Update: Unlike the other companies involved, Benetton is not compensating the families of the victims, so I’m adding them to the list below. If you want to let them know how you feel, tweet to @benetton with the hashtag #PayUpBenetton.(2/9/15)
When Baguette was a newborn, we were very careful about sourcing her toys. We worked hard to buy toys that were made with safe materials, by companies that treated their workers decently.
I will be the first to admit that we have not kept up that vigilance. So I am dismayed to learn that a number of major retailers have decided not to sign the Bangladesh factory safety plan, developed in the wake of a massive, tragic, and wholly preventable building collapse that took the lives of over 1,100 workers.
More than a thousand people. I’m not willing to pay that much for Baguette’s clothing.
Now, the deadline for signing has passed, so it’s not like I can persuade the holdouts to change their minds. That ship has sailed.
But that doesn’t mean that these companies can’t improve working conditions in their factories around the world.
So I’m calling on them to do just that, and here’s who they are:
- Walmart
- Gap
- Macy’s
- Sears/Kmart
- JCPenney
- VF Corp
- Target
- Kohl’s
- Cato Fashions
- Carter’s
- Nordstrom
- American Eagle Outfitters
- The Children’s Place
- Foot Locker
- Benetton
I do not intend to buy any new clothes or accessories from these companies until they ensure safe and humane conditions for the people who make their products–and that they do so transparently, so that we know that they’re using some of their profits to make the world better, and not worse.
For some of these, that’s easy. I can’t tell you the last time I bought something at Foot Locker, and I’m not sure I’ve ever made a purchase at American Eagle Outfitters.
But Carter’s and Gap? That’s tough. I can’t tell you how much I’ve counted on the seasonal sales at my nearest Carter’s store. And Gap? Baguette and I practically live in Old Navy. I’ve been blown away not just by the low prices of their baby and toddler clothes, but by how cute and well-constructed they are. It took me forever to find camisoles that I liked, and they’re sold by Old Navy.
And Target. Don’t get me started on Target. I bought a cardigan there recently, and now I’m wondering if the person who sewed on the buttons is still alive.
Here’s what it comes down to for me: It’s not a good deal if someone has to die. And 1,100 deaths–and that’s just the latest factory disaster–is far, far too high a price to pay.
Who’s with me?
Photo by Martin Abegglen
, via Flickr. Creative Commons.