We have made consumers aware of what the real costs of their products should be by creating a spoof label and job advertisement. We hope that by making it so personal, consumers will be able to relate to the global problem of the living wage and will be motivated to get involved, as after all it is all about ‘the power of the individual to create change’ and spark conversations (Verson,2007:177).
We got in touch with the CCC to see what they had to say about us getting involved, and the reply said:
“We are huge advocates of grass roots activism! Students and consumers have a lot of power in their voice. If more people joined our activist group and took part in actions targeting brands then brands must listen, especially as many are their customers.”
Shop-dropping is one type of activism that is highly effective in generating public response and awareness, however, there are many ethical considerations that need to be taken into account. H&M stores are private spaces therefore for this piece of activist work we asked the permission of the Exeter H&M store to leave fake job applications and spoof labels. Unfortunately, they stated that we needed to make an official request to the “head office” which would take time. Therefore the spoof label and fake job application form you see below is what we would have done if we had been allowed to carry out our activist project in our local H&M store.
Spoof label
In these photos above you can see that we created a spoof label, adding the living wage price to a simple t-shirt in H&M. By doing this we are reflecting how little of a difference it will make to us as consumers to change the price to include a fair living wage for the people who produced our items.
Our calculations
We based our calculations upon the formula created by Sasja Beslik, Head of Sustainable Finance at Nordea Wealth Management if H&M (to read more head to our page on calculating the cost of the living wage). We found that translated into British pounds the provision of the living wage would only result in increasing the retail price of the t-shirt by mere 53p.
As well as adding the living wage price to the label we have replaced the barcode with a QR code that when scanned directs you straight to our Instagram page, telling you all about the issues behind H&M not meeting the living wage. This information acts as a starting point for the regular consumer to understand the current issues around the living wage, in order to gain as much knowledge about the issue to promote increased participation for change.
Creating a fake job advertisement
Our inspiration behind this whole project emerged from a job application that one student working on this project completed with the hope of gaining a part-time job at H&M on Exeter High Street as an assistant Sales Advisor. They found that just like the garment workers in Bangladesh they too would not receive the benefits of a Living Wage due to the restrictions put in place by the British Government which currently only grants the Living wage to workers over the age of 25 (GOV.UK, 2018).
To protest this injustice we created the fake job advert using a real H&M advert for a sales advisor role as a basis. We then modified it using ideas from academic readings and statements taken from Bangladeshi workers who are part of the H&M factory system.
We aimed to ironically draw parallels between the lives of an H&M worker in Exeter and garment workers in Bangladesh, who both don’t have access to the basic human right of a Living Wage. We hoped that at the same time this would give an insight into the lives of those people who are arguably the most important part of the supply chain – they make the clothes after all, but, because they are thousands of miles away, their voice is never heard in relation to their working conditions or their pay. So, the advert was created in the hope of raising awareness of the injustice happening in Bangladesh and in the UK, displaying it in the light of a modern job for a company which you’d expect would do more to ensure equality in all stages of production, distribution, and sale. The harsh irony is that no one in our country would accept a role described as such, nor would it even be legal to advertise for it. Thus we were hoping that it would provoke thought for not just those who work in H&M in the high street, but for those who work in H&M globally, who aren’t subject to strict labour regulations or don’t have an independent body to which they can complain if their labour rights are infringed upon.
Again to ensure that we engaged with the affected audience as much as possible we included the link to the website as well as the QR code directing them to our Instagram at the bottom of our fake job advertisement.
Social Media
We are big fans of the #Turnaroundhm campaign but saw that the campaign itself didn’t have an individual page on social media and so we decided to create its very own Instgram page. We decided to use Instagram as a platform to engage with a larger audience and to be able to regularly update our followers on the movements of our campaign and as well as work by other activists on Living Wage issues. What’s more, we’ve created a QR code which we’ve placed on the spoof H&M label as well as the fake job advertisement, directing people to our social media account. We hope by giving users access to our campaign as well as providing the friendly and engaging information, people will be more motivated to get involved with the fight to make the living wage for garment workers a reality and help make change happen! Make sure you are following us on Instagram so you don’t miss a trick @turnaroundhm
#TurnaroundH&M 