Puffy's sweatshop troubles
 

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Puffy's sweatshop troubles
Oct 28, 11:43 AM EST

Associated Press

Sean John, the clothing line of rap music mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, is under scrutiny from a workers' rights group for allegedly using laborers from a Honduran sweatshop.

The director of the anti-sweatshop National Labor Committee, Charles Kernaghan, planned to release a report Tuesday detailing poor working conditions at the Southeast Textiles factory in Choloma, Honduras, where Sean John clothes are made.

Workers there are subjected to daily body searches, contaminated drinking water and 11- to 12-hour daily shifts, the report said. In exchange, they are paid 24 cents for each $50 Sean John sweat shirt they sew.

Officials with the clothing label said they were unaware of the conditions alleged by Kernaghan.

"We had absolutely no knowledge of the situation; however, we take these matters very seriously," said Jeff Tweedy, executive vice president of Sean John. "We have a director of compliance who will be looking into this matter immediately."

The study also found women were given mandatory pregnancy tests, and that those who tested positive were fired, Kernaghan said.

The abuses are violations of Honduran labor laws but are rarely enforced for fear of corporate divestment, Kernaghan said. His organization's repeated attempts to contact Sean John have gone without a response, he said.

Kernaghan was in New York to release the report with a worker from the factory, 19-year-old Lydda Eli Gonzalez. The two are embarking on a multi-city tour to expose what they say are harsh conditions at the factory.

According to the report, about 80 percent of the Southeast Textiles factory production is for the Sean John clothing line. The other 20 percent is for Rocawear, co-founded by rapper and producer Jay-Z and rap music producer Damon Dash.

That sucks, I got a couple of black sleeveless Sean John shirts. Now I'm gonna think sweat shope each time I wear them.

just when you thought everything is going well in Bad Boy Land, here comes trouble. I really don't understand why people subjected themselves to this type of treatment in a sweat shop.

Probably to eat.

I once had the experience of travelling through parts of Morrocco (by most standards a third-world country) that most tourists don't see. The squalor that people live in there is really amazing. I'm talking families living in cardboard boxes.

Yes, you'd subject yourself to a sweatshop to get out of that environment. The fact that the sweatshop is there is a blessing for these people, they don't see it as abuse. However, from a civilized standpoint, it is.

Pay them a fair wage and treat them with respect. Unfortunately, when $$ is at stake, peoples ethics become skewed. I guess a 3000% on his clothes isn't enough to support paying someone 10 cents per hour more? (such a miniscule amount of money goes a long way in some parts of the world)

not suprised in the least by this. Gotta keep low overhead, Kristal's not cheap you know.