Russell Athletic faces student protests
Sports brand Russell Athletic has suffered a series of set-backs after its decision to close a garment factory in Honduras at the end of January led to student protests in the US.
Student groups have pointed to a report by independent labour rights monitoring group the Workers' Rights Consortium, which has alleged that a decision to close the Jerzees de Honduras factory in the town of Choloma was partly motivated by anti-union sentiment. Russell Athletic has denied this, saying it took the decision for economic reasons alone.
Nevertheless, at least 13 US universities, including five of the so-called Big Ten, have decided not to renew, and in some cases to withdraw immediately from, contracts with the company to supply sweatshirts, T-shirts and other items of clothing under licence.
The New York Times has reported that the clothing company, a subsidiary of Fruit of the Loom, which is part of the Berkshire Hathaway group, has acknowledged "management mistakes" in handling the situation in Honduras and has vowed to improve its corporate social responsibility processes.
Choloma is reported to have the fastest growing economy in Honduras, with textile factories providing an important proportion of industrial growth. The 1,800 Jerzees de Honduras employees will, therefore, have some hope of securing work for other companies locally.
