Posted Date: 10/5/2010
Maggie's Organics Launches Fair Labor-Certified Clothing Line
Ypsilanti, MI-based Maggie's Organics reports that it is now the first manufacturer in the world to sell clothing that is independently certified to a new standard for Fair Labor Practices and Community Benefits.
Maggie's sweatshop-free clothes are available in hundreds of stores across the United States and Canada, and also on many websites -- including Maggie's home page at www.maggiesorganics.com.
The Fair Labor Practices and Community Benefits Certification was issued by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), an independent monitor that inspected every stage of Maggie's production chain, from the growing of organic cotton and ginning and spinning the crop fabric into fabric in Nicaragua, to cutting and sewing garments in Costa Rica, to screen printing, office and warehouse operations in Michigan.
Criteria investigated by SCS include: hiring, wages, working conditions, hours of work, freedom of association and freedom to organize, and access to housing, health care and transportation.
U.S. and Central American business partners who were certified as part of Maggie's Fair Labor apparel chain include: Aprenic, an organic cotton growers' association in rural Nicaragua; Coproexnic, a cotton gin cooperative in Nicaragua; Genesis, a new worker-owned spinning mill also in Nicaragua; CIA Textiles, a family-owned knitting, cutting and sewing factory in Costa Rica; and VG Kids, a silkscreen and design shop located near Maggie's Organics in Ypsilanti.
"This wasn't just, you know, fill out some forms and we'll give you a sticker," says Maggie's founder and CEO Bená Burda. "SCS was extremely rigorous. They looked at every aspect of our production process on two continents, including our office operations in Michigan."
for more information: www.scscertified.com, www.maggiesorganics.com