Market will create demand for ‘super-ethical’ clothing factories, Wall Street boss says

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/07/market-will-create-demand-for-super-ethical-clothing-factories-wall-street-boss-says/



Market will create demand for ‘super-ethical’ clothing factories, Wall Street boss says
By Sarah Boseley, The Guardian
Sunday, September 7, 2014 13:41 EDT

Big business and financial investors, not consumers, will force better conditions in the world’s textile factories, according to the head of an investment firm aiming to pump $500m (£306m) into creating a more ethical garment industry.

With his Italian shoes, expensive watch and glossy hairstyle, Oliver Niedermaier seems a far cry from an eco-warrior or workers’ rights activist. But the former partner at US private equity firm Advent International is sitting in one of Dhaka’s swankiest western-style hotels, arguing for super-ethical clothing factories where respect for workers and the environment is paramount.

It is nearly 18 months since one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, in which more than 1,100 people died and many more were injured when the eight-floor Rana Plaza garment factory building in the Bangladeshi capital collapsed last year. Since then many international retailers, workers’ rights groups, factory owners and government bodies have come together to try to improve conditions in the country’s $24.5bn garment industry. But few expected Wall Street to join the party.

Niedermaier is the head of Tau Investment Management, a group which wants to invest $500m in upgrading and modernising factories. It aims to attract big western brands by offering a supply base that uses modern technology to assure them of ethical standards as well as affordable prices. An in-house investigative team will aim to give assurances about the ethics of production from the cotton field to the retailer. Backed by the Soros family and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, Tau is raising money to fund minority stakes in factories in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka this year or next.

[littlemissmartypants]

1. All the best to Oliver

And his golden parachute.

Thanks for your post, unhappycamper.
Peace,
Lmsp

[Warpy]

2. IOW, people will still work in sweatshop conditions doing piecework

but they won't have to be afraid of the building falling on top of them.

I think if any clothier wants to clean up, he's going to put out a line of natural fiber, classic clothing. Get the plastic out and I'll follow you forever.