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Labels Bershka and Lefties (Inditex), KIK, New Look found on Smart Export site

January 27, 2013

KIK was sourcing from Tazreen fashions where 112 workers died in a
fire just over 2 months ago, and the same KIK label was also found at at
the Ali Enterprises factory (Pakistan), where nearly 300 workers burned
to death last September.  Inditex and Solo Invest also both sourced
from the notorious Spectrum factory where 64 workers were killed in 2005.

With 7 Workers Dead in Another Preventable Fire, Labor Rights Groups Implore Apparel Brands and Retailers to Sign Fire Safety Agreement

January 26, 2013

“The recurring fires give us a clear picture that the initiative by
the government and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association to curb the death toll is too little and too late. The
government, BGMEA, and western retailers need to act rapidly to stop the
killings and to ensure a safe workplace for our workers,” said Kalpona
Akter, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity.

No Chocolate in the Cocoa Capital of the World

January 15, 2013

Most groups talked about the need for community
organizations so that local communities can support the local schools and
ensure their children go to school. We visited newly built and refurbished
schools in two communities, both of which reported still needing more space for
all the children who want to go to school. 
In one community we saw several brand new and refurbished
classrooms.  The community was very proud
of the school as they showed us the classroom which accommodates 104 first
graders – in one room!  The picture here
is of another village, near the town of Tiassalé, where the villagers asked us
to help them raise funds to complete a fourth classroom on their school; as the

Another Garment Factory Fire in Bangladesh

November 7, 2012

No one was inside the factory at the time of the fire,
presumably because of the holiday and because it occurred during the night.  Soon after the fire began, however, people
from the neighborhood came to the factory and attempted to put out the fire
with water. It was then that a person, “who simply got too close to the flames,”
was injured, says Majumder. The victim, who is not an employee of the factory, suffered
from burns on his arm and leg. It is unknown if he received any medical
attention or compensation for his injuries.

No More Child Labor Chocolate! Can Hershey Be Trusted?

October 10, 2012

1. Established Certifiers: Is Hershey going to use established third party certifiers or vendor assurance programs, like Armajaro’s SourceTrust program, which do little to address the problems of farmer income, cocoa sustainability, and child labor? If Hershey is going to use established third party certifiers, which one(s) are they going to use?  

2. Clear Benchmarks: How much certified cocoa is Hershey currently sourcing? How much certified cocoa does Hershey plan to purchase every year to meet the 2020 goal? 
Dedicated In-house

Workers’ Rights Movement in Pakistan Gains Momentum: Court Orders Arrest of Ali Enterprises Owners

October 8, 2012

The proceedings begin. The
District Judge Abdullah Channa is listening to arguments presenting evidence
that the factory gates were closed on
orders of the owners and the general manager after the fire broke out. At the very least this amounts to unpardonable criminal negligence. Already at
10am the
proceeding ends, but District Judge Channa withholds his judgment. 

H&M: Hypocrisy & Minimum wage

October 5, 2012

Let's think this through. Pretend you are the superintendent of a school district, and you’ve got all these unreasonable test policies, that have your teachers in their class rooms teaching 10 hour days to make sure they keep their jobs, and that their kindergarten kids pass calculus tests. Then one day, instead of adjusting your test policies and asking teachers to adjust accordingly, you talk to the governor of your state and ask him/her to sort things out. Not very logical.

Contractualization Slammed in “Global Day of Action”

September 27, 2012

In addition to commemorating the
anniversary of PALEA’s protest against outsourcing last year, the protests also
pushed for the passage of the security of tenure bill pending at Congress.
“Aside from the reproductive health and freedom of information bills, the
security of tenure measure is also jammed at the legislative mill. This social
reform proposal seeks to restrict the epidemic of contractual work and the
proliferation of 6 months endo jobs,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national
chair.

Beggar-Thy-Neighbor: How Burma Will Take Bangladesh’s Sweatshop Jobs

September 24, 2012

Should either country be getting new trade benefits? Bangladesh has certainly been doing its best to get kicked out of US favor as of late; beginning in 2009, activists asked that Bangladesh’s trade privileges be revoked for horrendous labor rights abuses, including tragic factory fires, arbitrary detention of labor rights activists and rampant nepotism and corruption in the industry. The recent assassination of a human rights activist even prompted Secretary of State Clinton to openly scold Bangladesh’s Prime Minister on a recent visit.

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