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A Proposal For The Creation Of A
CATHOLIC CAMPAIGN FOR CLOTHING WITH A CONSCIENCE
March 1, 2014
Michael Crosby, OFMCap., Executive Director of WIM/CRI
“Clothe Your Neighbor As Yourself”
Background : It has been known for years that our lifestyle in the economically “developed” countries is highly dependent on corporate practices that sometimes exploit people and the planet. This exploitation of people is most evident in the recent fatalities in Bangladesh associated with the clothing worn by almost every person. At this point we find a constellation of factors coming together that demands concrete action at every level to stop the wide range of abuses connected to the sourcing the clothes we wear.
Pope Francis gave an almost-immediate response to the collapse of the Rana Plaza building on April 24,
2013 that killed over 1200 human beings. “That is what people who died were being paid” he said after learning that many of the workers made less than $60 a month for 60-70 hour work weeks. “This is called slave labor." He added: “Today in the world this slavery is being committed against something beautiful that
God has given us -- the capacity to create, to work, to have dignity. How many brothers and sisters find themselves in this situation?"
Commenting on the deaths of the people who were afraid to enter the building on the day it collapsed, but felt forced to do so after being threatened with losing a month’s pay , Jerry Davis, Professor of Management at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan wrote an editorial in The New York Times.
“While blame quickly extended from the owners of the building and the factories it contained, to the government of
Bangladesh, to the retailers who sold the clothing, the culpability extends all the way down the supply chain—to us” (Letter , NYT 05.08.13).
Faith-based shareholders and various NGO’s have engaged global companies involved in the apparel supply chain to address these labor exploitation concerns for years. The Rana Plaza tragedy, among others, led a global coalition of institutional investors from 16 countries in North America, Europe and Australia with combined assets valued at over US$ 1.5 trillion signed a statement calling on apparel manufacturers and retailers to join the Accord on Fire and Building Safety. Two international groups have been created by apparel companies, labor groups and NGO’s to try to address these concerns. The first is The Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (“The Accord”). The Accord has over 170 signatories and ICCR support
(including the planners of CCCC). The second group is the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. While many apparel companies and retailers in the United States, Europe and Australia are committed to addressing issues around plant safety, they refuse to discuss the key issue of wages at any place along their supply
* This “Catholic” effort should not be interpreted as excluding other faiths. Ideally, a Catholic Campaign may encourage people of other faiths to create their own campaign and, hopefully develop an interfaith collaboration. Toward this end, the CCCC effort has been shared with pertinent representatives of the Presbyterian Church, USA, the United Church of Christ, Methodists Women United, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the American Baptist Church.

chains. This pertains in a special way to wages in Bangladesh, the cheapest place for labor, and other developing countries.
Our Catholic Social Teaching and the challenge by Pope Francis give Catholics an undeniable responsibility to address the ways we clothe ourselves each day to become more conscious of our connectedness with our brothers and sisters who make the clothes we wear. "Not paying fairly, not giving a job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking at how to make a profit . . . goes against God," Pope Francis said.
Francis’
Joy of the Gospel ( Evangelii Gaudium ) exposes the globalization of indifference in a throw-away culture of mass consumerism. He calls for compassion for the victims of this reality, the working poor. For his part, Professor Davis argued: “If we want to see fewer tragedies like the one in Bangladesh, we as consumers need to reward the companies that make the effort to verify their supply chains and shun those that do not.”
Given the above, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota Coalition for Responsible Investment (WIM/CRI) members realized that some kind of coalition among faith-based investors and consumers is needed to change this reality. This resulted in the creation of the Catholic Campaign for Clothing with a Conscience
(CCCC) which was initially endorsed by the leadership of The Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order
(who made an initial monetary contribution to move the Campaign forward), and Women Religious for
Justice (St. Paul, MN).
Organizations Participating in the Planning : WIM/CRI; The Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin
Order; Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi; Justice and Peace desks of the Leadership Conference of Women
Religious and Conference of Major Superiors of Men; some Faculty at DePaul University Department of
Religious Studies; St. Vincent de Paul Society; Holy Cross Sisters; Franciscan Action Network;
Catholic Theological Union students
Mission Statemen t: “Inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, the Catholic Campaign for Clothing with a
Conscience seeks to foster Catholics’ awareness that promotes solidarity between the consumers of clothing and the people who produce them in order to create a more just economy and sustainable communities.”
Target Audience : We envision, as our main audience, the wide range of stakeholders involved at the local level of Catholicism: the parish. Our secondary audience is students at every level, especially those in
Catholic schools from elementary and secondary levels through colleges and universities.
Preliminary Strategies:
1.
Join the Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Trafficking (CCOAHT) which is organized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and consists of national and international Catholic agencies working to eliminate the scourge of human trafficking. This group can provide valuable input and critical resources to implement the CCCC.
2.
Link/leverage existing groups that have been working for justice in the apparel industry: Clean
Clothes Campaign, United Students Against Sweatshops, Worker Rights Consortium, Better Work,
Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Alta Gracia, Fair Hiring, Oxfam,, All American Clothing, Goods of
Conscience, etc.
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3.
Nurture a human connection between the CCCC and the garment workers in developing countries so that they are aware that we are working in solidarity with their dreams/efforts.
4.
Develop a “Catholic” theology on the clothing issue based on Catholic Social Teaching and its historical concern about the exploitation of workers as well as the writings of theologians on consumerism. . This might involve some kind of “theology of vestments/clothing” that aims to deepen Catholics’ consciousness about the connectedness we have with those making our clothing.
The value of using recent themes of Pope Francis, especially his connection among the
“globalization of indifference” because of consumerism which blots out/invites compassion (as well as notions of “face/facelessness,” “periphery,” “love of neighbor”). Those committed to be involved in this effort include
5.
6.
Use our logo (four C’s shaped like an open chain that are shaped into a cross) that could possibly be created into a pin or some other item to be worn on one’s clothing to use as an occasion to raise consciousness and consciences on the issue.
7.
Develop stronger shareholder actions moving beyond safety to address human rights issues around the supply chain, stressing the economic exploitation of supply-chain workers.
8.
Prepare educational materials for all stakeholders involved in Catholic parish life (i.e., bishops, priests, homilists, religious educators). This will involve theological reflection and suggested homily helps, the tentative St. Vincent Pledge, study guides for reflection groups, suggested action steps, etc.
9.
Prepare educational materials to engage Catholic students to be mobilized for action on the issue.
This would involve working with student groups at Catholic educational centers to get their schools committed to school uniforms and clothing that are produced sustainably. Find ways to incorporate social media.
10.
Create a National Day of Repentance and Remembrance (or a “Day of Connectedness”) that raises the issue and invites congregations and schools to have their members sign the proposed St. Vincent
Pledge (to be edited further) committing themselves to conscientious consumption.
11.
Work with media, such as the National Catholic Reporter and National Catholic Register to promote the efforts of the CCCC.
** We have asked various women theologians, both moral and systematic, to join our effort. While supporting our aims they are in situations that do not allow their fuller participation. We are seeking others.
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