Sean "P. Diddy" Combs responded Tuesday night to allegations that his Sean John clothing line is produced under sweatshop-like conditions by proclaiming shock and ignorance and vowing to take action.
Earlier in the day, outside a Fifth Avenue storefront in New York where Diddy will soon be opening a Sean John flagship store, Charles Kernaghan, director of the human rights advocacy group National Labor Committee, raised issues about the Honduran supplier Combs employs to create his clothing line.
Among the allegations, revealed in an NLC report, are that workers are subject to daily body searches, 12-hour shifts, contaminated drinking water, pregnancy tests and subsequent firings for positive results, all while earning 24 cents per $50 sweatshirt they sew.
"I'm shocked at this information, particularly because we had no knowledge of any wrongdoing," Diddy said at a press conference. "I am determined to get to the bottom of this. We are launching an investigation into this matter and if there is any proof, any proof of wrongdoing, we will terminate our relationship with this factory immediately. I will not tolerate any violation [of] labor laws at any facility where Sean John is manufactured."
Kernaghan had stated earlier that he didn't want Diddy to pull out of Honduras and leave the workers jobless, but to help upgrade working conditions and defeat the human-rights abuses. He made his allegations alongside 19-year-old former factory worker Lydda Gonzales, who was fired from the factory for trying to organize a union.
Also according to the report, about 80 percent of Southeast Textile's factory production is for Sean John, while the remaining 20 percent is for Damon Dash and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Wear clothing line. Representatives for Roc-A-Wear were not available for comment.
—Joseph Patel
Please note Diddy's new mohawk.
