From the Mailbag: Is Aeropostale ‘Charity-Washing’ for Haiti?
In the spirit of our February commenting contest, we want to draw attention to one of the many thoughtful messages we have received from E.S. readers over the past year and a half. (Yes, this week marks our 1.5 year anniversary!)
This one comes from Roe at YesHoneyChyle.com in response to our post about Aeropostale’s denim drive for Haiti:
Do you think Aeropostale is really doing something ethical or that they might be “charity-washing” themselves to gain more buyers and creating marketing ties in a country they didn’t have before (Haiti)? And if Aeropostale uses cheap sweat-shop labor to make their products and ships that product to a country without jeans, is it still considered benevolence?
It’s a great question.
In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale’s parent corporation, admitted it used sweatshop labor in its manufacturing and settled in a landmark $22-million class action lawsuit on behalf of factory workers in Saipan. Since then, allegations of unethical labor policies have quieted down, but it’s worth noting that Abercrombie’s history (and, by extension, Aeropostale’s) isn’t so squeaky clean.
We can certainly see the contradiction in a company sending relief supplies to one impoverished country while employing cheap labor in another. How about you? Do you think Aeropostale is sincere in its campaign to help Haitians?

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Amy from 
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) has 

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