Teva President Auli Korhonen: International sports federations should support ethical production of sporting goods

(Helsinki 04.11.2002 - Juhani Artto) Questions of ethical production and consumption have received increasing attention in the Finnish trade union movement over the last few years. Recently a new phrase "corporate responsibility" has been added to the vocabulary of union leaders, activists and some leaders of the business community. However, ethical issues still play only a marginal role in the trade union movement at large.

The campaign against child labour has focused on awareness raising. This has involved publishing articles and reports in the trade union press and supplying the other media with materials on child labour. Thanks to this campaigning, the main points of the child labour problem are now familiar not only to activists and experts, but also to a much larger audience.

At an ethical production seminar organised in Helsinki in September of this year Auli Korhonen, President of the Finnish Textile and Garment Workers' Union Teva, offered a new initiative for tackling the global child labour problem. Ms Korhonen urged international sports federations to follow the example set by the international football federation FIFA and begin serious work to oppose child labour in the sporting goods industry.

Read more about the seminar and ethical production on Trade Union News from Finland. On the website you can also find a current article about FinnWatch, a project monitoring operations of Finnish enterprises abroad.