Fair Trade USA, a third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in North America. The non-profit organization audits and certifies transactions between companies and their international suppliers to ensure certain standards are met.
MEC has taken steps in the past to improve conditions for its factory workers and received full accreditation from the Fair Labor Association in 2013 in recognition of its responsible sourcing program.
