Victoria’s Secret pledges to investigate claims that its lingerie was made …

By
Victoria Wellman

Last updated at 8:55 PM on 16th December 2011

Victoria’s Secret has responded to allegations that child labour was used in the production of its underwear line.

An investigation by Bloomberg reported that children as young as ten had been working in the Burkina Faso cotton fields that supply fibres to factories used by the lingerie giant.

In a statement today Victoria’s Secret parent company Limited Brands Inc pledged to investigate the claims.

Clarisse Kambire, 13, holds a sack used for collecting fair trade organic cotton in Burkina Faso, the kind used to make Victoria’s Secret underwear

Tammy Roberts
Myers, Limited Brands Inc’s vice
president of external communications, said: ‘[The allegations] describe behaviour
contrary to our company’s values and the code of labour and sourcing
standards we require all of our suppliers to meet.

‘Our standards specifically
prohibit child labour. We are vigorously engaging with stakeholders to
fully investigate this matter.’

Bloomberg reporters spent several weeks in the West African land-locked country talking to impoverished children who have not only been working for free but have suffered gross mistreatment at the hands of their employers and families.

One child spoke of being whipped and denied food by the farmer for whom she works and another described the cousin who punished her for trying to sneak to school instead of going to work.

More than just cotton panties: A Victoria’s Secret advertisment

The accusations of child labour echo a 1996 scandal involving Nike. Even 16 years later, the sportswear brand is suffering the fallout, so Victoria’s Secret will surely move swiftly to resolve this issue.

Reactions among bloggers and fashion enthusiasts are divided though.

Many are frustrated and saddened by the news that children are still exploited at the hands of organisations serving large Third World corporations.

‘Very immoral of VS’, reads one comment on MailOnline’s original piece.

But others are quick to defend the
underwear brand opting to believe that Victoria’s Secret chiefs were
unaware of the brutal conditions and youth of the workforce.

Some even go so far as dismiss the claims as par for the course:

‘Educate yourself folks. This is nothing new. The exploitation of children is widespread. And it is all done to benefit you, the consumer. Happy holidays, everyone..’

In 2009 Victoria’s Secret launched their Valentine collection made from what was celebrated as ‘fair trade’ and organic cotton from Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso, where child labour is known to be endemic, recently ranked 181st out of 187 countries in the 2011 United Nations Human Development Index. 

In a description about the collection, this slogan appeared: ‘Good for women. Good for the children who depend on them.’

It’s no surprise that in the wake of these accusations reps are keen to investigate the claims and clear the lingerie goliath’s name.

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You can’t take glamour out of me: Neha Dhupia

Why can’t Pappu dance? Or is the title more symbolic?
I am happy you gave me the option ‘symbolic’ else I wouldn’t know how to answer your question (laughs). Well, the title is symbolic for the very reason that it’s trying to say there’s a pappu in each one of us. It is like one of those casual moments when we refer to someone saying ‘kya haal hai pappu‘. We have tried to bring out that pappuness in the film. I play the character of a backup dancer called Mehek Malvade who does not agree with the protagonist Vinay Pathak on some aspects. How they come together as neighbours is the gist of the story.

So is it a Vinay Pathak brand comedy?
It is primarily a comedy film but then drama is an essential element in every film, be it horror or action.

Did the onscreen comic chemistry translate into off-screen humour as well?
Certainly, at several instances! I remember of this one scene in particular where my character was required to slap Vinay Pathak. I was trying to not hit him hard but director Saurabh Shukla kept on telling me that the intensity in the scene is somewhere missing, so I must slap hard. I still couldn’t get myself to slap him hard. After several retakes, Vinay Pathak got somewhat annoyed and said ‘Your 15 mild slaps is more painful than one tight slap. So please slap me hard for once and get over with it’. It was a really funny episode and ended with that tight slap.

Are you consciously choosing comedy roles over glamourous ones?
You can’t take glamour out of Neha Dhupia (laughs). It’s hard! It’s just that I find relief in doing comic roles and it comes to me naturally.

But off-late we see you more often in small-budget independent cinema?
I don’t know why people have this notion but I have no such criteria to stick to small-budget films. I just look for flexibility that the character offers me as an actor and good scripts.

You also seem to be amongst the most popular cover girls around
Really? I don’t think that is true. But I must admit that I love being a part of the fashion fraternity. And perhaps my publicist is doing a great job!

You are also starting your lingerie line
It’s more of an e-commerce initiative. I’ll be starting websites for a lingerie line and a designer shoe line offering people a wide range to choose from.

You are not a part of the sequel to ‘Ek Chalis Ki Last Local’. Any regrets?
Ek Chalis Ki Last Local is a feather in my cap. It almost became a cult comedy. But the script usually demands that an actor not be repeated in the sequel. So it’s good that I am not a part of the sequel. We need to move on. I wish luck to director Sanjay Khanduri.

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