$325,000 in Back Pay Secured at Collegiate Factory in Bangladesh

We are pleased to report that Cutter & Buck has committed to provide the equivalent of five months’ pay to 850 workers of a now-closed supplier of collegiate apparel in Bangladesh. This compensates workers for legally earned wages and severance that the factory, Base Textile, never paid them, and it fully resolves violations of university standards identified by the WRC.

The factory ceased operations without paying employees $325,000 in legally required wages, severance, and other benefits. The WRC’s investigation found that factory management stopped paying workers their wages on time and then unlawfully pressured workers to resign, so it could avoid paying them legally mandated severance after the factory closed.

The WRC communicated our findings concerning the factory’s violations of Bangladeshi law and university codes of conduct to Cutter & Buck and asked the university licensee to press the factory’s owners to pay workers the compensation they were legally owed. Because the factory’s owners could not be compelled to pay the workers, the WRC requested that Cutter & Buck provide sufficient funds to remedy the violations and make the workers whole, as required under university standards.

To its credit, Cutter & Buck agreed to provide workers the full amount they legally earned. Last week, this commitment was formalized in a memorandum of understanding between the WRC and Cutter & Buck. The agreement provides for the transfer of these funds from Cutter & Buck and their distribution to the workers in Bangladesh, under the coordination of the WRC.

We expect the distribution of these funds to be carried out over the next month, providing much-needed support to these workers and their families and ensuring that they receive the compensation they legally earned through their work. This case illustrates, once again, the crucial role of university standards and independent factory monitoring in protecting the rights and welfare of workers making collegiate apparel—especially when licensees act expeditiously to honor their obligations.

We will update you when the distribution to workers of the funds committed by Cutter & Buck has been completed. In the meantime, please let us know if you have any questions.