Implicated brands include Nike, Asics, Under Armour, Target and Brooks. Thankfully, some are committing to change for the better.
Author:Whitney BauckPublish date:Jun 25, 2019Updated onJun 25, 2019Even as increasing consumer demand for consciously made clothing has retailers from Net-a-Porter to Madewell trying to up their ethical fashion cred, ongoing reports of labor abuses prove that the industry has a long way to go.
"The property that I lost [to pay the recruitment fee], with this property I would have been able to eat [for a] whole year with my children," one garment worker said in the report. One worker borrowed over $3,000 to pay recruitment fees, sold land to pay off debt and still ended up owing his employer $250 when he was sent home because he fell sick. "I have started begging now from other people," he told Transparentem. "I don't have anything left."
The problem for many workers, though, was that by the time they figured out they'd been sold a fantasy, it was too late. Employees at four of the five factories reported that the companies that enticed them into the country would collect and withhold their passports once they arrived in Malaysia. They would then charge workers a hefty fee if they ever wanted to access their own documents.
Brooks in particular stood out for its willingness to share the cost of recruitment fee reimbursement with one factory, even though it had technically never authorized the factory to produce its apparel . Moreover, Brooks had stopped sourcing from that partner in 2015, according to a report by The Guardian.
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