Category: General
Country: United States
By Haydn Davis
20th December 2023
PHNOM PENH: The American Apparel & Footwear Association has urged the Cambodian government to take action against the practice of child labour and the burning of mixed garment waste in the country’s brick kiln industry.
The letter from the AAFA follows a report from the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) which was based on visits to 21 brick factories in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, and the neighbouring province of Kandal, as well as interviews with workers.
It found pre-consumer garment waste including fabric, plastic, rubber and other materials from brands including Adidas, C&A, Disney, Gap, Lululemon, Primark, Reebok and Walmart, was being burned to save on fuel costs at seven factories.
A 2022 Greenpeace investigation also found that garments from leading brands such as Nike, Next, Ralph Lauren, Diesel and Michael Kors were identified at kilns, where workers had reported a number of health concerns, possibly due to the presence of dyes and chemicals on apparel.
The AAFA also references allegations that child labour, bonded labour and environmental degradation are prevalent in the country’s brick kiln industry.
“Our members value the strong, and growing, relationship with your country, which has risen to become the number three supplier of travel goods, the number four supplier of footwear, and the number six supplier of garments to the US market,” Stephen Lamar, president and CEO of the AAFA said in the letter.
“Our industry stands united against child labour, bonded labour, adverse health conditions, and environmental degradation. Just as important, our industry does not condone the practices described in these reports.”
The AAFA also called on the Cambodian government to implement a series of actions to help resolve the issue including re-doubling efforts to inspect brick kilns and ensure compliance with Cambodia’s labour and environmental laws; evaluating waste disposal pathways and ensuring compliance with all applicable waste disposal rules and regulations; and supporting initiatives to improve and expand Cambodia’s waste disposal system.
Further recommended measures include securing the release of bonded labourers in the brick kiln industry from their debt, making efforts to transfer any child labourers in the brick kiln industry to appropriate schooling, and to engage the International Labor Organization (ILO) and other international institutions to support the transitional to more responsible practices.
“Through our collective policies and practices, we work to prevent the illegal use of our branded products, or the waste generated from the production of our products, from being used in this manner,” the letter added. “We continue to engage our suppliers to better manage their textile waste.”
Courtesy: Ecotextile.com
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