SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2016 ANALYSIS THE LEADING INDEPENDENT DAILY IN THE ARABIAN GULF ESTABLISHED 1961 Founder and Publisher YOUSUF S. AL-ALYAN Editor-in-Chief ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-ALYAN EDITORIAL : 24833199-24833358-24833432 ADVERTISING : 24835616/7 FAX : 24835620/1 CIRCULATION : 24833199 Extn. 163 ACCOUNTS : 24835619 COMMERCIAL : 24835618 P.O.Box 1301 Safat,13014 Kuwait. E MAIL :[email protected] Website: www.kuwaittimes.net Washington Watch Apparel makers try on ethical supply chains for size By Rina Chandran hen Indian Textiles Minister Smriti Irani tweet- ed a picture of herself this week in an electric- Wblue silk sari with the hashtag #IWearHandloom, her tweet was favorited more than 10,000 times and retweeted 4,000 times. Hundreds responded to Irani’s request to post pictures of them- selves in handloom apparel, including politicians, actors, athletes, models and designers, ahead of National Handloom Day on Aug 7, to celebrate the humble hand-woven fabric. A symbol of India’s freedom struggle, handloom attire was once regarded as fit only for politicians and villagers. It is now seeing a revival, with demand grow- ing for sustainable and ethical fashion, even as mass- Washington Watch market clothing still dominates malls and pavement stalls. “There’s a greater desire among the youth and the middle class, who are frustrated with dirty politics Platform and politics: The change we made and crooked companies, for something better,” said Arvind Singhal, chief executive of retail consultancy By Dr James J Zogby included the protection of civil liberties as a priority con- tory since, on the one hand, the platform states that Technopak Advisors. “Having a greater sensitivity to cern and expanded on the definition of “racial profiling” to “Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations” and people and the environment is ‘in’, and people are even he quadrennial process of party platform writing is include “religion, ethnicity, or national origin” thereby mak- then says that “it should remain the capital of Israel, an willing to pay a small premium for what they perceive more of a political exercise than a policy delibera- ing the called for ban on “un-American and unproductive” undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.” to be ethical and responsible,” he said. Ttion. When party leaders sit down to debate what profiling, the most comprehensive ever. Since our Sanders’ team was outnumbered, we did not India is among the biggest manufacturers of textiles will or will not go into their platform, their eyes are less In the section on “Fixing our Broken Immigration win, but from our lengthy debate on these issues (a small and apparel in the world, supplying leading interna- focused on what will constitute sound policy. Instead they System” we co-authored with the Clinton campaign lan- victory, in itself), several observations can be made. The tional brands. But the domestic market is large too, consider the politics involved in the positions they want in guage recognizing that “immigration is not a problem to draft prepared by the Clinton team sought to preempt our and accounts for more than 40 percent of the indus- the document: will they cause concern with important be solved, it is the defining aspect of the American charac- concerns. This is the first platform in history to speak of the try’s revenue. The sector is dominated by small and constituencies; will they result in negative press; and will ter and our shared history”. We also called for reforming recognition of Palestinians as having rights not merely, as medium-sized firms that are under enormous pressure they provoke donors? Given this, I feel good about what “the current quota system [that] discriminates against cer- Peter Beinart has noted, “as a matter of Israeli self-interest”. to reduce costs and produce garments quickly. Many we accomplished with this year’s Democratic Party’s plat- tain immigrants” and we rejected “attempts to impose a The platform calls for providing “Palestinians with inde- use forced labor, while abuses including withheld form. I say this not only as a proud member of the five per- religious test to bar immigrants or refugees from entering pendence, sovereignty, and dignity”. And, in another place, salaries and debt bondage are rife, activists say. son team Bernie Sanders picked to serve on the Platform the United States.” says that “Palestinians should be free to govern themselves Wages in India’s textile and garment industry are Drafting Committee, but also as the first Arab American to The platform also proposes a way forward to defeat ISIS in their own viable state, in peace and dignity”. On this about $1.06 an hour, compared with $2.60 in China, have served in that