Update on Badger Case

In the communication we sent you earlier this week concerning production of apparel for the collegiate licensee, Badger Sport, in a factory employing detainees from a forced labor internment center in China, we noted that Badger also owns three other brands of athletic apparel, named Alleson Athletic, Garb Athletic, and Teamwork Athletic. Although Badger is a university licensee, these other Badger-owned brands are not. It is important to clarify that Garb Athletic, the non-collegiate brand owned by Badger, is unrelated to Garb Inc., a collegiate licensee producing children and youth apparel. Garb Inc. has no connection to Badger or to the events in China. An updated version of our communication clarifying these relationships can be found here.

The WRC continues to seek further information from Badger concerning the production of collegiate apparel at the Chinese factory that employs the detainees from the forced labor facility, including an explanation for Badger’s previous failure to disclose this factory to universities as among its suppliers, and how this factory could have been certified by the industry auditing scheme that Badger relied on, Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), as complying with labor rights standards.

In a notable development since our last communication, the US government has announced that it has initiated a review of the case. US Customs and Border Protection stated that the Associated Press’s report “for the first time appears to link the internment camps identified in Western China to the importation of goods produced by forced labor by a U.S. company.” Customs and Border Protection is charged with enforcement of US laws that prohibit the importation of forced-labor-made goods.

We will update you as more information becomes available.

Sincerely,

Scott Nova
Executive Director
Worker Rights Consortium
[email protected]