Discounters snubbed in DOL 'trendsetters' list - Department of Labor - Capitol Concerns

Discount Store News, Jan 15, 1996 by Ken Rankin

It's not every day that major mass retailers draw public praise from the federal government. And certainly not praise from the Clinton Administration's Department of Labor--an outfit that tends to view business as the blood enemy of the working class.

But that's what happened last month when Labor Secretary Robert Reich singled out 31 big name clothing retailers as "fair labor fashion trendsetters" that are helping the Department stamp out sweatshop labor practices in the garment industry.

The good news for the companies on Reich's "trendsetters" list is that there's some evidence that consumers will reward them for their commitment to fair labor practices.

A recent consumer survey released by Marymont University found that 66% of the shoppers questioned said they would be "more likely to patronize retailers that they know are cooperating with the Labor Department in efforts to eradicate sweatshops."

An even higher proportion--69%--said they plan to use the Labor Department list in deciding where to shop during the 1995 Holiday season.

The companies on Reich's "trendsetters" list run the gamut from trendy operators like Guess, to retailers of more traditional apparel such as Lane Bryant. But one entire class of retailers was conspicuously absent from the list--mass merchandisers.

Why? Does Secretary Reich believe the mass merchandise industry is sweet on sweatshop suppliers? He should know better than that.

Only a matter of weeks before the DOL's list was publicized, Sears, Ward, JCPenney, Woolworth, Kmart, Kids "R" Us and other major mass merchandise chains endorsed a National Retail Federation "Statement of Principles" obligating them to require their suppliers to comply with all applicable wage & hour laws.

These same chains pledged to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in identifying and taking action against apparel vendors that violate federal labor laws.

Yet not a single one of them was included on the Labor Secretary's list for politically correct clothing shoppers. And if the Marymont survey results are valid, they lost business last month because of it.

One lesson to be learned from this situation is that Secretary Reich's "trendsetter's list" is not merely being used as a vehicle to recognize retailers that are working against sweatshop conditions in the garment industry.

It's also being used to blacklist those who don't ask "how high" when the DOL says "jump."