Ivy Park
Beyoncé’s athleisure brand, Ivy Park has come under fire for reportedly being manufactured in a Sri Lankan sweatshop. A spokesperson for the clothing line has denied all allegations.
The company was forced to respond to a report by Britain’s The Sun that accused the brand of paying its young female workers $6.17 per day. The tabloid also reported that employees at the MAS Holdings factory in south Asia have to work more than 60 hours each week to make ends meet.
“All we do is work, sleep, work, sleep,” a 22-year-old seamstress reportedly told the publication. “We don’t have our own kitchen or shower, it’s just a small bedroom.”
The article claims the woman shares a 10 foot by 10 foot room her 19-year-old sister. “We have to share the shower block with the men so there isn’t much privacy. It is shocking and many of the women are very scared.”
The piece also quotes Anti-Slavery International’s press and digital media officer Jakub Sobik as saying the labor is “a form of sweatshop slavery.”
Ivy Park released a statement to Women’s Wear Daily Monday denouncing these allegations.
“Ivy Park has a rigorous ethical trading program. We are proud of our sustained efforts in terms of factory inspections and audits, and our teams worldwide work very closely with our suppliers and their factories to ensure compliance.”
The brand says it expects material suppliers to meet its code of conduct “and we support them in achieving these requirements.”
A source for WWD backs the statement saying the Ivy Park team “painstakingly” chose all of the manufacturing facilities and that MAS factories were fully vetted.
Beyoncé launched her newest fashion venture in April as a collaboration with Topshop owner Sir Philip Green. The line features clothing that cost range from $14 to $265 according to their website. Though the British report claims workers were unable to afford a pair of leggings because they were being under paid, AllHipHop reports the minimum daily wage in Sri Lanka is $2.68 so workers are earning more than double the minimum wage. That fact was also backed by the WWD source.
