A new report alleges that REI uses contractors that violate labor and human rights in Southeast and East Asia and Central America.
The investigative study was done by Students for International Labor Solidarity and the Labor Center at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The report was produced in response to complaints that were raised by workers “concerning serious and pervasive violations of labor rights in the supply chain of REI.” Titled, “Beneath REI’s Green Sheen, Union Busting, Debt Bondage and Partnership with Eco-Criminals,” the report was several months in the making, according to Katie Nguyen, a national organizer for SILS.
Poor working conditions and violations of workers’ rights were described as “widespread” at REI’s supplier factories and forced labor allegations included workers from Thailand and Vietnam in a Taiwan bicycle factory paying “exorbitant recruitment” and “anti-escape fees,” which led to debt bondage. There were also claims of forced overtime in a China factory, sub-poverty wages, discrimination against pregnant and postpartum women by apparel suppliers in El Salvador.
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The report also calls into question REI’s partnership with the Taiwanese company Formosa Taffeta, which continues four years after the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund announced its divestment from Formosa Taffeta due to labor rights abuses.
Asked to comment about the allegations in the report, a spokesperson for REI Co-op issued the following statement: “We operate a large, complex global supply chain and are deeply committed to holding all our supply partners to the highest standards of accountability. When possible, issues arise, as they sometimes do in such an intricate network, we act swiftly and decisively to address them and ensure alignment with our values and expectations. We are also engaged in advocacy efforts aimed at preventing any of these practices at a systemic level.“
The statement continued, “REI condemns all forms of worker exploitation. We believe everyone should have a working environment that is inclusive, safe, fair, and nondiscriminatory. Our goal is to extend our values into the supply chain by working with suppliers to implement industry-leading practices.”
Asked if the company will continue to work with the suppliers referenced in the report, the spokesperson said, “We regularly audit our supply chain and proactively engage manufacturers to address any issues. We are aware of and have taken action to address many of the allegations outlined in the report, some of which date back 10 years. As noted in the report, we have already ended our relationship with a number of those suppliers.”
The spokesperson also highlighted REI’s Factory Code of Conduct, which was first implemented in 1993. That material also flagged REI being committed to the Social & Labor Convergence Program among other things. The company also touted its commitment to continuous improvement by “enhancing transparency, strengthening oversight, and ensuring robust mechanisms are in place to protect our workers and ensure all are treated with dignity and respect.“
Recapping some of the concerns highlighted in the research, Nguyen alleged that REI sources from factories with “horrific abuses, including forced labor, sub-poverty wages, forced overtime, discrimination against women, precarious contracts, and retaliation against unionized workers.” She also claimed that REI promotes itself as a socially and environmentally responsible company, and challenged its claims of domestic production as “misleading,” and the company has never reported a single instance of remedy for workers.
The report primarily draws upon publicly posted worker testimonies and reports. Researchers didn’t set out to conduct worker interviews and don’t have information for every REI supplier factory. Nguyen suggested that “the cases of mistreatment that are summarized in the report are only the tip of a very large iceberg whose bulk remains hidden.”
Ngyuen criticized REI’s “strategic supplier” partnership with Formosa, due to “environmental and labor violations, fatal workplace accidents, and complicity in the silencing, imprisonment, and persecution of activists and journalists who sought accountability.” Referring to the overseas supplier Giant Manufacturing in Taiwan, she claimed migrant workers face overcrowded and unsanitary housing, excessive overtime, and threats of deportation. The SILS representative also alleged that the supplier Dong-In Entech K1 in the Philippines was involved with union-busting by exploiting short-term contracts to undermine worker power, illegally transferring hundreds of workers to a new non-union facility, and ultimately firing all 132 union members, leaving them jobless and silencing organized labor, while REI continued sourcing from its replacement non-union plant.
