62p-an-hour T-shirt critics ‘hate women’
...that’s bizarre claim of editor behind backfiring fashion stunt (and don’t ask her how ‘investigation’ is getting on!)
THE editor of the magazine embroiled in the scandal of feminist T-shirts being made by women paid just 62p an hour has dismissed the controversy as ‘misogynistic’.
An investigation by The Mail on Sunday uncovered the shocking conditions in a factory making T-shirts bearing the slogan ‘This Is What A Feminist Looks Like’ for a campaign by the Fawcett Society backed by Elle magazine.
A union leader described the factory in Mauritius as a ‘sweatshop’ after the MoS report in November revealed that employees were sleeping 16 to a room.
Ever since, those involved – including fashion retailer Whistles – have repeatedly refused to concede that the workers’ conditions were unacceptable or reveal the findings of their own investigation.
The latest rebuttal came yesterday as Elle editor Lorraine Candy claimed, ‘This was not a sweatshop by any standard’ – despite the cramped dormitories and employ- ees being paid below the living wage. It has also emerged that the Fawcett Society – which works for women’s rights – had reacted to the report by saying The Mail on Sunday ‘is not a friend of women’.
Mrs Candy told The Times that what bothered her most about the controversy was the inference that ‘these silly women working on a magazine hadn’t done their research. Well, we had. We are not responsible for the living wage in Mauritius, but this was not a sweatshop by any standard.’
Apparently in reference to the furore over workers’ conditions, Mrs Candy added: ‘The reaction was misogynistic, but that’s what happens when you poke the bear.’
The T-shirts, which sold for £45 in Britain, had featured in Elle’s ‘feminism issue’ and were worn by Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman in the Commons, along with Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg and actors including Benedict Cumberbatch.
Last night a leading union official in Mauritius reacted with fury to Mrs Candy’s comments.
Jane Ragoo, who represents more than 36,000 workers, said: ‘These factory workers have the worst possible conditions. They work long hours for low wages and are exploited.
‘I invite the magazine editor to come to see this factory and find out what a sweatshop looks like. How would she like to sleep in a factory dormitory where you share your bedroom with 15 other people? It’s all very well her being given reassurances by the factory owner, but when you speak to the people who work there then you see the true extent of desperate poverty.’
Mrs Ragoo said Mrs Candy’s implication that the wages were acceptable by Mauritian standards was wrong.
‘The magazine editor is mistaken because the textile workers don’t even earn as much as the living wage. They earn 6,000 rupees (£120) a month, but a living wage is 14,685 rupees (£300),’ she said.
Meanwhile, the Fawcett Society was criticised after the emergence of a blog posting by chairwoman Belinda Phipps that was sent to people on its mailing list. She wrote: ‘A well-intentioned project which was bringing much-needed attention to feminism
from a younger audience and raising much-needed funds… then ran into trouble with The Mail on Sunday – not a friend of Fawcett or women in general. But, you know, when newspapers like The Mail on Sunday go for us it means we are doing our job well.’
Former vice-chairwoman of the Fawcett Society, Joanne Cash, said: ‘It is outrageous that Belinda Phipps has dismissed the investigation into female exploitation.
‘If it wasn’t for The Mail on Sun- day’s exposé we wouldn’t have found out about the dire conditions these workers are facing. I wonder what the newspaper’s female readership would make of her comments?’
Last night Mrs Phipps could not be contacted for comment.
In a further development, Whistles, the Fawcett Society and Elle were accused of a ‘cover-up’ over their failure to deliver on a promised investigation into the factory after three months.
After the MoS first broke the story, Whistles and Elle released a joint statement to say the factory had already been ‘ethically audited’ and the women were being paid more than the minimum wage of about £87.50 a month. The audit has yet to be published.
The Fawcett Society said the audit did not raise concerns about working conditions.
Following the MoS report, Whistles pledged to inspect the Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile factory as ‘a matter of urgency’, but it is refusing to comment on whether it has followed up on promises to send a ‘senior member’ to Mauritius.
All three have ignored repeated requests by this newspaper over the past three months for an update on the investigation.
Labour Behind The Label, a leading charity campaigning for textile workers’ rights, called on Whistles to be honest about the investigation. Policy co-ordinator Anna McMullen said: ‘By not being upfront and honest, Whistles is denying justice to those people working in its factory. It smacks of a cover-up.’
Asked about the accusation of a cover-up, Ms Phipps said: ‘It’s Whistles who are conducting the investigation and I’m afraid it’s them who will have to provide an update.’
Whistles spokeswoman Sadie Watts said: ‘No comment at this end for you.’
A spokeswoman for Elle said: ‘We have no further comment to make.’