An Open Letter to Fabletics from the Women and Men of SGI

(Pictured: Kate Hudson’s store Fabletics, the company responsible for operating out of the corrupt Hippo Knitting factory in Lesotho. Source: People Magazine. Photo Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris)

On May 5th, 2021, at 7 a.m, Time magazine came out with a truly appalling article that focuses heavily on workplace abuse within the garment industry in Lesotho, a sovereign nation that is a Kingdom, located in southern Africa. If you don't know it, I advise you to look on a map; it's useful to familiarize yourself with world geography when attempting to understand the context of the disgusting, persistent global human rights issues that systemically devalue Black people (herein defined as African and the African Diaspora). In a piece written by Louise Donovan and Refiloe Makhaba Nkune, titled “Exclusive: Workers in Factory that Makes Kate Hudson’s Fabletics Activewear Allege Rampant Sexual and Physical Abuse'', the authors hone in on an investigation, conducted by Time magazine and The Fuller Project, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom that reports on issues impacting women globally. The article brings awareness to the abusive workplace conditions in the factory of Hippo Knitting, which mainly produces Fabletics, American actress Kate Hudson’s athletic clothing line.

(Pictured: A work meeting outside the Hippo Knitting Factory

The authors delve into various aspects of the investigation, providing information on the necessarily anonymous testimonies of Hippo Knitting factory workers, the related abuses, and measures, such as the Lesotho Agreement (intended to protect workers from gender-based violence and discrimination), that have been taken in neighboring factories in Lesotho. One focal point is relaying evidence and third-party verification of alleged abuses. The offenses include terrorization of thirteen female employees having both their underwear and genitals exposed during daily searches, physical abuses such as denial of access to restroom facilities, being forced to crawl on wounded knees and the intentional infliction of pain. Other aspects of the misrule of this factory include sewage leaking into both work and lunch break areas, unpaid overtime that violated workplace regulations, laborers being tasked with impossible work loads and enduring horrific verbal abuse upon incompletion, pressure to engage in sex with superiors -- the list goes on. Aside from discussing the abusive conditions that primarily Black women, and other women of color, endure in this setting, Donovan and Makhaba Nkune also touch on the failures of Fabletics regarding the ethics of their company. Severe exploitation of vulnerable populations is a strikingly common trend among powerful American companies taking advantage of cheap labor and the absence of regulation. These workers have few advocates, and the government turns a blind eye to the financial and physical mistreatment of this almost entirely female cohort. This, too, is common. And with no voice, no protection, and no leverage, abuse is unchecked. Think about the upper middle-class Americans on their Pelotons in their Fabletics athleisure… This is democratic capitalism, which, when examined closely, is elitist extractivism.

Touching on the corporation’s awareness of the situation and choice to ignore the unethical work conditions, the Times article effectively conveys the laissez-faire attitude and blatant disregard for human life that many of our so-called “role models” have. Celebrities, idolized and revered in society, excessively wealthy, pontificate about their ethics and advocacy. Yet time and time again, they fail to put their money where their mouth is. Here, at She Grows It, a high value is placed on both ethical intention and implementation. Resilient development is, and will always be, a priority at SGI. One of our many commitments is to bring integrative and collaborative solutions that protect the quality of the natural and built environment and the real economy to ensure equal access to resources by inspiring innovative and creative approaches to sustainable and resilient development. This is a commitment we take seriously, following through with high intent and implementation. Seeing another woman who claims empowerment for herself, and for those less fortunate, utterly fail at everything we work for is quite dismal. In a statement regarding this investigation, one of Kate Hudson’s representatives sent out a message claiming Hudson had no prior knowledge of this abuse until Times and The Fuller Project brought it to her attention, and that now action will be taken. However, when one considers the full picture, it is too little, too late. An investigation launched by an outside source should not have been the variable to jump-start Fabletics’ taking matters into their own hands. This mistreatment has been going on for many years -- it is alarming and unlikely that the company was unenlightened until just now.

(Pictured: Textile workers hard at work. Source: Tralac.org. Photo Credit: John Hogg World Bank)

As relayed by the Times article, yearly random checks were done by Fabletics, yet employees could not open up about the abuse during these meetings, as they were threatened into silence by factory managers. This fact circles back to the company of Fabletics utterly failing their employees. Some of these factory workers were receiving a mere $150.00 a month while working 40-hour work weeks. This is not a liveable wage -- anywhere. If a worker were to out Hippo Knitting, they would more than likely face either extreme retaliation, or be fired. Being temporarily out of a job would not be a problem if the employees were actually given a livable wage, however the dismal salary they receive is not enough to sustain the risk of being unemployed, even briefly. Factors that contribute to the exploitative atmosphere are intertwined. These sorts of conditions exist because the easiest path is the status quo. Rich and famous personalities become more so via the long-established, systemic milking of the poor and disempowered.

