See if you can follow this line of thinking by the Kardashians. Yesterday Star reports about slave labor working 84 hours a week making $1 an hour making clothes for the Kardashian line. The Kardashians come out and say they are taking the allegations very seriously but they did not know and did know where their clothes were made, etc. Then, because the allegations do not concern their Sears line of clothes they just come out and deny they did anything wrong at all and that everything is perfect. Not so fast. Did they even bother to read the report? China Labor Watch is a well respected human rights organization devoted to exposing China's clothing and apparel industry. One of the biggest offenders they found was Bebe which the Kardashians used for a huge branded line of clothing last year which also included handbags and jewelry. A photo above shows Kim in an outfit made by slave labor.
Here are some of the violations which you can read in the full report here.
The piece-rate wage system employed at the factory all but requires workers to work ‘overtime’ to support themselves.
This system does not even provide extra pay per unit made during overtime hours, which would seem to be in clear violation of labor laws.
As a result of the piece-rate wage system, workers often work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Some workers even work 15 to 16 hours a day. Investigators saw these workers start work at 8 a.m. and finish it at 11:30 p.m.
Salaries are not calculated with a base wage.
To me, this is slave labor. To the Kardashians it is the way to make a profit. You know what Kim Kardashian should do for her next charitable trip instead of attending fashion shows in Haiti? She should head over to this same factory and work there one week. One full week with the same requirements as the workers at the same pay. If she does that and still says there is nothing wrong with the system, then I will apologize and be nice to her for a year. She won't though. None of them will. They just close their eyes and smell the money.
The piece-rate wage system employed at the factory all but requires workers to work ‘overtime’ to support themselves.
This system does not even provide extra pay per unit made during overtime hours, which would seem to be in clear violation of labor laws.
As a result of the piece-rate wage system, workers often work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Some workers even work 15 to 16 hours a day. Investigators saw these workers start work at 8 a.m. and finish it at 11:30 p.m.
Salaries are not calculated with a base wage.
To me, this is slave labor. To the Kardashians it is the way to make a profit. You know what Kim Kardashian should do for her next charitable trip instead of attending fashion shows in Haiti? She should head over to this same factory and work there one week. One full week with the same requirements as the workers at the same pay. If she does that and still says there is nothing wrong with the system, then I will apologize and be nice to her for a year. She won't though. None of them will. They just close their eyes and smell the money.
Scum of the earth.
ReplyDeleteCommenting purely to say WTF is Kim wearing?!
ReplyDelete*To ASK what she's wearing.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't slave labor, because slaves do not get paid. carry on.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me this will lead to them to go away forever.
ReplyDeleteYeah and the guy who is making the allegations has never been to any of the factories where any kardashian apparel is produced. It's called speculation. Call me when there's a real story.
ReplyDeleteYup, Katie. I was disappointed to hear that this guy hadn't been to the factories. I don't doubt that there are bad conditions at the factories. However, to make accusations and not be able to back them up with evidence is careless and makes it harder to take the next person seriously who might have serious evidence.
ReplyDeleteWhat has she done to her face? She was a very pretty girl and she has ruined it by having so much plastic surgery.
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of hearing about the next thing she and her family has done, wrong or right. Thanks Enty for giving them even more attention. If you want them to go away, ignore them. *steps off box* Please continue.
ReplyDeleteHow is this any different than H &M who constantly advertise their $12.99 dresses?? Hell you cant even buy the friggen material for $12.99 so of course it's manufactured by slave labor but no one connects the dots. This is just going to be another KATHY LEE faux outrage issue for the KARTRASHIANS.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't finish reading the allegations. Reminded me too much of work. My boss got offended because I actually demanded to be paid for two holidays this year because I'm salaried. So he made me hourly just in time for the Christmas and New Year's holidays, for which I won't get paid. Boss of the Year (in Hell).
ReplyDeletete mom has a book out! i saw it at barnes & nobel yesterday, threw it in the back of the pile. hop it ends up at .99 cent store.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it, when you look at the tags in your clothes and the tag says "made in China" or "made in Indonesia" or "made in Bangladesh" or pretty much any emerging or third world country, it is being made by workers who are being exploited. It doesn't matter where they are being sold, from pricey boutiques to Target to Wal-Mart. As much as I hate the Kardashians, I can't honestly say that they are any more guilty of this than ANY other people involve in the fashion industry. If we aren't buying strictly U.S.-made clothing, shoes, purses, belts, etc. . . (which I suspect is impossible to do) then we are all accomplices in this. It's unfortunate, but true. Makes me wish again that I could sew. Maybe that will be my New Year's Resolution. If I could make my own clothes, I'd save a fortune and have a cleaner conscience.
ReplyDeleteAmerican Apparel is the only line that makes 100% US made (NOT slave labor) and their ads all look like cheap porn and the clothes are often pretty boring.
ReplyDeleteIt would be NICE if one of this celeb designers would insist on American Union made, cos, not only are they supporting slave labor in Asia, they're also taking jobs away from Americans.
I couldn't make my own clothes for the price of that crap from China.
My problem with American Apparel is that you have to have an eating disorder just to squeeze into their mediums!! Even their extra-larges are snug, and I don't consider myself overweight.
ReplyDeleteBy American standards, I imagine a large percentage of overseas labor would be considered slave labor. The third world hasn't bogged itself down with minimum wage laws, health insurance, safe working conditions, child labor laws and other such nonsense, and the competition for jobs is so intense the impoverished workers are at the mercy of unscrupulous and exploitative employers, both at home and in America; thus, the retail profit margin is huge.
ReplyDeleteI saw a documentary about the Chinese factories that manufacture the Mardi Gras beads, under absolutely grinding conditions; the filmmakers took movies of the parades with them and showed these workers the products of their 16 to 18 hour days being swept up in the street and thrown away, as well as footage of women flashing their boobs for beads, which shocked the women watching the films. Unless we can figure out a way to buy 100% American, we're all in on it in some fashion (ironically.)
I have as much disdain for the K's as anyone, but why should they get singled out for what virtually every other clothing manufacturer does?
ReplyDeleteRobert, i read your commenta in Sheldon's voice.
ReplyDeleteWent back and did the same - fab.
ReplyDeleteI cant remember the last time I bought new clothes. Honestly, I am not super poor or in need of assistance, but I buy all my clothes from thrift stores. So obv fashion is way over my head. But I agree, it is hard to buy something that is not slave labour.
I hate to be ugly, but I don't think Kim has the smarts or the business savvy to have even figured this out beforehand.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what is going on with that outfit??
People assume that because they get paid less then $1 an hour, thats a bad wage. Actually, in China, thats a good wage. The average worker works 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in China. They are harder working then their American counterparts. While the 84 hours by their laws is excessive, the wage is a fair wage for mostly unskilled laborers. Even skilled laborers don't get paid a lot in China, but things also don't cost as much as they do in the USA. A business partner I have in China... his dad is a Doctor. His dad makes around $3 an hour. This is GREAT money in China.
ReplyDeleteBefore you start complaining that people in China don't get paid as much as people in the USA, or work harder then we do, take one other thing into consideration... what if they got paid what we do, and demanded less hours? Then those fancy iPhones and iPads would cost around $5000-7500 each. Just think of everything costing 15x what they cost now...
Having workers in China isn't a bad thing, when you compare the costs to hire American workers, with OT, Benefits, and FML, and higher wages.
Who's Sheldon?
ReplyDelete