Celebrity Sweatshops Under Fire

NEW YORK CITY: Talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford may accomplish more for exploited workers in a few months than the International Ladies Garment Workers Union could over several years. Disclosures that Gifford's line of clothing for Wal-Mart was made in part by Honduran child laborers and underpaid New York immigrants have lawmakers clamoring for a crackdown on sweatshops. A Honduran teenager who worked in a plant making Kathie Lee Gifford pants joined Democratic Representative George Miller at a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday to ask Hollywood and retailers to stop labor exploitation. "Celebrities hide behind retailers, retailers hide behind contractors, and they hide behind subcontractors," said Miller. Gifford has since severed ties with the Honduran plant. Miller called on retailers and other celebrities like Cheryl Teigs and Andre Agassi to follow her example, warning that Congress might have to step in if businesses don't stop the exploitation themselves. Congressional intervention may be necessary to address the problem, reports TIME's Elaine Rivera: "Loopholes in federal laws are what allows the practice to flourish. A manufacturer like Wal-Mart hires a contractor, who hires undocumented workers under horrible conditions. The manufacturer pays the contractor, who is responsible for worker wages. No federal laws hold him accountable." In the Gifford incident, Wal-Mart pleaded ignorant, saying it did not know of the contractor's abusive practices. After shedding many tears and not a few dollars over the sweatshop revelations, Gifford seems determined to make amends. On Friday she plans to speak with Labor Secretary Robert Reich to suggest ways to increase surveillance of clothing manufacturers.