Fifteen clothing companies who have said nothing and done nothing about sweatshops:
Alexon
BHS
Ethel Austin
House of Fraser
Peacock Group
Asda/George
Clarks
Debenhams
French Connection
John Lewis
Laura Ashley
Levi Strauss & Co
Matalan
River Island
Sainsbury’s
The companies were named today in the latest installment (pdf) of Labour Behind the Label’s investigations. It is worth noting that “no brand or retailer is paying its workers a living wage, or has yet put together a systematic programme of work that is likely to raise wages to acceptable levels in the near future”. These 15 have been singled out because they haven’t addressed the issue, investigated, put information on their websites, or replied to campaigners. In short, they are pretending there is nothing wrong.
Legally, they aren’t doing anything wrong – they all pay the minimum wage. The problem is that poor countries are competing for the multinational’s business by setting the lowest possible standards. Morally, the case is pretty cut and dry – the long hours, poor conditions and low pay of the garment industry are unjust and unacceptable. If you agree, you can write a letter to all 15 CEOs at once here – it’ll take you one minute.
The Earthbound Report 