A charity has taken the unusual step of placing messages in Asda
clothing detailing the supermarket chain’s track record on factory
workers’ pay.
Asda, the UK-based retailer owned by Walmart, which has made a concerted
effort on CSR and labour rights issues in recent years, is accused by
the international anti-poverty charity ActionAid of a ‘lamentable record
on paying poverty wages to factory workers in developing countries’.
The accusation is made in notes placed in the pockets of clothing items.
Under ActionAid’s campaign, any customer finding a message will receive
an ActionAid T-shirt and entry into a draw to win fair trade products.
So far thousands of clothing items have been ‘tagged’ at Asda’s UK
stores.
Asda has denied Action Aid’s accusations, saying: ‘Experts who
understand the issue know that the situation of workers in the Asian
sub-continent is served best by intelligent action that improves factory
conditions in a structured and sustainable way.
