STARS FOR WORKERS – Ciencia sin miedo

Stars for Workers was a campaing launched in December, 2016, to involve celebrities, the stars people admire, to be committed to respect for Human Rights of workers who make the clothes in the garment and sportswear industry. The campaign ended in December, 2019, and now the project has been refocused to smaller objectives, such as serve as a source of information regarding labour explotation in the garment industry, and to create small educational programs to work with kids and teenagers in primary and secondary schools.

A campaign to involve celebrities, the stars people admire, to be committed to respect for Human Rights of workers who make the clothes in the garment and sportswear industry.

We are a group of researchers and professionals interested in several facets of business, with a clear awareness of the undesirable labor conditions that many modest workers suffer in the manufacturing process of products of the garment and sportswear industry.

STAFF

Jose A. Martínez | Technical University of Cartagena (Spain) | Contact here Associate Professor of Marketing in the Business Management Department.

His main research interest is in marketing, sports and health topics. He has published more than 70 articles in outstanding impact journals. He has also published a number of books, including «Publicidad, baloncesto y zapatillas» on advertising and sports brands, also acting as lead investigator of Research Projects funded by National and International Research Agencies and Institutions

Yong Jae Ko | University of Florida (USA) | Contact here Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management

He has published over 80 articles in peer-reviewed sport management and relevant premier journals and made over 160 presentations in these areas. His research team received prestigious awards for innovative research. He has done numerous consulting projects for a variety of national and international sports organizations and government projects

Manuel Ruiz | Technical University of Cartagena (Spain) | Contact here Associate Professor in the Department. of Quantitative & Computing Methods for Business Economics

His main research interest is in Spatial Analysis, including the study of time series, spatial statistics/econometrics, non-parametric statistics, symbolic analysis, and complex dynamics and algebra. He has more than 50 journal papers in outstanding international reviews, having participated in important research projects with national and international teams. He is currently the Principal Investigator of the Excellence Research Group (EMODs) from Fundación Séneca.

COLLABORATORS

Mayte Saavedra| Technical University of Cartagena (Spain) | mayte@starsforworkers.com Undergraduate student of Business Administration

His main research interest is marketing

Sultana Rajia | Technical University of Cartagena (Spain) | sultana@starsforworkers.com Undergraduate student of Business Administration

His main research interest is marketing

MISSION AND VALUES

Our mission is to make stars aware (athletes, actors, singers, celebrities…) about how powerful they can become in helping workers who participate in the manufacturing process of the brands they endorse. We aim to get they donate an important part of the money they receive from brands in order to contribute to the improvement of labor conditions of their workers. In addition, we aim to encourage celebrities to be the ambassadors (for free) of ethical brands.

Our objective is also to work with other organizations and persons to supervise that the money donated is employed in the correct way.

Our values are the equity of trading, the empowerment of employees who work in unfair conditions and the defense of labor rights, living wages and solidarity.

HOW WE WORK

We promote the stars who follow our 10/90 program or any other activity matching with our mission and values.

We put pressure to celebrities using several creative marketing tools. We also create press releases of every action we consider laudable for improving the quality of life of workers.

Finally, we achieve a surveillance of the money destined to improving labor conditions, with the collaboration or other organizations, syndicates, and any other people who wants to support our initiative. [/su_note]

FUNDING

We are not an organization or a company. We do not receive any fund or donation from public or private organizations or persons.

STARS FOR WORKERS is an idea that comes true because of the effort of the scholars behind this project and the support of people believing in our mission and values. [/su_note]

We develop several actions to fulfill our goals. All these actions are made from the respect, but with the determination to be effective. We don’t want to criminalize brands or stars, but we aim to denounce what brands could improve, and what celebrities could do regarding this issue.

AWARENESS

We provide news about the garment and sportswear industry, with the aim to raise awareness about the labour conditions of workers, and about business of brands operating in that market. We will also create news about each actions achieved in our campaign.

There are a lot of audio visual resources we have gathered to depict some of the problems of this industry.

THE CONTRAST

We design pictures about the contrast generated by deals between celebrities and brands and the situation of many workers in the garment industry. The aim is to disseminate that information in the social media to reach the environment of those stars and also their fans. Share the pics in the social media to reinforce the message.

