Champion Products Inc., Harvard's largest licensed apparel manufacturer, announced yesterday that it will comply with University demands to disclose all locations of its factories producing collegiate clothing.
The announcement marked an abrupt reversal for Champion, which for six months refused Harvard's request to release the names and locations of the company's overseas factories.
"We thought [Champion] had to do it and they came around and saw things our way," said University attorney Allan A. Ryan Jr.
The company pledged to release the sites by early January 2000.
The announcement came barely two weeks after a similar commitment by Gear for Sports, Harvard' s second largest licensee.
Champion decided on a policy of full disclosure after student activists across the country accused the company of manufacturing clothing in sweatshop conditions, said Peggy C. Carter, a Champion spokesperson.
"They made this an issue for our customers," Carter said. "We wanted to reassure them of our commitment to fair practices."
The Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) spearheaded the anti-sweatshop campaign on the Harvard campus. PSLM sponsored the "Rally for Justice" last March. At that rally, the University announced it would demand its licensees reveal the names and locations of the factories where its clothing was manufactured.
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