Playing Fair

Twice a year, Fair Indigo executives visit each factory with which they do business. They also regularly have the factories audited, demanding proof that the workers making their clothing are paid well beyond the accepted minimum wages and are happy in their work environment.

Executives from most apparel sellers try to meet the legal minimums, Bass says. “They tell factories, ‘I need you to take $0.05 off the price or I’m pulling my business.’ And the cost cuts needed only come from labor wage reductions. So when apparel marketers do this,” he points out, “they’re negotiating the workers’ wages down. Their only concern is to avoid what Kathy Lee Gifford faced.” (The former “Live With Regis & Kathy Lee” star caused a major stir nearly a decade ago when it was discovered that some of the clothes sold under her label were made by children in a Honduran sweat shop.)