gift link. Bloomberg says The Fair Trade program Victoria’s Secret purchased from itself made a report that they may be using child labor. As a follow upThe Bloomberg article led to the resignation of Fair Trade’s CEO within a week of its release. They were the main buyers of Burkina Faso fair trade cotton at that time.

Some quotes:

Victoria’s Secret says it never saw the report.

Cotton is produced by child or forced labor in more countries than any other commodity, except gold. In the global supply chain, according to the US Department of Labor.

Organic means that a child spreads the manure by hand:

Two or three times each season, between digging the rows and harvesting, Clarisse has to spend about half a mile hauling buckets of compost on her head to the farm she helps maintain. Bending her waist, she uses both hands to spread a circle of compost around each of the thousands of plants. He has pain in his lower back.

Some products made from this Burkina Faso cotton were once marketed in "good for women," "good for children," And "fair trade," Slide 2. “Our standards specifically prohibit child labor,” a spokesperson said.

Bloomberg says there is no indication that Victoria’s Secret knew about child labor. The problem is that supply chains are difficult to trace. US Department of Labor actually releases a list of products made by child/slave labor around the world. The list includes all kinds of agricultural products and natural resources: sugar, gold, diamonds, bananas, coffee, chocolate, cotton, tilapia. This 2024 list confirms that many of the conditions in the 2011 article still exist around the world.

Victoria’s Secret disputed the articleBut Bloomberg responded

(In the follow-up linked above.) VS tried to dispute the age of the lead girl profiled, but also did not cover the 10 and 12 year old boys.

He claimed the girl was actually 21, third slide. Bloomberg said this was because he adopted the name of his deceased older sister. He said that VS tried to use this sister’s birth certificate as evidence. If she looks 21 then look at her picture. He said that it is not common for everyone in the country to have a birth certificate. Bloomberg spoke to the headmaster of the girl’s school and reviewed her school records. VS also said that he did not choose cotton, but vegetables Bloomberg had multiple sources, including those who saw his selection. This basically answers why VS didn’t sue.

$8.3 million Thai wage theft settlement for closed factory

The factory also manufactures for plus size brands Lane Bryant and Torrid. These other brands did not contribute to the settlement. Factory owner went bankrupt and closed in 2021 hong kong boss I could not afford the settlement and initially wanted to pay after 10 years.

The 1,250 laid-off workers – many of whom had worked at the factory for more than a decade – did not receive mandatory severance payments under Thai law.