From CCC Newsletter 11 July 1999

Benetton has been referred to as the McDonalds of the clothing industry. “A compliment of course!” according to the Benetton website. Though we don’t find that anything to be very proud of. Benetton’s steady growth as a casual and sportswear giant -- 7,000 shops worldwide and a total turnover of $2 billion -- is based on the “scientific” application of a subcontracting system along with the use of emotional advertising messages associated with simplified social issues which has given it an undeserved name as a “socially committed” company. An iron hand in a velvet glove is more like it. Transparency is not a strong point in Benetton’s business practice. Therefore catching a glimpse of the working conditions at its almost entirely non-unionised 600 Italian subcontractors is extremely difficult. Not to mention its foreign suppliers whose exact number and location remain unknown. In spite of that, however, some bubbles of information are surfacing.

Last year in a radio interview a woman worker revealed that, prior to a successful lawsuit, Benetton’s Sicilian subcontractor Bronte Jeans exploited its workforce by cutting wages in half. Illegal hiring and dismissal after marriage was regular practice. She herself was fired after joining a strike and got back her job only a few months ago due to a legal judgement. Last March a second “Sicilian case” came to light with regards to what seems to be an example of self-imposed restriction of labour rights. Female workers at Riesi Maglieria, a newly established supplier for Benetton and Stefanel in inland Sicily, one of the poorest areas in Italy, were told to schedule their marriages and pregnancies in shifts so as not to hinder the continuity of production. Trade unions want to take a closer look into the matter since this case may represent a precedent for the garment manufacturers who look at the South of Italy as an alternative to relocations to Eastern Europe.

A case of child labour in Turkey reported in the press in October 1998 brought Benetton under a negative international spotlight. Assisted by the local trade unions, a journalist at Corriere della Sera, the leading Italian daily newspaper, carried out inquires into the Bermuda factory in Istanbul, which is a subcontractor of Bogazici Hazir Giyim, Benetton’s licensee in Turkey. Several children between the ages of 11 and 13 were found at work, interviewed, and photographed. Faced with an international scandal, Benetton’s reaction was prompt. A few days later the company and its licensee signed an agreement with the Italian and Turkish trade unions, called “principles for clean production,” providing for basic labour rights, but not acknowledging the presence of children. A libel suit was filed against Corriere della Sera and the reporter. The general secretary of the Italian textile trade union officially announced last April that a detailed dossier about minors working at Bermuda is being prepared. That same month Corriere della Sera published an interview with one of the children, who told a story of exploitation and physical abuse. An article in the ICFTU newsletter Trade Union World (“Grey skies over the textile industry,” December 98/January 99) reported that: “Several witnesses gave matching accounts of child exploitation other than the Turkish sites sub-contracted by Benetton, notably in Egypt.”

Benetton is now trying to clean up its image by associating its name with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and some Italian humanitarian associations in a communications campaign called “Benetton for Kosovo,” which aims to collect funds for humanitarian and solidarity projects. But what kind of economic development does a company like Benetton have in store for Eastern Europe? A woman worker at one of Benetton’s suppliers in Romania, interviewed by CCC researchers last year, said that she has to work an average of 240-260 hours a month to reach the target and receive her basic wage (which is not a living wage). Simply diverting eyes away from the problems in the workplaces where Benetton garments are produced is no solution, and not a clever business policy.