FAQ

Models, aspiring models and their families, as well as other fashion professionals and interested parties, can use The Model’s Health Pledge website.

The Model’s Health Pledge strives for the best possible working environment for fashion professionals. The health of models is the core of our activities. Without ethics, no aesthetics – that’s our motto.

The Model’s Health Pledge was initiated in response to Parliamentary Questions by Hanke Bruins Slot (CDA). The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in the person of (former) State Secretary Martin van Rijn helped to move the initiative forward with the National Prevention Programme ‘Alles is Gezondheid’ (‘All about Health’).

The Model’s Health Pledge is based on the goals of ‘All About Health’ and was tailored to fit into the fashion industry through many conversations with key stakeholders.

FashionCouncilNL was appointed by The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport to commission a project team to implement the initiative.

The Model’s Health Pledge platform and reporting point are run by project manager Holly Syrett (GW Agency), in collaboration with the initiators Marvy Rieder (MarVie Foundation), Kim Vos (BDifferent) and Michelle den Hollander (BDifferent).

The development of the platform, endeavours to achieve its mission and treatment of reports are run in close collaboration with the Confidentiality Committee and with support and advise from the Experts, Advisory Board and Signatories.

Twice a year, the Advisory Board meets to review the work plan and approach, including the processing of ‘misconduct reports’ by the project team. The Advisory Board also reviews the annual report.

Did you unfortunately end up in an unfair or unhealthy working situation in the fashion industry? Or do you know someone working in a risky or unhealthy working environment in the fashion industry? Then you can (anonymously) report this misconduct or worrying working conditions here.

Meldingen kunnen over verschillende onderwerpen gaan met betrekking tot gezondheid en/of werkomstandigheden. Denk aan misstanden op het gebied van gezondheid, veiligheid, machtsverhouding, financiën (denk aan een veel te late uitbetaling, incorrecte contracten of het missen van een contract), werkrelatie, verzorging op de set (is er een een moment van pauze, zijn de werkuren acceptabel, wordt er voor eten en drinken gezorgd) etc.

Voorbeelden van meldingen zouden kunnen zijn:

  • “Tijdens een shoot werd ik gevraagd zonder bovenkleding te poseren. Dit is van te voren niet met mij besproken, hierdoor wist ik niet zo goed hoe ik moest reageren en vond ik het lastig om nee te zeggen.”
  • “Ik was bij een casting aanwezig en merkte op dat de casting director op een vervelende wijze omging met modellen. Hij/Zij kleineerde ze en maakte vervelende opmerkingen over hun karakteristieken. Sommige opmerkingen waren van racistische aard”
  • “Mijn dochter is door haar modellenbureau gevraagd om in een maand 5kg af te vallen, zonder daarbij de juiste begeleiding aan te bieden.”

Good financial arrangements and compliance are important in a healthy working environment. It is possible to report non-payments in the fashion industry. If the report concerns a signatory, The Model’s Health Pledge will approach these reports in the same manner as other reports. However, the project team cannot chase payments and / or take any responsibility for chasing payments from companies.

If your situation does not fall within our explicit field of work, unfortunately you can’t report it here. Our field of work concerns health in fashion and a healthy working environment in the fashion industry. Topics we cover include sports, nutrition, the fashion profession, personal development and business.

After reporting a situation, you will receive a confirmation email. The project team exerts to treat all reports within five business days. If the report concerns a signatory, the project team will consult with the parties or people that are involved in the report, so that we can work together for improvement. If your report concerns a non-signatory, it will be anonymously included in the annual report.

When a company wants to sign The Model’s Health Pledge, this party will be reviewed by the project team and Confidentiality Committee. Signatories are discussed twice a year with the Advisory Board. The network of current signatories can also evaluate new signatory requests.

Please check network page for an overview of companies that are now part of The Model’s Health Pledge

Companies that want to participate in The Model’s Health Pledge are committed to the twelve promises of the Pledge and carry them out. Before signing, companies are reviewed. Throughout their participation, agreements are made on improvement areas and those agreements are assessed.

Non-signatory notifications are included in the annual report. Depending on the type and frequency of such reports, improvement actions will be made in the work plan. In addition to this we will, together with our network of signatories, exert pressure on non-signatories who are mentioned in reports, to join the pledge and improve their working conditions. The learnings are shared with Pledge signatories, with the purpose to share knowledge and thus improve models’ health and the working conditions in the fashion industry.

The project team will engage in a dialogue with the mentioned company with the Confidentiality Committee, so that we can work to improve the situation together. Specific agreements are with that company to improve the situation. These appointments are shared with the reporter. The project team and Confidentiality Committee maintain contact with the company and oversee the implementation of the agreements. How the report has been processed and what the outcomes are, is aligned with The Model’s Health Pledge Advisory Board. An overview of notifications and actions taken is reflected in the annual report of The Model’s Health Pledge.

Complaints about the work of The Model’s Health Pledge can be submitted via info@themodelshealthpledge.nl. All complaints are discussed in consultation with the Advisory Board. An independent professional linked to the platform, such as an expert or an Advisory Board member, will analyse actions to resolve the complaint. Complaints are also are included in the annual report.

The Model’s Health Pledge platform is set up as a source of inspiration for (future) fashion professionals. On this platform, current fashion professionals share their personal experiences via the blog. The platform also provides an overview of experts in sports, nutrition, the fashion profession, personal development and business. Professional advice can be obtained from one of these experts (possibly against payment). No rights can be derived from the content of The Model’s Health Pledge platform. If you have a tip or suggestion for improving or expanding the content of the platform, we would like to receive it via mail to info@themodelshealthpledge.nl.

pledge

The Model’s Health Pledge is an online platform and reporting point for misconduct, initiated and implemented by a network of fashion professionals. We advocate good working conditions in the fashion industry. For the industry, by the industry!

We can only achieve our mission of improving models’ health and a healthy working environment in the fashion industry by collaborating with as many parties as possible.

reporting point

Did you or someone close to you experience an unhealthy working situation in the fashion industry? Here you can (anonymously) report these worrying working conditions. If your report concerns one of our signatories, we will address the responsible people and organisations and work towards a solution. Together we will make our industry healthier!