Catherwood LibraryILR School

Once known for its “Made in the USA” trademark and commitment to manufacturing clothes in sweatshop-free conditions, clothing producer American Apparel has found it difficult to match its slogans with reality since being acquired by Gildan Activewear nine months ago after years of financial troubles. It has exchanged its “Made in the USA” slogan with “Globally Sourced”, since Gildan Activewear is an American Canadian manufacturer whose factories primarily reside in Central America and the Caribbean. While the uplifting videos on American Apparel’s website still proudly claim that their products remain sweatshop free in its goal to “give more ethical jobs to more people around the world”, organizations such as the Honduran Women’s Collective – which advocates on behalf of women in garment factories, claim that the employees in the six unions from Gildan factories all have health problems due to the long hours and high production quotas – with several employees dismissed permanently due to the health problems they’ve incurred during work. Other complaints against Gildan include mandatory work shifts longer than the legal maximum limit, illegal dismissals of employees involved in unions – including the dismissal of a pregnant woman - as well as consistent harassment targeted at employees. Mass terminations also took place when Gildan shut down its El Progreso plant in order to suppress a unionization effort amongst employees who had banded together to complain about labor rights violations. The company insists that it has a strong labour compliance program and has steadily worked with labor unions to address any issue brought to its attention.