Blackspot was launched in 2005. Its mission "is to establish a worldwide consumer cooperative and to reassert consumer sovereignty over capitalism. We hope this Blackspot sneaker venture is the beginning of a new era in ethical, worker-friendly, environmentally friendly production" . (1)

About the company: Adbusters is a non-profit organization. All the profits made from Blackspot shoes are funneled back into Adbusters Magazine and other campaigns .(2)

Everyone who buys Blackspot shoes can register online and become a participant consumer, which means they can vote: Votes are held every so often, the next one in 2008 is about shoe colour .(3)

Markets: The shoes and boots are sold on the internet and through independently owned retail stores in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, UK, USA, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.

Activities and products: Adbusters publishes Adbusters magazine, organizes campaigns such as Buy Nothing Day and TV turnoff week and produces Blackspot shoes and boots and other 'culture jamming materials'. The Blackspot mark is open source and available for use on other products.

Producers: All shoes and boots are produced in a family-owned factory in Felgueiras, Portugal. Blackspot shoes account for a small percentage of the factory's output.

Standards: Adbusters do not have an official "code of conduct": the people who visited the factory use their personal sense of judgement (4) and state they have made sure the conditions, wages, and treatment are extremely fair . (5)

Monitoring and verification: Adbusters staff visit the factory every couple of years and are in constant contact with the factory. Information about working hours, wages and conditions in the factory is available at http://www.adbusters.org/metas/corpo/blackspotshoes/info.php The Adbusters website states that 'about 40% of the workers are registered [with the union]. Not everyone chooses to belong to the union, as they don't see any need for it. [...] [Workers] also told us that the only factories in Portugal that are 100% union are those under foreign ownership, where workers feel more vulnerable than they do working for local or community based employers. '.(6)

Adbusters state that their staff have 'met with employees who belong to the union; we met with workers who liaise between employees and the union (shop stewards); we met with union staff and staff of the government-run umbrella organization that administers the union. All meetings were in private. All the people we interviewed were unequivocal in their praise of the factory. A high degree of transparency was evident' .(7)

Workers can email Adbusters or speak to their trade union at if they have complaints.

Factory workers are not trained specifically on the Blackspot philosophy, however, their union trains them on their rights.

Comments and questions
Meeting with trade union members is an important activity when assessing a factory, and the fact that 40% of the workforce are unionized indicates workers are not afraid to join.

Adbusters appear to be making efforts to check on conditions at the factory, but checks seem to follow fairly informal procedures. A stated list of rights and conditions guaranteed by Adbusters would make information more transparent, would help staff to properly assess conditions and would enable workers to understand complaints procedure properly. It would also ensure a more systematic and comprehensive approach that could ensure more hidden problems are revealed.

We welcome the fact that Adbuster staff maintain a personal relationship with the factory. As Adbuster staff may not be experts in assessing working conditions, it is important that they seek advice and learn about best practice in monitoring and auditing procedures. These include talking to workers off-site, making unannounced factory visits, ensuring the complaints procedure is displayed in the correct language and identifying and working with other buyers from the factory to ensure that all buyers work together and don't duplicate efforts.

It is important that they find out about the local context, such as local laws and prevailing conditions, in which they are working, for example by talking to outside parties. For example Adbusters were unable to state what a living wage is for the region or how a living wage might compare to the wage workers were receiving. Although the wage rate at the factory is higher than the minimum wage, this may not signify a living wage.

It is positive that the local union is able to train on workers rights, and this should take priority over buyer training and codes. Knowledge and information about Blackspot and its philosophy could also help strengthen the bargaining position of workers.

Maintaining a long term relationship with the factory is a positive step if this means that this reduces pressure from the factory (and therefore workers) to meet short-lead times. The long-term relationship can also mean that the factory is able to make long term plans and keep workers are permanent contracts.