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JC Penney Backs Out of Promise to Help Families of Workers Who Died in Factory Fire
After the fire that killed 30 in Bangladesh at a factory where JC Penney clothing is manufactured.
You may recall that one week ago, clothing retailer JC Penney got the blogosphere all riled up with their printed tee for girls reading, “I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me.” Chances are that t-shirt, which has since been pulled from stock, was made in Bangladesh, where in December 2010 “a tragic and preventable fire at a factory claimed the lives of 30 workers” who spent their days making clothes for seven American companies: Abercrombie & Fitch, GAP Inc. (parent company of Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy), Target, Carters Inc. (owner of the brands Carters and Osh Kosh B’Gosh), the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (who make Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger), the VF Corporation (manufactures of The North Face and Wrangler and Lee jeans) and JC Penney, according to Change.org.
In January, all seven companies agreed to compensate the families of the workers who died in the fire — “a fire that could have been averted had the factory adhered to rigorous safety standards” — thanks to the efforts of Change.org members and the International Labor Rights Forum. Now, Change.org reports, JC Penney “has gone back on its promise to help — its team has walked away from the negotiating table.”
According to Change.org, “The only reason JC Penney is walking away from negotiations now is that they think no one will notice. They got their good press by promising to help, and now they’re breaking their word, free and clear. It’s imperative that we show them — and the other six companies still negotiating — that if they don’t follow through on their promise to fairly compensate the victims’ families and improve their fire safety, there will be consequences.”
This story hits home with me because I have purchased many clothing items for my daughter from both JC Penney and Target, but I don’t want to support this kind of mistreatment of laborers abroad. If you care about this issue and want to send JC Penney a message, namely that Americans want affordable clothing for their children that doesn’t insult our intelligence or kill foreign workers, sign this Change.org petition today, and spread the word.
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6 Comments
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Sep 07 11 at 2:27 pmWow, this response really contrasts with the one JCP got over the sexist sweatshirt. Look at all the outraged comments!
carolyncastiglia commented on Sep 07 11 at 2:35 pmRiiiight? Oy.
Manjari commented on Sep 07 11 at 2:45 pmHow sad. This is a real reason to shop somewhere else.
Amy commented on Sep 07 11 at 2:47 pmThat’s appalling. I signed the petition.
Whatevs commented on Sep 07 11 at 7:54 pmHoly shit JC Penney. I am so sick of bullshit like this. What a bunch of assholes.
JCP employee commented on Sep 09 11 at 3:59 pmThis article is incorrect. I work for JCP Corporate, and forwarded this to one of our executives to ask if it was true. It is not. On Facebook, JCP issued this official response to the accusations:
“Although JCPenney didn’t have production at the Hameem factory at the time of this tragic fire, at our urging, the factory’s owners and the Bangladesh government acted promptly and compassionately to address the needs of the workers and their families. JCPenney and other U.S. and European purchasers have funded, and are working aggressively to support, a joint effort by the Bangladesh apparel industry and government to implement improved fire safety standards to prevent future catastrophes.”
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