Ethics and Employee Issues in the Textile Industry

 

Above: a washing line - a sign of rebellion in Victorian-era Saltaire

While my textile project for Saltaire is inspired by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, as previously discussed in my 'Habitat' blog post, I also wanted to briefly look at the ethics behind Titus Salt’s decision in 1848 to build a model village and rehouse his workers, and how this resonates with certain aspects of the textiles industry in today’s world. 

Above: The United Reform Church in Saltaire where workers were expected to worship.

According to Alderson, (1988) each worker who was moved to Saltaire, was given a house, the size of which was dependent on their status within the business. Houses had running water, gas and a toilet in the yard, and streets had drains and were gaslit. In addition, workers had access to a variety of communal sites including school, a library, and a hospital, as well as leisure facilities and outdoor spaces.

Above left: The supposed watch tower. Above right: The ‘Don’t Tell Titus’ pub in Saltaire is a reference to Salt’s ban on alcohol.

This self-contained community sounds perfect, but how did the workers feel about every aspect of their life being controlled? For example, Salt was a member of the United Reform Church (pictured above left), and his workforce was actively encouraged to attend (Reynolds, 1985). Other controlled aspects of village life included a ban on drinking alcohol in public; a ban on hanging washing across streets; and the position of a ‘watch tower’ in the centre of Saltaire, which was apparently used to check worker behaviour (Alderson, 1988). 

Despite finding this quote from Salt reported in The Bradford Observer at the opening of Saltaire village in 1853, “…I hope to see satisfaction, contentment, and happiness around me…” (Pettinger, 2019), there seems to be no real evidence as to why Salt built a model village since he rarely spoke in public and did not produce written documents (Smith and Coates, 2016).

Extreme cases of worker control within the textile industry have existed in more recent times. In the 1990s, many global brands were exposed by non-governmental organisations for labour abuses within their supply chains, which lead to legislative framework (Fletcher, 2008).

Above: cotton farm workers at a site in Xinjiang, China (Wexler, 2014)

Even more recently, China has been accused of forcing employee coercion in its cotton manufacturing sites in Xinjiang. According to a BBC report (Sudworth, 2020) minority groups are being encouraged to leave the countryside to work in cotton factories with the promise of big salaries. The reality is a controlled, closely monitored workforce, where people are worked excessively, paid small wages and forbidden from celebrating personal and minority religions.

Nowadays, more consumers are questioning where their purchases have come from, while legal reforms and human rights organisations work to ensure greater rights for employees in the textile industry. My previous post on the pineapple fibre industry provides a great example of the efforts made to ensure local workers and their community are protected.

Now I need to be mindful of the fabrics I use in my project piece and what impact it will have on those involved in all steps within the industry.

Bibliography

Alderson, W.E. (1988) Salt & Saltaire. Ernest Cummings

 

Fletcher, K (2008) Sustainable Fashion and Textiles. Earthscan

Pettinger, T. (2019) “Biography of Sir Titus Salt”. Oxford

 

Reynolds, J (1985) Saltaire: An Introduction to the Village of Sir Titus Salt. Bradford Art Galleries and Museums

 

Smith M & Coates C (2016) Salts Mill. Amberley Publishing

 

Sudworth, J. (2020) China’s ‘Tainted’ Cotton. [Online] Available from:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra [Accessed 23 February 2023]

Illustrations

Wexler, A (2014) Cotton Farmers Not Changing Plans Despite Farm Bill Uncertainty. [Online] Available from: https://www.wsj.com/articles [Accessed 7 March 2023]