“There is a strong suspicion of collusion between the management and the police in the registration of the criminal cases and arrests of migrant workers,” said the All India Lawyers Association for Justice.
QUICK FACTS:
- Carter’s has not only developed an LGBTQ line for children, but its manufacturer has been accused of slave labor.
- “This Pride Month, and every day of the year, Carter’s is committed to creating a space where all families belong and love in its many forms is celebrated,” the brand’s website reads.
- Onesies and pajamas for babies and children feature rainbows and the phrase “Proud of My Family.”
- The manufacturer of the brand, Kitex Garments, reportedly employs migrant workers who are “housed inside the Kitex factory premises in ‘labor camps,'” according to a report.
- “The management bars any entry to the labour camps and the workers too are not allowed to go outside unless permission is granted to them,” the report continues. “The cumulative impact of these conditions is that the migrant workers are denied any interaction with the residents of the village in which it is located and as such there is no relationship between the migrant workers and the resident population.”
- In December 2021, police arrested 174 workers during a skirmish between Kitex security guards and the laborers, many of whom appear to be uninvolved with the event.
- A report from ‘All India Lawyers Association for Justice’ (AILAJ) said the conflict began with “loud celebrations of Christmas.”
- “The responding officers refused to listen to the workers’ account of what had transpired, they said, setting off a skirmish that grew physical and resulted in the smashing of a police vehicle,” the Sourcing Journal described.
- Migrants were reportedly “in an extremely precarious condition,” with Kitex management allegedly using the event to “blackmail” other workers.
- Kitex management has not taken action to provide legal representation for the workers and seemed to be “unconcerned with the welfare and release of the arrested migrant workers,” the report added.
CARTER’S RESPONSE TO THE ALLEGATIONS:
- A Carter’s spokesperson said the brand does not support “injustice of any kind.”
- “We conduct our own audits as well as work with leading certification agencies that have audited and certified this facility,” the spokesperson said, adding, “We have seen no evidence of the reported slave or bonded labor. That said, we will increase our audit frequency at this facility and take appropriate actions should we find any support for these allegations.”
BACKGROUND:
- In February 2023, American Faith reported that Packers Sanitation Services Inc. violated child labor laws.
- The company was found to have 102 minors between the ages of 13-17 working in hazardous conditions.
- The violations were found across eight U.S. states and “clearly indicate a corporate-wide failure by Packers Sanitation Services at all levels,” said principal deputy administrator of the Wage and Hour Division Jessica Looman.
