University Logos Become Weapons in Debate Over Textile Factory Working Conditions

School pride is no longer limited to donning clothes with university names, colors and mascots – and students increasingly check labels to ensure that their clothing is not made in a land where worker abuse is rampant. Yet global supply chains can quickly regroup, relocate and rename. “A single garment might combine parts, labor, fabric and other elements from several countries, complicating efforts to create any sort of ‘fair trade’ labeling standard,” reports Howard Schneider for the Washington Post. Also, “Old-fashioned consumer boycott tactics are shunned because workers might get fired as a result.” Students and university administrators alike want to avoid the bad publicity for clothes made in factories with horrific conditions, and more than 180 US universities have joined Workers Rights Consortium, assigning grades and product placement to pressure clothing manufactures into emphasizing human rights. For one niche manufacturer, sales are up but the profits remain elusive, and consumers must prepare to pay higher prices for clothes made in safe workplaces. – YaleGlobal