Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Rights group: Lacoste gloves made in Chinese internment camp
Source: Associated Press
Rights group: Lacoste gloves made in Chinese internment camp
By MARTHA MENDOZA
March 3, 2020
Gloves made in China for the popular French brand Lacoste appear to have been sewn inside a factory where ethnic minorities face forced ideological and behavioral re-education, according to a U.S.-based labor rights group.
Lacoste, known for its iconic little green crocodile logo, says it halted shipments after learning of labor abuse in its supply chain from Washington, D.C.-based labor rights group Worker Rights Consortium. The group alleges that Uigher Muslims and other ethnic minorities are being forced to sew the Lacoste-branded gloves.
A Lacoste spokeswoman told The Associated Press that the Chinese factory had been visited by auditors who interviewed workers and didn’t report any concerns.
“Lacoste prohibits the use of forced, mandatory, or unpaid labor of any type,” company spokeswoman Nathalie Beguinot said, adding that 95 pairs of gloves from the factory in question were sold in Europe and that unsold gloves made at the Yili Zhuo Wan Garment Manufacturing Co. are currently warehoused.
Worker Rights Consortium executive director Scott Nova said Lacoste and any other buyers should have known better than to trust auditors who interview workers on site, where they can’t speak freely.
-snip-
By MARTHA MENDOZA
March 3, 2020
Gloves made in China for the popular French brand Lacoste appear to have been sewn inside a factory where ethnic minorities face forced ideological and behavioral re-education, according to a U.S.-based labor rights group.
Lacoste, known for its iconic little green crocodile logo, says it halted shipments after learning of labor abuse in its supply chain from Washington, D.C.-based labor rights group Worker Rights Consortium. The group alleges that Uigher Muslims and other ethnic minorities are being forced to sew the Lacoste-branded gloves.
A Lacoste spokeswoman told The Associated Press that the Chinese factory had been visited by auditors who interviewed workers and didn’t report any concerns.
“Lacoste prohibits the use of forced, mandatory, or unpaid labor of any type,” company spokeswoman Nathalie Beguinot said, adding that 95 pairs of gloves from the factory in question were sold in Europe and that unsold gloves made at the Yili Zhuo Wan Garment Manufacturing Co. are currently warehoused.
Worker Rights Consortium executive director Scott Nova said Lacoste and any other buyers should have known better than to trust auditors who interview workers on site, where they can’t speak freely.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/1540bd241b7a7e9d7e80d0a0ad2089fe
