Adam Stoner

We're accustomed to seeing a variety of logos on our products. Pick up any item and along with the brand name and variety you'll also be bombarded with other information: What is it made of? Where was it made? How much does it weigh? What size is it? What's the nutritional content like? Any potential allergies? How do I dispose of it? How do I store it? How do I wash it? Can I tumble dry it? and so on, and so forth.

There are already logos out there to help consumers distinguish so-called 'good products' from bad ones. The Fairtrade Mark is perhaps the most globally recognisable of them all but there's also the Soil Association's 'organic' certification, the Rainforest Alliance seal to look out for on tea and coffee, and the Forest Stewardship Council's certification. If you're in the UK, you might also be familiar with the Red Tractor logo which you can look for on animal, dairy, and fresh produce. The Leaping Bunny logo is the only internationally recognised symbol proudly showing that no new animal tests were used in the development of any product displaying it, and that funny kite-looking symbol on your helmet or smoke alarm is a quality assurance mark given out by the British Standards Institute.

There are hundreds of these things and all of these logos mean something. They're simple, graphical signifiers that help consumers make better, safer, and more ethical choices, from ensuring fair-pay for workers to supporting better environmental standards, consumers pay attention to these symbols when looking to buy.

Despite all of these symbols – spanning food to window-fittings – I can't seem to find anything that marks clothes as 'sweatshop-free'. By that, I mean no money anywhere along the supply chain, from cotton-picking to sewing to screen-printing to shelf-stacking, should go in to the hands of sweatshop owners. I can't find any symbol that tells me the product I am about to buy has never touched a sweatshop in its creation.

Read the rest at adamstoner.com/nosweat