By Richard Mann – Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Fábula Confecção e Comércio de Roupas was found to be outsourcing the manufacture of A.Brand and Animale clothing to three workshops in São Paulo that kept Bolivians in slavery-like conditions, according to Brazil’s “dirty list.”
The “dirty list” is considered to be one of Brazil’s most effective measures against slave labor, and companies added to it are barred from access to credit from state banks or other public financial support.
While Fábula does not own the workshops audited, it is considered by labor inspectors to be the real employer, since the workshops took orders from the company and serviced only its brands.
“They were the ones setting the rules, so they have the responsibility,” Mauricio Krepsky, head of the Division of Inspection for the Eradication of Slave Labor, told Thomson Reuters.
Animale and A.Brand are two of the most well-known luxury brands owned by Grupo Soma, which owns Fábula. Soma has its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, employs nearly 5,000 people and had revenue of more than R$ 1.2 billion (US$ 312.28 million) in 2018, according to its website.
Grupo Soma released a statement saying that this was an isolated incident caused by a subcontractor that hired the workshops without their knowledge or consent.
“In 27 years, A.Brand and Animale never had a case of a direct supplier involved with any sort of work analogous to slavery,” the statement said.
The use of subcontractors by fashion companies is not unusual in Brazil, which boasts the fourth largest garment industry in the world in number of employees.
Throughout the industry, thousands of immigrant subcontractors from Bolivia and Paraguay sew clothes in small shops for national retailers.
Grupo Soma said it has not been found guilty of slavery in criminal courts and is seeking removal of Fábula’s name from the “dirty list.”
The company also said it has adopted practices to better monitor its supply chain, including hiring a company to audit suppliers weekly to check work practices.
Names are added to the “dirty list” after an internal government process that can take years. Once added, a name stays on the list for two years.
Nearly 190 companies are listed, most of them farms and construction companies.
At the São Paulo workshops, officials rescued ten Bolivians who were working twelve to fourteen hours a day and slept onsite, according to the labor inspector’s report.
They were paid about R$ 5,00 (US$ 1.30) for each piece of clothing made, which is then sold for as much as R$ 700,00 (US$ 182.00), the report said.
In Brazil, slavery is defined as forced labor but also covers debt bondage, degrading work conditions, long hours that pose a health risk, and work that violates human dignity.