Support the Designated Suppliers Program

The Issue:

Like most clothing, Penn State apparel is produced in sweatshops. The workers who make our apparel endure starvation wages, long hours, forced overtime, and dangerous working conditions. Most are women and children who suffer mental, physical, and sexual abuse. If they try to assert their basic rights, workers are fired, terrorized, beaten, kidnapped, and murdered.

We know this because the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC)--two monitoring agencies affiliated with Penn State--are going into factories where Penn State apparel is being made and are reporting these human rights violations.

The Solution:

Penn State must adopt the Designated Suppliers Program. The DSP would guarantee that university apparel is produced in factories where workers enjoy living wages and are afforded the right to organize unions.

The DSP would not close factories or take people's jobs. In fact, the program promotes job security by empowering universities to provide a constant flow of business to factories where workers' rights are respected.

The DSP simply raises the standards for the workers who are producing Penn State apparel.

The Problem:

Sadly, Graham Spanier's administration refuses to support the DSP. If you'd like to hear their arguments, you can read Dr. Spanier's letter to our organization: http://live.psu.edu/story/28955

If you'd like to hear the truth, read our response:
http://www.safeguardoldstate.org/articles/2008/02/25/student-against-sweatshops-respond-to-spaniers-letter/