While earlier this year Ed Miliband caused an offended stir for not being photographed wearing a Help for Heroes wristband, David Cameron has now caused mild disappointment in ELLE magazine for not posing in a T-shirt that said 'This is what a feminist looks like'. Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman stood in to show us what a feminist looks like instead but this political trifecta is not as headline grabbing as the Prime Minister.
ELLE's editor-in-chief Lorraine Candy said: "I was personally disappointed that we couldn't feature Mr Cameron in our Feminism Issue because it is ELLE’s aim to engage with men in the fight for equality: because of parliament’s current gender imbalance, it is men who have the power to make changes in every area of British women’s lives. When the man in charge doesn’t engage, it doesn't bode well. Given the huge international male support for UN Women’s #HeForShe campaign, it does rather make our Prime Minister look like the odd one out."
Since the debacle concerning the Prime Minister, the T-shirt and ELLE magazine, the Mail on Sunday has made allegations concerning the welfare of the people who make these Whistles produced T-shirts. The Mail claims that the T-shirts were produced in a labour camp in Mauritius by workers who are paid approximately 62p an hour and work a minimum of 45 hours per week. The factory owner allegedly likes to keep his workers on-site, sleeping 16 to a room for fear that were the women workers allowed to leave they would return "hungover". The T-shirts sell for £45.
The Fawcett Society, who promote these T-shirts has issued a statement saying they want to: "reassure our members and supporters that, as a charity that campaigns on women’s rights in the labour market, we take these allegations extremely seriously and will do everything we can to investigate the substance of these claims."
The charity had expressed concern at the beginning of the collaboration with ELLE magazine that the T-shirts "meet rigorous ethical standards." This influenced the decision to work with the high street chain Whistles, headed up by Jane Shepherdson who has been outspoken as a feminist and proponent of ethical manufacturing.
According to the Fawcett Society, Whistles assured them the factory was a "fully audited, socially and ethical compliant factory which has the following accreditations."
Unfortunately the T-shirts might not be made with true feminist values, but the Fawcett Society's actions are certainly what a feminist acts like.
UPDATE: The Fawcett Society has released a statement announcing that they have investigated the evidence and found that their T-shirts were not made in a sweat shop.
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Pictured: Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband, Below: Harriet Harman
