What is ECA week?
ECA, short for Ethical Clothing Australia, ensures fair treatment and safeguards the rights of Australian garment workers. It's a collaboration between the industry and unions, aiming for greater transparency in the textile, clothing, and footwear (TCF) sector.
In simple terms, ECA accreditation helps you identify and support ethically made Australian products.
This year, October 9 to 13 is Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) week.
Here are the principles ECA stands for, what they achieve, and why we choose to align with them.
BUSHY and ECA
ECA is a driving force that aligns with our core values. 2023, marks BUSHY’s fourth year of holding an ECA accreditation. We want to be fully transparent about what that means.
To keep our certification, we're audited annually to make sure our TCF workers get fair pay, legal entitlements, and safe working conditions.
This certification tracks our entire supply chain in Australia, from design to fulfillment.
Being ECA certified is one way we commit ourselves to investing in the Australian garment manufacturing, including supporting workers' rights.
Why being ECA certified is important to us
In producing our Australian-made garments, we want to do better for people and the planet.
In terms of environmental sustainability, our choice to invest in Australian manufacturing not only supports the sector economically, but also equates to reducing the carbon emissions of our products. Producing goods locally in Australia can reduce the overall emission output of a single product by up to 60%.
We also strive to combat the tough conditions faced by many workers in the Australian TCF industry. They often face long hours, irregular work and occupational health and safety issues.
As a way of pushing back, the ECA accreditation backs an ethical future for Australian garment manufacturing.
Our commitment to transparency
Transparency is at the core of ECA accreditation. For us, it's not just a buzzword; but a way of doing business.
We're committed to being transparent in everything we do, from our sourcing practices to our production processes. We aren't perfect by a long margin, and there is a lot of work to do to continue reducing our impact.
But ultimately, being transparent is the only way to build a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry that benefits everyone involved.
In light of this, we have shared details on our entire production process, from raw material supply through to fulfilment. Learn about the products, people and places behind our brand.
This week and every week, we celebrate local garment manufacturing and the push towards better protections for people in the sector. ECA is funded by the government, showing a small but promising commitment from Australia policy makers to support ethical local supply chains.