The highly anticipated launch of Ivy Park – a women’s active-wear brand run in partnership with Topshop and co-founded by Beyonce – took place in April 2016. In an article by CNN published May 17th 2016, it references that, this fresh, new, and seemingly quite successful, brand has
been targeted with allegations of sweatshop-like use in Sri Lanka. Ivy Park was apparently exploiting workers, paying them a total of $6.17 a day, with no sick pay. Several workers from the factory have spoken out, complaining of the unethical working conditions.
The fashion world is notorious for using sweatshops where millions of people, the majority young women and often children, work in deplorable conditions for little pay and for very long hours. With the increasing demand for low cost clothing, factory owners are forced to push their workers and pay them even less. These workers’ salaries often make up only 1% of the total retail price, so the consumer would be unlikely to notice any difference in retail pricing if they were to be paid a living wage.
Ivy Park has claimed that, “Ivy Park has a rigorous ethical trading program. We are proud of our sustained efforts in terms of factory inspections and audits, and our teams worldwide work very closely with our suppliers and their factories to ensure compliance.” The company chose not to reply to inquiries about its code of conduct and did not address the specific allegations made in the report. This was later analyzed by CNN, where they confirmed that Sri Lanka has a minimum daily wage of $2.68, and that, therefore Ivy Park workers were making more than double the minimum wage. “Big Name companies are bound to be targeted with these sort of allegations,” said Anna McMullen, a policy director, supporting workers rights: “This is the norm and the same applies for all the big global brands.”
As consumers increasingly seek out companies who engage in ethical and local production, companies such as Ivy Park who use production services in developing companies are likely to be rejected by consumers. Activists explain that factory audits and inspections are not sufficiently helping to improve work conditions. A report on the industry by the University of Sheffield said audits almost never lead to proficient changes in the production process. “Ultimately, the audit regime is ‘working’ for corporations, but failing workers and the planet.”
Although Ivy Park may have been wrongfully targeted, many big brands such as H&M, Joe Fresh and others have admittedly relied on the services of Sweatshops (2013). Hopefully, Ivy Park will live up to its claim of a rigorous ethical trading program and become leaders in supporting fair wages and conditions for all workers.
Articles : http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/17/news/beyonce-ivy-park-sweatshop-accusation/ , https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/1176905/exposed-sweatshop-slaves-earning-just-44p-an-hour-making-empowering-beyonce-clobber/ , http://www.publicseminar.org/2016/01/global-sweatshops-solidarity-and-the-bangladesh-breakthrough/#.V9dsXGWMCgQ
Image: http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/topshop-beyonce-fashion-ivy-park-98766
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