High street retailer Whistles has pulled a series of T-shirts which
features pro-feminist slogans from its shelves, after an investigation
from the Mail on Sunday claimed the 45 pound shirts were produced by
women working in sweatshops in Mauritius and earning 62 pence per an
hour.
The T-shirts, bearing the phrase “This is what a feminist looks like”
were part of a campaign with Elle magazine and women’s right charity,
The Fawcett Society, to raise awareness for feminism and promote
women’s rights. Politicians, such as Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and
Harriet Harman have been photographed wearing the T-shirt as part of
Elle’s campaign, which is featured in its December issue.
However according to the Mail on Sunday, the T-shirts, which are part
of a larger collection that includes phone cases and hangbags, were
made in factories in Mauritius by migrant female workers who are paid
62 pence per hour, a quarter of the country’s average monthly wage.
The workers sign a four year contract and work a 45 plus hours a week
whilst sleeping in “spartan dormitories, 16 to a room.”
Ethical production of feminist t-shirt questioned by investigation
“How can this T-shirt be a symbol of feminism when we do not see
ourselves as feminists? We see ourselves as trapped,” said one worker
to the reporters. The newspaper toured one of the seven factories on
Mauritius and found that workers at Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile,
which has a 125 million pound annual turnover, earn just 6,000 rupees
or 120 pounds per month.
Since news of the investigation broke, the T-shirts have been pulled
from Whistles online store, whilst a store assistant revealed to
Reuters that the T-shirts in question are being withheld from sale
pending the result of an internal investigation.
Dr. Eva Neitzert, Deputy CEO of the Fawcett Society, claimed that the
charity had been assured by Elle magazine and Whistles that the range
would comply to their “rigorous ethical standards,” after the magazine
approached the organization with the idea last year. “We met with
Whistles and, upon querying, were assured that the garments would be
produced ethically here in the UK,” said Neitzert in a statement.
“Upon receiving samples of the range at our offices in early October
we noted that the T-shirts had in fact been produced in Mauritius,
upon which we queried (over email) the ethical credentials of the
Mauritian factory, and the fabric used. We were assured by Whistles
(over email) that the Mauritian factory: ‘is a fully audited, socially
and ethical compliant factory.’”
The Fawcett Society “very disappointed to hear of the allegations”
“We have been very disappointed to hear the allegations that
conditions in the Mauritius factory may not adhere to the ethical
standards that we, as the Fawcett Society, would require of any
product that bears our name. At this stage, we require evidence to
back up the claims being made by a journalist at the Mail on Sunday.
However, as a charity that campaigns on issues of women’s economic
equality, we take these allegations extremely seriously and will do
our utmost to investigate them.”
“If any concrete and verifiable evidence of mistreatment of the
garment producers emerges, we will require Whistles to withdraw the
range with immediate effect and donate part of the profits to an
ethical trading campaigning body,” concluded Neitzert. Whistles has
launched an external investigation into the matter after the news
broke.
“We place a high priority on environmental, social and ethical issues.
The allegations regarding the production of T-shirts in the CMT
factory in Mauritius are extremely serious and we are investigating
them as a matter of urgency,” said a spokesperson for the retailer to
Mail on Sunday.
“CMT has Oekotex accreditation [an independent certificate for the
supply chain], which fully conforms to the highest standards in
quality and environmental policy, while having world-class policies
for sustainable development, social, ethical and environmental
compliance.”
Elle magazine had also issued a statement claiming they had been
assured that the factory which manufactured the T-shirts was
specifically selected for its ethical policies.