Kate Hudson very often promotes, and claims to embrace, both female empowerment and the edification of Black communities. She is often seen on her Instagram sending out messages of allyship, inclusivity, and racial justice. She has spoken out about topics relating to the idea of “when women rise, we all rise”, as well as a fight towards eradicating the racial injustices that exist across the world. Yet in Hudson’s own company, women, many of them Black, are degraded and subjected to punishing conditions. She Grows It recognizes the extraordinary level of importance Black females hold in global society and actively aims to empower them through opportunity and through an impassioned network of like-minded individuals. As Mahatma Gandhi pointed out, “Action expresses priorities.” We have come face-to-face with Fabletics’ (as well as many other American companies’) priorities. 

Abigail’s Response (from SGI):

(Pictured: Packaged Fabletics Clothing at Hippo Knitting. Source: Industriall Global Union. Photo Credit: Lesotho Garment Factory, Enhanced Integrated Framework)

In an increasingly globalized world with multinational (and/or multi-million/billion dollar) corporations seemingly reigning supreme over the flow of resources, jobs, and allocation of funds, it is no longer only the problem of the government to hold their industries accountable for workers rights and safe working environments. Corporations are just as responsible for the human rights violations that are seen throughout the world. Government and corporate power are almost one and the same at this point in history, with each being intricately interwoven. One practice that demonstrates this is known as a “race to the bottom” competition wherein governments will lower their wages and standards for work so that corporations will be compelled to come and set up industry in their region. This brings more opportunities for economic well-being and a better chance to become a global competitor. What it also brings is a severe lack of human decency, as has been displayed in the article. 

“I had an injury on my knees, and they were inflamed,” the employee says. “I cried the whole time, as I was in pain.” As I was reading this, I imagined my own mother coming home and crying to me about having to “crawl on her knees as a punishment” and knowing that she had to go back tomorrow to the same treatment because “there is nothing else.” The people who work in the lowest sectors of the economy are people, just like you and me, and yet they are more often than not treated otherwise. People are not just a number, yet that is how they are seen and categorized. People deserve respect, yet they are not given it. Don’t you think it is beyond time to change the system that holds so many down? 

(Pictured: Factory workers in Lesotho head home after a long day's work. Source: YahooLife in partnership with The Fuller Project. Photo Credit: Lindokuhle Sobekwa

Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine your life as theirs. Stand up for those that can’t stand up for themselves and remember that they don’t stand up for themselves not because they don’t want to, but because they are afraid. Afraid of losing their jobs, afraid for their families, afraid for their lives and their livelihoods. What choice do these people have? If they leave the job they are impoverished even further, they go hungry, they go without basic necessities. What choice would you make? You wouldn’t have much of a “choice” and neither do these people. Humans are supposed to have free will, and yet so many do not. 

When confronted with human rights violations, corporations put out statements about their “disgust and their morals” claiming that they are committed to doing better and that these violations violate their code of ethics. Corporations like Nike, Wrangler, Lee, and Fabletics (all mentioned in the article) always seem surprised and abhorred when they find out that the clothing they are selling is produced in horrible environments, yet they continue to outsource and allow oppressive governmental standards for workers. I don’t buy it and neither should you. 

Corporations should (and do) know by now that outsourcing their work WILL create human rights violations... yet they continue to do so in the name of profit. The standard for corporate behavior has to change for these issues to begin to be resolved. “It’s just the way of the world,” people say. “That’s business.” These excuses are no longer acceptable in an increasingly interconnected world. Corporations are worried about staying on top, but don’t give anyone else the ability to rise up. It’s time to even the playing field. If a business is stationed in a country where workers’ rights are not respected, it should be part of their responsibility to ensure that they are treating their workers fairly. Practices like “race to the bottom” should be challenged. If not by the corporations themselves (for why would they challenge a practice that benefits them?), then by the people. The people of the nations who are gaining from these situations have power: buying power. If you can afford to change the way you shop, do it. If you can afford to support those companies that don’t infringe on the rights of others, do it. It is the responsibility of us all to uplift those in need and to not turn a blind eye to problems that don’t directly involve you. It is guaranteed that indirectly, they do, and they are making the world harder for everyone to live in. 

If you’d like to learn a little more about Kate Hudson and her company’s response to the abuses that are happening you can check it out here: African factory abuses claim hit Kate Hudson's fashion brand (mercurynews.com)