CAMPAIGNS

Individual messages via Twitter: We have sent individual messages to stars who had a deal with a textile brand (December 2016 – November 2017).

Switch: A campaign to inspire celebrities to re-change the way of endorsing brands (December 2017- December 2019).

PROMOTION

We promote the stars who follow our 10/90 program and our Ethical Endorsement proposal. We also create press releases of every action we consider laudable for improving the quality of life of workers.

SURVEILLANCE

We achieve a surveillance of the money destined to improving labor conditions, with the collaboration or other organizations, syndicates, and any other people who wants to support our initiative.

If you are a star endorsing a brand, you can change the life of dozens of workers by only following our 10/90 program. You may also be a prescriber of our program and help to disseminate our mission and values to other stars. In addition, you may be an ambassador of an ethical brand.

If you are a brand endorsed by some star, you may collaborate by facilitating the donation of the star to workers.

If you are an organization, worker, syndicalist, journalist, activist…sharing our mission and values, then you may collaborate by providing relevant information about the labor conditions of workers, and (if possible) about the impact of the actions of stars following our program.

If you are a consumer, you may prefer to support stars and brands truly concerned about the labor conditions of workers.

And everybody can help by disseminating the STARS FOR WORKERS project, by sharing links to our website, and by helping to aware society about the need and the real possibility of changing (a little) the lifes of hundreds of workers and their families.

Donate

Stars can donate their money to the following organizations, which accepted to collaborate with us:

The Solidarity Center is a non-profit international worker rights organization that assists workers around the world who are struggling to achieve safe and healthy workplaces, family-supporting wages, social protections and a voice on the job. Most of all, the Solidarity Center assists workers around the world in building shared prosperity in the global economy and in their country.

International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) is a human rights organization that advocates for workers globally. ILRF works with trade unions, faith-based organizations, and community groups to support workers and their families. ILRF lead on initiatives such as making apparel factories safe in Bangladesh; stopping the exploitation of children in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan or developing labor law clinics in China.

Labour Behind the Label is a campaign that works to improve conditions and empower workers in the global garment industry. Founded in 2002, we have thirteen years of experience in awareness raising, research and lobbying in support of workers demands for improved pay and conditions. We are small but mighty in relentlessly raising the profile of garment workers who need their stories to be told.

JAAGO Foundation aims for the betterment of the nation through catering the educational needs of children from socially and economically disadvantaged background and empowering the youths along with inspiring volunteerism in Bangladesh. There is a good number of students having garment worker parents in different branches of our school.

The Awaj Foundation is the Women headed Worker rights defending National organization that assists workers especially female workers all over Bangladesh who are struggling g to achieve decent work, living wages, safe and healthy workplaces, Freedom of association, Trade Union rights, social protections and a voice on the job. The main driver of Awaj Foundation was formal Garments workers and most of all, the Awaj Foundation assists Garments workers over the Bangladesh in building worker rights and responsibilities and shared prosperity in economy as well.

Asociación Mujeres Transformando (MT) was founded on July 3, 2003, and is a feminist organization that ensures the rights of women, especially the rights of women working in textile factories («maquilas»). The Association contributes to the deconstruction of patriarchy and power relations that violate the body and life of Salvadoran women through class awareness and gender perspective. Mujeres Transformando seek to empower women to exercise the free and full right of their citizenship.

We have sent individual messages to stars who have a deal with a textile brand. We chose 12 stars per month starting in December, 2016. It is important you retweet all our tweets in order to increase pressure on these celebrities and try to inspire them. We inform if stars reply to our messages. You may retweet all the tweets in every moment, regardless the month in course. Although the campaign ended in November 2017, retweets are always potentially active.

Statements of well-known researchers, activists, journalists, practitioners and celebrities supporting Stars for Workers. Opinions stated are personal, and do not necessarily reflect the position of their employers and institutions.

Thank you for initiative in order to improve labour conditions of exploited workers. We should not stop to put pressure on politics and big corporations to guarantee a living wage for everyone.

Klaus Werner-Lobo | Author, Actor and Activist.

Co-author of «Schwarzbuch Markenfirmen» (Black book on brands)

The garment workers need your voice! The voice of justice and it is only right that we shout loudly for their rights and raise awareness for decent human rights throughout our supply chains!

