Woman Who Makes Bags For Michael Kors Was Sent To One Of The Most Crowded Prisons In The World For A Facebook Post

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A

abacuo

Decade Club
Jul 6, 2015
179
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#1
Sharing this eye opening look at the supply chains for Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Vera Bradley. The performative allyship needs to be called out. The brands need to take responsibility and implement real changes.

The article is here: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/nishitajha/michael-kors-factory-worker-prison-facebook-post

“If 60 million garment workers worldwide don’t earn enough to feed themselves, while the brands they produce clothes for create billions in profit on the back of their labor, we need to consider whether profit in the apparel industry is effectively wages stolen from exploited women of color,” said Narayanasamy.
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#2
1q2w3e said:
Sharing this eye opening look at the supply chains for Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Vera Bradley. The performative allyship needs to be called out. The brands need to take responsibility and implement real changes.

The article is here: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/nishitajha/michael-kors-factory-worker-prison-facebook-post
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I read this this morning! Absolutely despicable. I hope it goes viral since only public outcries seem to cause any meaningful change.
 
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#3
It's time to pay the fiddler.
For every story like this that comes out there are hundreds or thousands that never come out. Glad I never bought anything from the companies mentioned in the story but that doesn't mean my a** is covered. I have no real idea what kind of circumstances most of my bags, SLGs, clothes, shoes and most of the other things I own, are made in. From things made in Finland I can be sure of, but other than that it's just guessing.
It's time for us to start keeping companies accountable and to make them open their supply chains - and also to basically force them to make changes happen.
 
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#6
"When presented with these details, the representative for Vera Bradley first asked for photographic evidence, then said that a team would look into the matter and respond once they had an update. “We want to ensure [these products] are genuine Vera Bradley products and not counterfeit,” said the spokesperson."

So they want to see the products. Because names of the factories themselves or their locations, you can't tell. Many in the west like to think that sweatshopey condition are fake products only. Good quality fakes draw on the same pool of factories and workers of non fakes. Based on my observation in Southeast Asia, they are not much different. So does this mean you should boycott brands? Errr, yeah I'm sure the those workers will thank you if they lose their job/pushed into prostitution or even more backbreaking farming work.
 
#7
Jktgal said:
"When presented with these details, the representative for Vera Bradley first asked for photographic evidence, then said that a team would look into the matter and respond once they had an update. “We want to ensure [these products] are genuine Vera Bradley products and not counterfeit,” said the spokesperson."

So they want to see the products. Because names of the factories themselves or their locations, you can't tell. Many in the west like to think that sweatshopey condition are fake products only. Good quality fakes draw on the same pool of factories and workers of non fakes. Based on my observation in Southeast Asia, they are not much different. So does this mean you should boycott brands? Errr, yeah I'm sure the those workers will thank you if they lose their job/pushed into prostitution or even more backbreaking farming work.
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The article makes clear that American warehouses are full of unsold product, causing the companies in question to stop their orders from the factories mentioned. A boycott would do little good, so it stands to reason that no particular consumer who chooses not to buy from Michael Kors or Vera Bradley would be pushing garment workers into prostitution.

A letter-writing campaign, however, focused on poor working conditions and directed to these companies (and maybe to organizations like Amnesty International, since prison is a real danger here) could have SOME effect, if enough of us were moved to take action. If there's a better way, I'd love to know about it and participate. There's no time like the present, as they say - especially *this* present.
 
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