Massachusetts Sweatfree Campaign

Campaign Goal Take Action Endorsers Media Resources Contact

Campaign Goal

If Massachusetts is like other states, most of the apparel, textiles, and other products that it buys are made in sweatshops.

But that can change. A growing national movement is organizing for sweatfree purchasing to build market demand for sweatfree products and political momentum for a just global economy.

Help us make Massachusetts sweatfree! Through our collective effort, our state can ensure living wages and decent working conditions for those producing goods for us.

Endorse the campaign now!

In March 2007, SweatFree Communities convened a historic meeting of human rights activists and public officials who agreed to form the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium, which will pool resources for factory monitoring and coordinate enforcement of sweatfree purchasing policies. The interim Steering Committee for the Sweatfree Consortium is now inviting states, counties, cities, towns, and school districts to join the Sweatfree Consortium as provisionary members. The more that join at this early stage, the sooner the Sweatfree Consortium will get off the ground.

Take Action

Ask Governor Patrick to join the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium.

1. Ask the governor to adopt this sweatshop-free procurement Executive Order . Here's a sample letter you may use. Use this form or send a letter or fax to:

Office of the Governor
Room 360
Boston, MA 02133
fax:(617)727-9725

2. Your action is most effective if you follow up with a phone call to the Governor's office: (617) 725-4005, (888) 870-7770.
3. Send us a note to let us know that you took action.
4. Spread the word! Ask your friends to take action!
5. Endorse the campaign.

Endorsers

Endorsers of the Massachusetts Sweatfree Campaign include:
American Friends Service Committee - Western Massachusetts
Arise for Social Justice
Autonomie Project, Inc.
Boston May Day Coalition
Brazilian Women's Group
Catholic Labor Guild
Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program
Class Action
Conscious Consuming
Ethix Ventures Inc.
Five-College Sweatfree Coalition
Grassroots International
Guatemala Solidarity Committee of Boston
Hampshire-Franklin Central Labor Council
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Mass Global Action
Massachusetts AFL-CIO
Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (Mass COSH)
Massachusetts Jobs with Justice
Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council
North Shore Labor Council
No Sweat Apparel
Ownership Associates, Inc
Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council
Radical Students Union of UMass
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
UNITE HERE New England Joint Board
Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice

Individuals including:
Senator Ed Augustus
Felix Arroyo, Boston City Councilor
Elaine Bernard, Labor & Worklife Program, Harvard Law School
Steven Bochetti, Dept of Public Health
Father Ed Boyle, Catholic Labor Guild
David Coyle, Worcester MA