October 17, 2006
To Thalía Sodi,
We are writing as representatives of human rights and community organizations to express our serious concern about reports that your line of clothing is being produced in factories with sweatshop working conditions.
According to the well-respected National Labor Committee, the group that exposed the sweatshop conditions of workers sewing Kathie Lee Gifford's clothing line, some of your clothing is being sewed at the Taiwanese-owned Maintrend factory in Jordan, where until recently workers were forced to work under extremely abusive and exploitative conditions that match exactly the US State Department's definitions of "human trafficking" and "involuntary servitude."
At the Maintrend factory, foreign guest workers from Bangladesh had their passports confiscated by management; were forced to work 15 ½ to 16 ½ hours a day, seven days a week; and were routinely shouted and cursed at, slapped, punched, and shoved by managers. Speaking during working hours was prohibited, video cameras were omnipresent, and workers needed permission to use the toilet. Workers who tried to escape had to flee on foot without their passports and will be pursued by the Jordanian police and could be imprisoned.
Despite recent improvements at the Maintrend factory, including the workers' passports being returned to them and their wages being increased to the Jordanian minimum wage, we are still concerned about workers at other factories where the Thalia Sodi line of clothing is being manufactured.
We urge you to go beyond your minimal press statements on this situation and make a personal commitment to the young women who sew clothing in your factories -- many of whom are your age or younger. Please ensure that these workers' fundamental rights and dignity are being respected by taking the following steps:
*Publicly disclose the names and addresses of the factories where your merchandise is being made;
*Insist that independent inspectors be allowed to enter the factories to observe the working conditions.
These are steps that are being taken by more and more clothing and shoe manufacturers, including Nike. We fully expect you and Kmart to take similar responsibility for the fundamental rights of your workers.
Please contact us through Andrea Buffa at Global Exchange, 510-325-3653, andrea@globalexchange.org with your response.
Sincerely,
Bama Athreya, International Labor Rights Fund
Higinio Barrios, El Centro de Estudios y Taller Laboral
Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange
Rini Chakraborty, Sweatshop Watch
Bjorn Claeson, Sweatfree Communities
Ana Perez, CARECEN (Central American Resources Center)
Jodie Evans, CODEPINK: Women for Peace
Arnulfo Arteaga García, Professor, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (México)
Maryam Roberts, Women of Color Resource Center
cc: Christian Brathwaite
Aylwin B. Lewis, CEO, KMart
