The women’s rights charity accused by the Mail on Sunday of promoting t-shirts that were made in “sweatshop” conditions in Mauritius has said that it has seen evidence that the factory conforms to ethical standards.
The t-shirts, which are printed with the phrase 'this is what a feminist looks like', are produced and sold by high street clothing retailer Whistles and have been worn by celebrities and politicians as part of a campaign by the magazine Elle.
A Mail on Sunday report at the weekend claimed that women producing the t-shirts in a factory in Mauritius were earning only 62p an hour and were forced to sleep 16 to a room. However, Eva Neitzert, deputy chief executive of the Fawcett Society, has said that the charity has seen “expansive and current evidence” from Whistles that the factory in Mauritius conforms to ethical standards.
In a statement, Neitzert said that the Society has seen evidence that 100 per cent of workers are paid above the government-mandated minimum wage, and all workers “are paid according to their skills and years of services”.
It also said the standard working week is 45 hours, and that workers are compensated at a higher rate of pay for any overtime worked.
It added: “An audit into the CMT factory was carried out in October 2014 by an independent not-for-profit organisation and this did not reveal any material concerns on the working conditions, the welfare or the health and safety of workers.”
Neitzert said that the information seen by the charity “categorically refutes” claims that the t-shirts produced by Whistles were made in a sweatshop, but added that the charity is working closely with an international trade union body to scrutinise the evidence it has seen so that it can be “absolutely assured of its provenance, authenticity and that all findings are robust and factual”.
A statement from Whistles said: “Both Whistles and all our factories abide by a strict code of conduct which focuses upon 11 core labour rights which include fair remuneration, ethical business behaviour and freedom of association.”
Whistles added that it was taking the opportunity to undertake additional reviews of all its suppliers.
Lorraine Candy, editor-in-chief of UK Elle, the magazine that ran the campaign, said: “We are delighted to continue working on our feminism campaign with the Fawcett Society and Whistles.
"Based on a detailed and current independent audit of the factory where the T-shirts were made, that we have seen today, we are confident that their production conforms to ethical standards.”
