Amsterdam, PRESSRELEASE

The official outfitter of the ongoing Wimbledon tennis championships has been accused of ignoring the plight of workers who sew its products. For months, Polo Ralph Lauren, the upmarket US-based fashion giant, has ignored serious labour rights violations at its Indonesian supplier-factory.

According to a statement issued by the Clean Clothes Campaign, the PT Mulia Knitting Factory (MKF) in Indonesia has denied its employees their legal right to set up a workers' union of their choice. MKF has refused to acknowledge SBGTS-GSBI, a factory-based union set up by the national Indonesian trade union GSBI.

Following the establishment of SBGTS-GSBI in the factory in May 2007, the MKF management organised a campaign to destroy the union by forcing all of its founding members to resign from the union or be removed from the factory.

Unsafe and bad working conditions in the factory make the issue of workers' representation all the more urgent.

Tommy Hilfiger, another international fashion brand that outsources production at the same factory, after initial hesitations now shows willingness to act on the problems, but the company drags its feet taking decisive action.

"According to Indonesian law, as well as international labour standards and the fashion brands' own codes of conduct, MKF needs to uphold their workers right to freely associate themselves in a workers' union," said Mr. Wyger Wentholt of the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC).

But in reality Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger refuse to put their money where their mouth is. "Both companies have beautifully printed, elaborate codes of conduct and supplier guidelines full of lofty ideals," said Mr. Wentholt. "But it is all phrased in ways that there are no legal commitments and it is impossible to pin them down on the values and responsibilities they say they stand for."

Polo Ralph Lauren's corporate social responsibility manager has refused to discuss the problems at their Indonesian supplier. "Unfortunately, this is common practice for this designer of lavish lifestyle products," commented Mr. Wentholt. "Although Polo Ralph Lauren actively promotes charities and philanthropic programmes, they refuse to mainstream ethical trade principles in their day-to-day operations. The company has a history of court cases on serious labour-rights violations."

According to Mr. Wentholt, "after initial hesitations, Tommy Hilfiger now say they are committed to solving the problems in their supply chain. However, after more then six months, these apparent efforts have not yielded any concrete results. This raises serious questions about Tommy Hilfiger's commitment to uphold the values laid down in their corporate Code of Conduct."

Following the increased globalisation of production patterns over the last decades, manufacturers and retailers who order their goods from suppliers worldwide are increasingly aware of their overall supply-chain responsibilities.

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) works to improve conditions and support the empowerment of workers in the global garment industry. The CCC has national campaigns in 12 European countries with a network of 250 organisations worldwide.


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