Safia Minney | Social Entrepreneur and Author

Founder and Director of People Tree, the pioneering Fair Trade and sustainable fashion and lifestyle brand

In a globalized economy, binding working standards are a must. The ILO core labour norms and other conventions exist, but they are not enforceable. We need binding ethical norms for transnational corporations that include enforceable human rights and labour standards – like the UN draft norms of 2003 proposed, but did not enter in force due to opposition of powerful business lobbies. May this initiative raise awareness about a binding common good balance sheet for international companies as a precondition for trade, global sourcing and foreign investment.

Christian Felber| Author, Lecturer & Dancer

Initiator of the «Economy for the Common Good“ and the project «Bank for the Common Good». Author of «Change everything. Creating an Economy for the Common Good»

The right to decent work and the right to a decent livelihood go hand in hand. The living wage movement is an essential driving force for human dignity and social equality. I’m an enthusiastic supporter of Stars for Workers.

Tim Jackson| Researcher and Professor

Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (UK)[/su_lightbox_content]

Be a star for the people who are always in the other side of the mirror, whose endless labor does not get the proper evaluation. Your contribution can improve their condition, their life!

Korvi Rakshand | Social Entrepreneur

Founder of JAAGO Foundation. President of Volunteer for Bangladesh

If we train to be better, we should improve in every way, we can not ignore the conditions where the sports clothing is made. Your action is valuable. Worry about ethical clothing

Paloma G. López| Social Entrepreneur

CEO of The Circular Project. President of MSMAD

Stars for Workers is a very courageous initiative and, at the same time, necessary to expose to everyone the sad reality that lurks behind our clothes. It strives for a shift towards a more fair and sustainable industry

Alicia Carrasco| Journalist & Blogger

Founder and editor of the leading blog on sustainable fashion: www.greenandtrendy.com

When a country‘s competitiveness is based on poverty wages, Development ends up being a fiction

Samuel Pérez | Professor and Writer

Professor of Economics at Lester B Pearson College at Canada. Writer in the newspaper «Prensa Libre» (Guatemala)

If you too want to help stop the abuse of labor to cheaply create sportswear, follow Stars for Workers to see how you can help

Menno Henselmans| Educator, Fitness model, Scientific Author & Online Physique Coach

Director of Bayesian Bodybuilding

Celebrities have tremendous power over people’s actions. Young people look up to them, respect them, want to be like them. If you’re a celebrity, you can choose to use that power for good. Make brands treat their workers right. Change things for the better

Marcos Vázquez | Educator, Author & Physique Coach

Founder at Fitness Revolucionario

Stars for Workers brings them the opportunity to be a star in a different and more meaninful way, helping other people like no other program has done before

Julián Felipo | Journalist and Sports Writer

Specialized in basketball at Mundo Deportivo and www.zona131.com

Video of support

The power of stars is greater than they might think. Perhaps they are not aware that their involvement in social issues has a great impact worldwide. Callin on their generosity, they can make thousands of workers happier following the Stars for Workers program

Francisco González| Researcher and Professor

Department of Applied Economics at Univeristy of Granada (Spain)

It is comforting to know that initiatives like Stars for Workers are born to raise awareness about labor conditions towards a transparent fashion industry

Cristina Palacios | Designer for social change

Founder of the green pro human rights marketplace FairChanges

The global economy is built on labour. Yet the privileged have a feeling of entitlement, and see workers as merely cogs in a machinery required to improves the quality of life of those who pay their wages. Our collective wellbeing requires a complete overhaul of this relationship. Humanity is about believing that this planet is for us all. For us and our children’s children, to be shared to the full.

Shahidul Alam | Photographer, Writer and Activist

Photographer, Writer and Activist (Bangladesh)

Stars for Workers is a noble initiative which could create a a major impact for workers in the garment & sportswear industry worldwide. Let’s create a change, and the change can’t happen without you.

Fabian Chen| Lecturer and Fitness Trainer

Fabian’s Health and Fitness Solutions (Singapore)

The stars have to help to light this world. Stars for workers is a great iniciative to open our eyes and to contribute to making the world a better place.

