‘Passive’: Brand Ivanka’s approach to overseas workers’ rights
While other US brands ramp up oversight of conditions in their overseas factories, the first daughter of America’s company appears to be sitting pretty in the back seat
On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump stood in front of the United States Capitol and vowed that his “America First” agenda would bring jobs back to the US.
“We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs,” he declared, adding: “We will follow two simple rules – buy American and hire American.”
Looking on from the front of the stage was Trump’s daughter Ivanka, the celebrity and fashion entrepreneur who would soon join him in the White House. The first daughter’s cause would be improving the lives of working women, a theme she had developed at her clothing line. She also brought a direct link to the global economy the president was railing against – a connection that was playing out at that very moment on the Pacific coast.
As the Trumps stood on stage, the Ho Chi Minh, a hulking container ship belonging to a Hong Kong-based container shipping firm, was pulling into the harbour of Long Beach, California, carrying about 500 pounds of foreign-made Ivanka Trump spandex-knit blouses. Another 10 ships hauling Ivanka Trump-branded shoes, cardigans and leather handbags bound for the US were floating in the north Pacific and Atlantic oceans and off the coasts of Malta, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and Yemen.
Those global journeys – along with millions of pounds of Ivanka Trump products imported into the US in more than 2,000 shipments since 2010 – illustrate how her business practices collide with some of the key principles she and her father have championed in the White House.
And while Ivanka Trump published a book this spring declaring that improving the lives of working women is “my life’s mission”, her company lags behind many in the apparel industry when it comes to monitoring the treatment of the largely female workforce employed in factories around the world.