capacity. and al Qaeda and end the wars in Syria and Iraq without subject, earlier platforms were confused, at best, insulting, according to the World Bank. The pressure on margins Much has been written about the planks we lost or how seeing American forces mired down in prolonged conflict at worst. trickles down to cotton farmers. More than 90 percent the platform didn’t go far enough, but what shouldn’t be in the Middle East. The document recognizes that there of cotton in India is genetically modified, and as those dismissed is that the Democratic Party is now on record must be “more inclusive governance in Iraq and Syria that Change seeds cannot be replanted, farmers have struggled embracing some of our positions and adopting some of respects the rights of all citizens”. And calls for “providing Finally, on the issues of BDS and Jerusalem, the Clinton with rising input costs and lower prices for cotton. Tens our goals. All this is a clear recognition of the power of the more support and security assistance for Lebanon and campaign sought to explain their language by noting that of thousands of indebted cotton farmers in the west- progressive movement that was galvanized by the Jordan, two countries that are hosting a disproportionate they “were very careful not to say outright that we oppose ern state of Maharashtra have killed themselves in the Sanders campaign and the role that Arab Americans number of refugees; and recognizes the importance of BDS”, but rather to oppose it only it if it delegitimized past two decades. played in that effort. The document includes: a call to abol- “maintaining our robust security cooperation with Gulf Israel. And one Clinton supporter offered a caveat regard- ish the death penalty; the goal of establishing a $15 an countries.” On the matter of refugees, the platform explicit- ing Jerusalem noting that nothing in their formulation Happy Surprise hour minimum wage; an expansion of the Social Security ly supports “President Obama’s call for an international would preclude Jerusalem from also being the capital of a It was the plight of these farmers that drove Apurva program; a recognition of the need to provide for public summit to address this crisis so that every country future Palestinian state. Kothari, who was working in technology in San option health insurance; a call to eliminate Super PACs and assumes its responsibility to meet this humanitarian chal- As a reflection of the state of play of American politics, Francisco, to return to India and set up apparel brand overturn Citizens United; and the need to put a price on lenge” and pledges to “look for ways to help innocent peo- we should see this platform not a defeat but an acknowl- No Nasties in 2011. The company sources organic cot- carbon emissions to deal with climate change. Bernie ple who are fleeing persecution.” edgment that there has been a change. Change we made ton, and audits its supply chain to ensure there is no Sanders has referred to the final product as “the most pro- possible. We were able to impact the debate. In some child labor and that workers receive fair wages, he said. gressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party” Disppointment instances, we were able to win changes in the platform “I simply Googled ‘fair trade cotton’, then met with cot- and has called for a sustained effort to insure that, after There was, to be sure, great disappointment in our fail- and, even when we were not, we were able to force debate ton producers,” said Kothari, speaking by telephone November, the goals recognized in the document become ure to change the language on Israel/Palestine. We wanted on critical issues of concern. That is why I was proud to be from Goa. “They all supplied foreign apparel makers, law. to have the platform clearly state that the occupation and a part to be a part of the Sanders campaign and why I and it was a challenge convincing them there is a mar- What didn’t receive coverage, but should also be noted, settlements must end, that the suffering of Palestinians endorse his call to continue our forward march. We must ket here, too. But the great reception from consumers are the many “little victories” we won during the platform must be acknowledged, and that excessive language on remain a part of the progressive coalition working with our has been a happy surprise,” he said. deliberations. Sometimes they were simple, but important, BDS and Jerusalem should be removed. We argued that it allies to elect Hillary Clinton, defeat Donald Trump, contin- No Nasties and Do U Speak Green are among a word changes or additions we suggested that were ulti- was commendable to call for two states, but the refusal to ue to transform the Democratic Party, and keep progres- handful of Fairtrade-licensed clothing brands in India.