The Children's Place. There are supposedly NO redeeming qualities about this corporation. They get their goods from countries noted for their human rights and labor violations, not to mention they were hit with a 1.5 million dollar fine from the SEC for misrepresenting the company. Also worth noting: Two of the CEO family members did jail time for monkeying around with clothing import documents.
Hanes.Besides the usual "being sued by workers" and "works with countries with widespread, well-documented human and labor rights abuses," Hanes went the extra step to be cited for "egregious labor violations." And while most companies at least try, it has no nondiscrimination policy covering sexual orientation or gender identity.
JCPenney. Settlements for sweatshop practices and racial discrimination. D- on Green America's scorecard and a D+ from the NAACP. On the other hand, it tries harder than Hanes on the sexual orientation issue. Has a written nondiscrimination policy and has insurance coverage for domestic partners.
Limited Brands Inc. They own brands like Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works among other well-known stores. There's a pending lawsuit that claims that the company fired people based on disability and sexual orientation, although that seems at odds with a pretty good LGBT discrimination and insurance policy. The now scarily common "sourced from countries with widespread, well-documented human and labor rights abuses" rears its head here as does a 23 out 100 score on "The Climate Counts Company Scorecard Report."
Albertson's grocery chain. This company isn't as nationally well known as some of the others, but, man, is it involved with some bad stuff. Unpaid overtime, punishing employees for opposing their discrimination policies, and violations of California anti-trust laws. Intimidates workers into refusing unions and, always a classic, allows its pharmacists to refuse to fill morning after pill prescriptions.
L'OREAL. There's not a lot bad about this company, really. But it does raise eyebrows that they've been accused of using chemicals banned in some countries and tried to hide that fact. And that it has no policy against animal testing.
Target. This one really hurt. But it has a D+ on Green America's score card and an F on the 2006 NAACP Economic Reciprocity Report Initiative report, besides which it had to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit. And of course: "sourced from countries with widespread, well-documented human and labor rights abuses."
Chiquita. Everything is contaminated. They've threatened unionized workers and have been accused of using pesticides which the U.S. has banned. And were involved in the awesome E. coli spinach recall of 2007. Despite that, has been pretty good about doing outreach and assisting in disaster relief.
So, read this and weep..especially if you frequent some of them like I do. I was unaware of Victoria's Secret's connection to the Limited Brands Inc umbrella. I also was not aware of how smarmy Target had become. The Ball n' Chain™ loves to grocery shop at Albertson's. I am gonna love explaining to him why I will no longer shop there for anything, regardless of how 'great' the deals are.
Hanes really surprised me..and I so like their female underwear line..damn it.
Corporations make conscious decisions to buy from specific countries, knowing full well how the garments are being made. For me, there is also no excuse for using animals to test makeup. I know some will not agree with me, but I refuse to give my money to corporations that inflict pain and agony on animals just so women can look good.
