Walmart and Centric Brands are investigating their supply chains in Cambodia over allegations that inmates at the country’s largest women’s prison were illegally employed to produce garments for export, following questions posed by Reuters and inquiries from a U.S. industry group about labour practices there.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) wrote to Cambodia’s ambassador to Washington, Keo Chhea, in November, expressing “strong concerns regarding credible reports” that inmates at Correctional Center 2 (CC2), near Phnom Penh, were producing garments and other textile products for export, including to the U.S., as part of a rehabilitation program.
Details of this and a subsequent letter from AAFA in February pressing Cambodian officials on the matter, both reviewed by Reuters, are being reported for the first time. Neither letter named the companies allegedly involved.
