As one of fashion’s preeminent trade groups, the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) pens a lot of statements—most of which it publishes on its website.
A September missive to the Cambodian government was notable for several reasons, however. For one thing, it was the second letter in just as many months expressing the organization’s “serious concerns” about the Ministry of Interior’s ongoing—and many say retaliatory—investigation into the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, the Phnom Penh-based workers’ rights organization better known as CENTRAL. For another, it listed 19 signatories, including top-flight brands such as Adidas, American Eagle Outfitters, Gap Inc., Puma, Tommy Hilfiger parent PVH Corp. and The North Face owner VF Corp.
“It appears that the government’s investigation and document requests of CENTRAL [are] in reaction to their June report,” said the statement, referring to a critique of Better Factories Cambodia (BFC), an International Labour Organization (ILO)-backed program designed to improve working conditions in the country’s garment sector, for failing to identify breaches of workers’ rights.
