The City of Madison has ordained a regulation requiring humane standards in the production of city-purchased garments.
The sweat-free procurement policy ordinance passed unanimously at the common council meeting Oct. 11. Madison Police, Fire, Metro and Parks clothing, as well as any other clothing bought by the city, must be made in conditions that respect the dignity and human rights of workers.
"We now have a formal policy in place that will ensure that city purchases are ethical," said Ald. Austin King, District 8. "I have waited some time to see the city condemn the deplorable conditions of sweatshop manufacturing."
University of Wisconsin senior Liana Dalton, who helped author the ordinance, said the law means nothing without proper enforcement.
"We wanted to make sure the [ordinance] wasn't just a feel-good statement," Dalton said. "We wanted to give it some teeth. We wanted to make it a stronger ordinance than what is already out there in other cities."
King said the ordinance would be enforced by a monitoring organization not affiliated with the city. The task force would examine the factories where city garments are produced. If they were to find any deplorable conditions, they would report back to the city, King said.
"As we receive complaints from the monitoring organization, we would seek to go to our supplier and have them join us in encouraging the factories to adjust their policies," King said. "We will use the city's purchasing power as leverage. Basically, if you're going to take the city's money, you're going to have to follow our rules."
King said the task force would cost the city between $5,000 and $10,000, adding that the cost would be a miniscule portion of the city's overall budget.
According to Dalton, the strength of the city's ordinance and enforcement makes Madison a leader for other cities.
"Even though Madison should have taken on a similar ordinance a long time ago, I'm really excited we finally did," Dalton said. "The ordinance the council approved is so strong, [it] should act as an example to other cities. We pride ourselves on Madison coming to the forefront on this issue."
