Clean Clothes Campaign

The Clean Clothes Campaign is a global organisation that works to improve the working conditions and empower the workers in the garment and sportswear industries. It is the largest alliance of labour unions and non-governmental organisations in the sector, with over 235 members operating in over 45 countries.

The Clean Clothes Campaign was founded in the Netherlands in 1989 as Schone Kleren Campagne, and has since expanded to become a worldwide network that connects actors across the supply chain, from home-based workers and grassroots unions to consumer groups and activists. The campaign is worker-centred, and operates on a horizontal structure that allows it to identify local and global problems and objectives, and transform them into collective actions.

The Clean Clothes Campaign has a range of strategies to achieve its goals of ensuring the fundamental rights of workers are respected, such as living wages, safe workplaces, freedom of association, and gender equality. Some of these strategies include:

• Offering direct solidarity support to workers fighting against specific violations through its Urgent Appeal system.
• Collaborating with workers to co-develop global campaigns on systemic issues, such as the eradication of gender-based violence in the workplace.
• Educating and mobilising consumers to pressure brands and governments to take responsibility for their actions.
• Lobbying companies and governments at regional and national levels to adopt and implement policies that protect workers' rights.
• Co-organising mutual capacity development trainings with worker groups to enhance their skills and knowledge.
• Cooperating extensively with other labour rights campaigns outside of its network.

The Clean Clothes Campaign also recognises the environmental impact of the fashion industry, and works closely with other organisations that have more expertise on this issue, such as the Changing Markets Foundation on its "Dirty Fashion" campaign. The campaign believes that environmental sustainability and social justice are interlinked, and that both are necessary for a fair and ethical fashion industry.