Browsing by Subject "Sustainability"

This thesis examines actual and potential human rights impacts of fashion industry. The main approach on subject is from the viewpoint of business and human rights, but corporate social responsibility and sustainability are utilised and discussed as well. Fashion industry in the thesis is defined in an encompassing manner, including productions, marketing and retailing of clothes, footwear, accessories, and cosmetics. Fashion industry is the second largest sector of industry in the world. Many different areas of human rights, recognised in international human rights instruments, are impacted directly and indirectly through actions and functions of fashion industry. ‘Race to the bottom’ and fast fashion phenomenon have pushed down the prices and quality of fashion merchandise during the past decades. Fashion industry is labour-intensive and low prices are often the result of poor working conditions and remunerations that are significantly below living wages. Child labour, forced labour, dangerous working conditions and lack of unionisation are common and result to widespread egregious human rights violations in the manufacturing and production of the raw materials in fashion industry. Industry’s use of natural resources is often reckless and wasteful, and overproduction has resulted to discarding and destroying large quantities of unsold merchandise. More direct human rights impacts, relating to fashion industry and environment, can occur through use and disposal of chemicals and dyes in the manufacturing processes that can have an affect on the living standards and health of the surrounding communities. Different forms of discrimination have been commonly manifested within the industry. There have been numerous lawsuits on discrimination and harassment in workplaces in fashion industry. Statistics, as well as researches based on interviews, show diversity to be realised poorly in the fashion business. Portraying harmful and offensive stereotypes in marketing practices and advertisement reflects problems of discrimination that are deep rooted in the company cultures of the industry and portrays lack of awareness on the issue. Right to property is often infringed in the fashion industry, since copying designs is a common custom. Most well-known cases are between major fashion labels, but in this work, the focus is on rights of small designers and on cultural property of distinct culturally unified groups of people. Taking intellectual property without permission from independent designer can potentially infringe their right to property as well standard of living and using cultural property of a distinct community can be an offensive on the group’s dignity, beliefs and traditions as well as infringement on their economic rights. In this thesis these issues are approached with a somewhat holistic manner. The main tool is the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and a loose template of human rights impact assessment, based on the principles, but issues are processed from multiple focus points. There are currently various voluntary models for responsible business practices as well as national laws and different initiatives on corporate social responsibility, business and human right and sustainable business conduct. This fragmentation makes it essential to approach the issue with an all-inclusive method.

Since early 2020, COVID-19 has indiscriminately affected societies around the globe, resulting in significant consequences on various aspects of our lives. Nonetheless, throughout the pandemic, our human and planetary systems have had to confront additional crises, such as rapid climate change. As such, there is a growing concern about environmental problems related to consumption and waste management, and research points to the need for extensive, substantial shifts in our societies and activities. In 2020, the European Commission published the European Green Deal, an unprecedented and transformative policy framework, aiming to reshape the landscape of sustainability in the European Union. At the forefront of the European Green Deal is the objective of transforming the European Union into a circular economy, shifting away from the linear economy model. Key activities to promote sustainability and a circular economy are different forms of material and product reuse, such as upcycling, furthermore, contributing to preserving the life cycle of a product. Despite its contribution to a sustainable and circular economy, upcycling may potentially constitute trademark infringement under the current framework of EU trademark law. Significantly, trademark proprietors may invoke their rights to oppose attempts by third parties to upcycle products containing the proprietor's trademark if done without the consent of the trademark proprietor. The intersection between trademark rights, sustainability, and the circular economy furthermore presents the need to reconsider the current trademark system in light of the growing environmental challenges of our society. Situated within the context of upcycling, this thesis aims to provide insight into the alignment of prevailing EU trademark law with the objectives of promoting sustainability and a circular economy in the EU. Furthermore, this thesis contributes with a discussion of how the trademark law can be better shaped to ensure integration with sustainability and circularity objectives. The thesis concludes that under the current trademark system, the extent to which trademark proprietors can control their products in relation to activities conducted by third parties is not aligned with the objectives of the European Green Deal. In the future, structural-level amendments to the current trademark law could be made to promote sustainability and circularity. However, at the present, revisiting existing provisions, namely exceptions and limitations, can be considered a viable strategy. Overall, it is argued that existing provisions should be interpreted more broadly, ensuring that the trademark system evolves with contemporary interests and does not impede the development of sustainable and circular practices.