Action Kit: #VictoriasDirtySecret

The Brilliant Alliance Thai Global (Clover Lt’d)  factory closed in March of last year, leaving 1,388 unionized garment workers who sewed lingerie for Victoria’s Secret, Torrid, and Lane Bryant, jobless. On March 11, 2021,  workers arrived at the factory for their regular shift only to find the factory permanently closed. Many of these workers had sewn Victoria’s Secret products for 15 years. Even though the Thai government ruled that the factory must pay 242.22 million baht in compensation to the workers within 30 days, a year later, the workers haven’t received a penny. The money owed to Victoria’s Secret’s garment makers now amounts to a staggering $8.5 million. And this supposedly feminist brand has failed to take action, which is why we must call VS out for its dirty secret and demand they pay their workers!

TAKE ACTION: 

  1. Share Remake’s social media posts about Victoria’s Secret. Tag the brand and tell them to #PayYourWorkers. Use the hashtag #VictoriasDirtySecret as well.
  2. Comment on Victoria’s Secret social media posts and tell them to #PayYourWorkers. Use the hashtag #VictoriasDirtySecret as well.
  3. Email Victoria’s Secret executives using the template below.

EMAIL TEMPLATE — Victoria’s Secret

You can customize the email as needed. 

Dear Martin, Brooke, and the Victoria’s Secret Board of Directors,

As a brand that touts its “journey to become a leading advocate for women,” we as a community of consumers, models, designers, makers and advocates urge Victoria’s Secret to fulfill those goals and pay the women who make your bras.

The Brilliant Alliance Thai Global factory closed in March 2021, leaving 1,388 unionized garment workers who sewed lingerie for Victoria’s Secret without their jobs. On March 11, workers arrived at the factory for their regular shift only to find the factory permanently closed. Many of these workers have sewn Victoria’s Secret products for 15 years, both when it was called Body Fashion and then Brilliant Alliance.

The Thai government has ruled that the company has violated Thai labor law, ordering your supplier to pay the 242.22 million baht owed to the workers within 30 days. To date, the factory owner, Clover Global, has not paid a penny, and the amount owed is $8.5 million.

We ask that Victoria’s Secret immediately:

  • Ensures all Brilliant Alliance factory workers are paid their legally owed severance.
  • Commits to negotiating with unions to create an enforceable severance guarantee fund so that the women who bring your products to life never again face severance pay theft.

Your response to us will be put in the public domain. Victoria’s Secret scores 0/12 on its living wage commitment and a total of 6/150 in Remake’s 2021 Fashion Accountability Report. Ensuring the former Brilliant Alliance factory workers receive their legally owed severance will demonstrate Victoria’s Secret’s real commitment to the women who power your company. The media and our conscious shopper community is closely watching.

Sincerely,

(YOUR NAME)

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: