City to Consider Ban on Uniforms Made in Sweatshop Conditions

April 9, 2009  Daily Californian

By Genevieve Head-Gordon, Contributing Writer

Berkeley is considering an ordinance that would prohibit the city from purchasing uniforms and other garments produced in sweatshop conditions.

If the ordinance is passed by the Berkeley City Council on April 21, the city will require clothing vendors to disclose the sources of their goods and guarantee the items they sell to the city were produced in humane workplaces, said Diana Bohn, a member of the Peace and Justice Commission who helped write the ordinance.

The ordinance was first introduced five years ago, Bohn said. But the ordinance experienced numerous delays, and city staff members worked for three years to decrease $60,000 in hidden costs they found in the first draft of the ordinance.

Officials said the current proposal is cheaper and the vendors' code of conduct is more precise.

"Our long process was actually beneficial because we were able to update the language but in a more enforceable way, giving companies time to comply and mitigate the costs," Bohn said.

During the past five years, 38 cities have adopted similar sweat-free policies and ordinances. In addition, 186 colleges and universities, including UC Berkeley, have taken steps to guarantee that their licensed apparel was produced in sweat-free conditions.

"Instead of being the first, we have the chance to be the 39th," said Councilmember Kriss Worthington. "It is time to put our money where our mouth is - even UC Berkeley has taken positive steps and it is way ahead of the city."

Worthington said he believes costs will be lower because so many cities, states and schools have adopted similar sweat-free policies and ordinances.

"You want to accomplish your goal without costing extra millions of dollars," he said. "By not being the first, there is already so much momentum with states, cities and schools that put more pressure on corporations to meet these standards."

Worthington and other city officials said yesterday they did not have an estimate of the total cost of the ordinance's implementation.

Employees within the city's public works departments, such as sanitation workers, will be affected most by the ordinance because they usually wear uniforms, Worthington said.

Berkeley has already made previous steps towards a more sweat-free city, Bohn said. The city has donated $25,000 to the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium, a group which supports the creation of alternatives to global sweatshops.