Beyonce range made ‘in sweat shops in Sri Lanka’
By The Telegraph - 16 May 2016
BEYONCE’S new range of women’s sportswear is allegedly made using sweat shop labourers who earn as little as £4.30 (R94.60) a day.
The US pop star’s Ivy Park gym gear is sold by Top Shop, which has outlets in South Africa.
It was reported yesterday that the range – which Beyonce said she hoped would “support and inspire women” – is made by Sri Lankan seamstresses.
Workers are paid more than the legal minimum, but campaigners described the labour as a form of sweat shop slavery.
One machinist told The Sun newspaper: “When they talk about women and empowerment, this is just for the foreigners.”
A seamstress said she earned 18 500 rupees (R1 950) a month, which is about half the average wage, for a 9¾ hour shift, five days a week, plus overtime.
