Dieter Overath // Founder & CEO of TransFair e.V. // Fairtrade Germany
Interviewed by Cherie Birkner
“No one wanted fair coffee at first either, and now it’s available in every store.”
Why do you care about fair trade fashion?
It simply isn’t acceptable for people to have to work under dangerous and unstable conditions anywhere in the world. People have a very emotional relationship with clothing—for example, we simply must have one particular shirt. But we don’t have empathy with the producers of the clothing, simply because they live a few thousand kilometers away. It’s important to me to end this double standard, because moral responsibility transcends national borders. Fairtrade has an important bridge-building function here. Establishing fair trade really means nothing more than implementing fundamental human rights that apply without exception all over the world to every single human being.
How are Fairtrade and sustainability related?
The entire Fairtrade system stands for sustainability. Fairtrade standards are based on comprehensive social, ecological, and economic criteria. In clothing, sustainability for consumers also means establishing other forms of consumption, since the textile industry has particularly bad working conditions. Price and time pressures make possible improvements difficult. I see sustainable consumption with my daughters, for example: second hand stores and clothing exchanges are good concepts. The rule of thumb in shopping has to be less is more. We have to choose quality over quantity and show more appreciation not just for our clothing but for the work of the people who make it possible.