Martí Casals | Researcher and Professor

Applied Statistician and researcher in the national Research Centre Network for Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP) and the Public Health Agency of Barcelona (Epidemiology Service)

The complexity of the fashion industry has a significant footprint on the exploitation of both natural resources and people. Thus, it is vital to raise awareness and to create truly transparent supply chains that could explain true cost of our clothes and help garment workers to have fair wages.

Marta Waydel | Researcher and Social Entrepreneur

Co-founder of iKLEID experimental platform combining Fashion Innovations & Sustainability

Fashion must put together ethics and aesthetics, so respecting and protecting the rights of workers is vital. We are all workers in this globalized economy, labor exploitation makes us all poorer and makes the global labor market even more precarious. Let’s do to others what we would not want them to do to us. Fashion will not have glamor as long as it does not respect the rights of workers.

Brenda Chávez | Journalist and Writer

Author of the book «Tu consumo puede cambiar el mundo«

Stars for Workers is a very good project to try to change this situation. So, if you are start, please collaborate and contribute to make a better world.

Javier Sánchez | Researcher and Professor

Department of Financial Economics at Technical University of Cartagena (Spain)

Video of support

Athletes, actors, singers, celebrities…all of these stars are generously paid for their work they do. Surely, they deserve the wages they earn in their respective jobs, because they use to be persons with one of more extraordinary skills, and they also generate much money to the stakeholders of disparate related industries. The money they earn when they endorse a brand, however, does not produce any benefit for anyone but themselves. It is money that only increases their accounts, which often are yet widely fattened (again, surely they deserve it). The great amount of money stars receive from brands increases the final price of the product, so companies have incentives to reduce productions costs in order to keep a market price. And such reduction of costs is often charged to workers salaries and to worsening their labor conditions.

If stars renounce to the money obtained from endorsements but they continue endorsing the brand, and if that money is transferred to workers to improve their labor conditions, then they will sacrifice only a “bonus” for their excellent work, which really is the money coming from brands. But this sacrifice will produce a huge impact on the quality of life of hundreds of modest workers, their children and their whole families. And they will help to aware consumers and society about the importance of living wages.

This generous action of stars will increase their brand image, and they will help them to be viewed as a conscious celebrity, which also will probably help them to obtain more endorsement deals. But the most important, they will have the opportunity to directly make something extremely valuable for many people working in undesirable labor conditions.

Why not to focus on other sponsoring activities?

If companies expend less money in marketing they could pay much more to workers and they could sell the products at the same price. It seems a very simple reasoning, a straightforward equation.

Although this could be an interesting option, it has a side effect; several modest people and companies which obtain some profits with the development of the industry related to the sponsoring activity could loss those benefits. For example, when a giant shoe company sponsors a football team, this money not only helps to expand the team operations (which it is also good for team workers), but it also helps to the development of the global activity of football where many small businesses and workers have economic interests. We do not want to promote undesirable side effects; therefore we encourage brands to continue investing in marketing activities.

An example of how a start can help

It is difficult to estimate the percentage of the final price of a product that is assigned to the wages of manufacturing workers. The Clean Clothes Campaign estimates a 0.5% in the worst scenario and 5% in the best scenario. Companies use to obtain an operative benefit (before considering taxes and extraordinary costs) of around 10% of sales, although this number is highly variable depending of, for example, the sponsoring and advertising pressure of each brand achieve in function of its marketing objectives.

It is very difficult that a donation goes directly to workers. Organizations use the donations to add pressure to brands, to work with trade unions, to help in legal disputes, etc. Obviously it would be fantastic if the money could go directly to increase the wage of workers but it is very difficult to obtain such direct effect. However the indirect effect we is undeniable. All the pressure put to brands, all the work with trade unions, all the support in legal disputes… indirectly improves the labour conditions of workers.

In countries when such workers gain only a few dollars per week (often suffering hard labor conditions), that improvement would suppose a huge change in their quality of life, and the quality of life of their children and families. Evidence has shown in the last years that indirect effects have yielded undeniable progressions, and provided «victories» to workers. However, the situation is still dramatic in some cases, and should clearly improve in many others.

Sofia Sanchez
Mango

@chufy You can change the lives of thousands of textile workers. If you truly are a star, be a star for them #starsforworkers pic.twitter.com/qT7zEPJ0bB — Stars for Workers (@StarsforWorkers) October 31, 2017