Knights Apparel
Knights Apparel
In an industry often viewed with disdain by workers rights groups over a stigma of outsourcing, sweatshops and an overall lack of concern for worker’s rights, one company now seemingly stands alone as a beacon of hope. In 2005, Knights Apparel CEO, Joseph Bozich, set out to do something unheard of in the global apparel industry, he committed himself and the resources of his company to prove that an apparel company could make a profit while simultaneously improving the lives of its employees. The result of his idea was Alta Gracia Apparel, a collegiate clothing manufacturing company located in the Dominican Republic.
Struck by extreme economic strife, brought on by the widespread loss of the town’s only source of manufacturing jobs in 2007, the town of Villa Altagracia presented Bozich with ideal economic conditions for developing a first of its kind manufacturing facility. Foregoing the accepted industry standards that had helped to quell widespread opposition from labor groups, he instead opted to incorporate what he saw as a more humane and ethical measure of compensation for workers along with industry leading safety standards for all employees. To do this he enlisted the help of the Worker’s Rights Consortium (WRC), which helped identify what a fair “Living Wage” for employees in the region should be. Based on several economic factors including cost of living and the cost of health and child care, they ultimately determined that wages would need to be more than three times the minimum monthly wage required of corporations operating in the Dominican Republic.
It is this disparity in pay that typically attracts industries, such as apparel and textiles, to chase lower production costs by starting up facilities in impoverished nations where they can ultimately capitalize on an abundance of low cost labor. In doing so, I would immediately call into question the ethical foundation of any corporation that would knowingly and willingly seek
In an industry often viewed with disdain by workers rights groups over a stigma of outsourcing, sweatshops and an overall lack of concern for worker’s rights, one company now seemingly stands alone as a beacon of hope. In 2005, Knights Apparel CEO, Joseph Bozich, set out to do something unheard of in the global apparel industry, he committed himself and the resources of his company to prove that an apparel company could make a profit while simultaneously improving the lives of its employees. The result of his idea was Alta Gracia Apparel, a collegiate clothing manufacturing company located in the Dominican Republic.
Struck by extreme economic strife, brought on by the widespread loss of the town’s only source of manufacturing jobs in 2007, the town of Villa Altagracia presented Bozich with ideal economic conditions for developing a first of its kind manufacturing facility. Foregoing the accepted industry standards that had helped to quell widespread opposition from labor groups, he instead opted to incorporate what he saw as a more humane and ethical measure of compensation for workers along with industry leading safety standards for all employees. To do this he enlisted the help of the Worker’s Rights Consortium (WRC), which helped identify what a fair “Living Wage” for employees in the region should be. Based on several economic factors including cost of living and the cost of health and child care, they ultimately determined that wages would need to be more than three times the minimum monthly wage required of corporations operating in the Dominican Republic.
It is this disparity in pay that typically attracts industries, such as apparel and textiles, to chase lower production costs by starting up facilities in impoverished nations where they can ultimately capitalize on an abundance of low cost labor. In doing so, I would immediately call into question the ethical foundation of any corporation that would knowingly and willingly seek
References: Cendrowski, S. (2013). CAN OUTSOURCING BE IMPROVED? Fortune, 167(8), 14. Northam, J. (2013). CAN THIS DOMINICAN FACTORY PAY GOOD WAGES AND MAKE A PROFIT? Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/06/20/193491766/can-this-dominican-factory-pay-good-wages-and-make-a-profit