London Matchgirls Strike of 1888 - The Campaign Against White Phosphorus Matches

The Campaign Against White Phosphorus Matches

Besant and others continued to campaign against the use of white phosphorus in matches.

In 1891, the Salvation Army opened up its own match factory in the Bow district of London, using less toxic red phosphorus and paying better wages. Part of the reason behind this match factory was the desire to improve the conditions of home workers, including children, who dipped white phosphorus-based matches at home. Several children died from eating these matches.

The Bryant and May factory received bad publicity from these events, and in 1901 they announced that their factory no longer used white phosphorus. Ironically, the owners (Francis May and William Bryant), who were both Quakers, had started importing red-phosphorus based safety matches from John Edvard Lundström, in Sweden, in 1850. However, Bryant and May's safety matches sales had increased 10-fold by 1855 and Lundstrom was unable to increase his production any further so they bought his UK patent, and with his assistance, built a model safety match factory in Bow. They started using red phosphorus in 1855, but could not compete on price against the much cheaper white phosphorus-based matches; hence the use of child labour.

The Salvation Army had the same problem; their own matches were initially three times the price of white phosphorus-based matches. They had some partial success, because many of their supporters refused to buy white phosphorus-based matches; they automated much of the match-making processes, but not box filling, thus bringing down costs; and, the use of child labour in dangerous trades was prohibited. The factory still struggled to compete on price; and after 1898 the War Cry ceased to advertise their matches. Their last make-or-break advertisement was run on 24 February 1900. The Salvation Army match factory finally closed and it was taken over by Bryant and May on 26 November 1901.

In 1908 the British House of Commons passed an Act prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in matches after 31 December 1910. This was the United Kingdom's implementation of the 1906 Berne Convention on the prohibition of white phosphorus in matches.