Sweatshops

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Ikea under fire over Turkish supplier

The Local (Sweden)

Swedish furniture giant Ikea and US retailer Wal-Mart was among several international companies criticized by a Norwegian group for what it deemed "unacceptable" working conditions at a Turkish supplier.

Home textile product supplier Menderes Tekstil had threatened and fired employees who showed interest in joining a union, said Framtiden i Våre Hender (The Future in Our Hands), which focuses on ethical and climate issues.

Cambodia’s Garment Exports Fall as Demand Drops in U.S., Europe

Bloomberg
03/18/2009

Cambodia’s garment exports are declining as a global recession crimps demand in the U.S. and Europe, cutting into an industry that supports a 10th of the Southeast Asian country’s population.

In January, garment exports plunged 25 percent from a year earlier to $185 million, said Mean Sophea, who heads the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Preferences System Department. Over the past decade, they grew at an average pace of 28 percent per year, according to the World Bank... 

Your Valentine, Made in Prison

The Nation

By Beth Schwartzapfel

With Valentine's Day approaching, perhaps you're planning a trip to Victoria's Secret. If you're a conscientious shopper, chances are you want to know about the origins of the clothes you buy: whether they're sweatshop free or fairly traded or made in the USA. One label you won't find attached to your lingerie, however, is "Made in the USA: By Prisoners."

Michigan Is the Latest University to End a Licensing Deal With an Apparel Maker

New York Times
02/24/2009

The University of Michigan announced on Monday that it was ending its apparel licensing agreement with the Russell Corporation, becoming the 12th university to do so in response to the company’s decision to close a unionized factory in Honduras.

University of Michigan officials said an agreement under which Russell made T-shirts, sweatshirts and fleeces with university logos would end as of March 31 because Russell had violated the university’s code of conduct calling on licensees to guarantee the basic rights of workers.

NYC garment workers win $600,000

Associated Press
02/12/2009

Excerpt from article:

Garment workers on Thursday celebrated a jury verdict that they say will put more than a half million dollars in the pockets of 25 workers and open the door for scores of others to be paid proper wages.

The jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan returned the verdict late Wednesday against Liberty Apparel and two of its owners after a 10-year court battle.

A judge tossed the lawsuit out in 2002, but it was reinstated on appeal.

UK supermarkets' ethical clothing standards 'a sham'

The Independent (UK)
02/08/2009

 

Overseas workers supplying major chains say they are forced to lie to auditors about pay and conditions

British supermarket claims that their cut-price clothing is made under ethical standards have been called into question by an investigation revealing serious and widespread abuses in factories that make the bargain items.

Tailors and machine operators making cheap clothing for Tesco and Asda say they are forced to lie to company auditors about working hours and pay and conditions or risk being sacked, according to a report to be published on Tuesday... 

No Sweat

Inside Higher Ed
01/28/2009

No Sweat

Student protesters have spent years at the forefront of the anti-sweatshop movement, and they may now be seeing some of the fruits of their labor.

Citizen Nike

Fortune Magazine
11/17/2008

A decade ago the shoe giant was slammed as a sweatshop operator. Today it's taking responsibility to heart. Will it work?

Posing as a fashion buyer, an Australian TV reporter gained entry to a Malaysian T-shirt factory, where foreign migrant workers told a grim tale. They had been forced to surrender their passports while their wages were being garnished to pay off hefty recruiting fees. Worse still, they were living in crowded, filthy rooms.

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