This holiday season, pledge to stand with LA garment workers demanding better wages and working conditions. Drop these 13 retailers found in LA factories with the worst labor violations! Forever 21, Ross Stores, TJ Maxx, Charlotte Russe, Windsor, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Burlington, Dillards, Beall’s, A’gaci, Fashion Nova, Urban Outfitters Consumers have to send a clear message to these retailers. We care about the conditions where our clothes are made. We will not gift our loved ones clothing produced under sweatshop conditions!
Why these 13 retailers?
The Department of Labor conducted an investigation into factories in Los Angeles and found 85% of factories had wage violations. In their investigation, 13 retailers produced their clothes in factories that violated basic labor laws. The investigations report states “Ross, TJ Maxx, and Forever 21 were the three retailers whose garments were found most frequently at contractor shops with wage violations” and cited 7 other retailers also on our pledge list. The investigation into these factories showed that the average worker received $5-6 per hour, well below the federal minimum wage, and found that contractors received only 73% of what they need to enable them to pay workers the minimum wage. The result – retailers have their garments made for cheap, increasing their profits, while workers receive sub-minimum wages.
In our wage justice work, Garment Worker Center has uncovered many of the same findings as the DOL investigation, including high frequency of wage theft in factories producing clothing for Ross Stores, Urban Outfitters, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Nordstrom, Fashion Nova and Charlotte Russe. In many of these cases, retailers often evade accountability by passing blame down the supply chain.