Six Firms Added to Saipan Sweatshop Lawsuit - Levi Srauss, Calvin Klein, Brooks Brothers, Abercrombie and Fitch, Talbots - Brief Article

Bobbin, May, 2000 by Shawn Meadows

In early March, Levi Strauss & Co., Calvin Klein Inc., Brooks Brothers Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co., The Talbots Inc. and Woolrich Inc. were added to a class-action lawsuit alleging sweatshop conditions in factories in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of all former and current garment workers on the island of Saipan, asserts that contractors, manufacturers and retailers engaged in and benefited from forced labor, and that workers were forced into conditions constituting peonage and involuntary servitude, in violation of human rights laws. It is the first attempt to hold U.S. retailers, designers and manufacturers accountable for mistreatment of workers in foreign-owned factories operating on U.S. territory soil. (See "Will Saipan Legal Battle Stretch the Limits of liability," Bobbin, May 1999.)

Over the past few months, nine companies, including Nordstrom, J. Crew, Cutter & Buck and Gymboree, have agreed to a comprehensive settlement of the litigation and committed to requiring their Saipan contractors to meet strict workplace and living conditions standards and not to impose illegal recruitment fees. (See "Four Firms Settle in Saipan 'Sweatshop' Case," Bobbin, October 1999.) V[acute{e}]rit[acute{e}], a non-profit international human rights monitoring organization based in Amherst, MA, will act as an independent monitor. As such, the firm will ensure compliance by conducting thorough surveillance and making unannounced visits to the factories.

In a formal statement following this latest announcement, Abercrombie & Fitch noted that the company "has long had very strict policies with which vendors are forced to comply. These policies include prohibition of any form of indentured labor. We have an absolute zero tolerance for non-compliance with our policies."

Levi Strauss & Co. spokeswoman Linda Butler told Bobbin that Levi, on its own initiative, began phasing out contract sourcing in Saipan in 1998. The phaseout was completed this past January. "While we were there, we vigorously applied our codes of conduct and made sure that contractors complied," said Butler, who explained that the company is willing to defend the allegations. Butler added: "We'll fight it. .[ldots] We've been a leader in working to have global sourcing standards for some time now."