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Kylie And Kendall Jenner Speak Out After Being Accused Of Failing To Pay Factory Workers

Photo credit: Kevin Tachman/MG19 - Getty Images
Photo credit: Kevin Tachman/MG19 - Getty Images

From ELLE

Kylie and Kendall Jenner have addressed reports that their fashion brand has failed to pay factory workers in Bangladesh.

On Thursday, the reality stars shared a statement on their Kendall + Kylie Instagram account explaining that the fashion brand has ‘no relationship’ with the company accused of not paying workers.

The sisters’ statement comes after the fashion watchdog Instagram account Diet Prada and ethical fashion website ReMake claimed that the fashion company Global Brands Group (GBG) wasn’t paying workers.

'We would like to address the unfortunate and incorrect rumour that Global Brands Group owns the Kendall + Kylie brand and that we have neglected to pay factory workers in Bangladesh as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,' the statement reads.

The Instagram accounts reported that GBG previously listed the Kendall + Kylie brand on its website. As a result, the famous duo state that their company is owned by a separate entity known as 3072541 Canada Inc.

'This is untrue,' they said, referencing the reports. 'The Kendall + Kylie brand is owned by 3072541 Canada Inc., not GBG,' the statement continues.

They say that their brand ‘has worked with CAA-GBG in the past, in a sales and business development capacity only’ and that they ‘do not currently have any relationship at all with GBG.'

'We know these are trying times for the fashion industry and garment workers as a whole, and we continue to support all of our partners working in factories who produce our products,' the statement added.

View this post on Instagram

/ Celebrities have joined the #PayUp group chat. (cc @kyliejenner, @kendalljenner, @diddy, @iamcardib) ⠀ In this pandemic, we do not need feel-good philanthropy from Kendall and Kylie Jenner, P. Diddy, and Cardi B. What we need, instead, is good business practices !!! ⠀ Kendall + Kylie, is owned by Global Brands Group, who refused to pay its garment suppliers for orders produced in February and March following a drop in sales caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “Given the unpredictability of the situation, our retail partners have cancelled orders, and existing inventory and product in production may have no sell-through. Consequently, we have no choice but to make the difficult decision to cancel all S/S 2020 orders from all suppliers (without liability),” wrote Rick Darling, CEO of Global Brands Group in a letter dated March 21, 2020. ⠀ However, the fact of the matter is that Global Brands Group does have a choice — it’s just choosing not to implement it. ⠀ Kylie and Kendall aren’t the only celebrity culprits allowed to distance themselves from this devastating truth. Also owned by Global Brands Group? ⠀ P. Diddy’s Sean Jean line. The irony here is difficult to overlook. Recently, P.Diddy launched #OurFairShare, a platform to help minority entrepreneurs access funds in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is admirable. ⠀ But we talked to an entrepreneur in Bangladesh, Mostafiz Uddin, of Denim Experts, who runs a sustainable denim factory. Global Brands Group owes him hundreds of thousands of dollars for products his workers made + shipped in February. ⠀ In April, he pleaded w/ Global Brands Group, “Here my workers are hungry, they are being agitated, they are very angry. I have promised them to pay wages. So please please make my payment.” We would hope that P.Diddy, who cares about #COVID19’s disproportionate impact on Black + Brown people, would ensure that his line does the same. Seems only fair.

A post shared by 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 (@remakeourworld) on Jun 11, 2020 at 5:58am PDT

'We manufacture in countries all over the world and have not received any concerns from the factories who produce our goods,' it concluded.

ReMake has previously claimed that GBG hadn’t paid suppliers for orders produced in February and March on Instagram.

In their latest report, ReMake stated that GBG had cancelled all SS 2020 orders and was refusing to pay workers for orders.

In March, Rick Darling, CEO of Global Brands Group, wrote in a letter:

‘Given the unpredictability of the situation, our retail partners have cancelled orders, and existing inventory and product in production may have no sell-through.

Consequently, we have no choice but to make the difficult decision to cancel all S/S 2020 orders from all suppliers (without liability).

ReMake subsequently claimed that GBG does have a choice but that it is 'just choosing not to implement it'.

A representative for Kylie and Kendall has reportedly told Diet Prada, via an e-mail: 'The brand is owned by 3072541 Canada Inc. not GBG and we are not currently producing in Bangladesh using Global Brands Group.'

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REPOSTING because we couldn’t edit the original any further and y’all seemed to get a kick out of Kylie juxtaposed with “Former ‘billionaire’” lol. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We’ve been contacted by reps from @kendallandkylie who’ve refuted the allegations that the brand is not paying its factories, as reported in multiple media outlets over the last week. They stated the following in an e-mail: “The brand is owned by 3072541 Canada Inc. not GBG and we are not currently producing in Bangladesh using Global Brands Group.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As of now, Global Brands Group still lists Kendall + Kylie under their “Brands” section on their website. It’s unclear at what point they may have changed licensees and manufacturers. A quick search of 3072541 Canada Inc. led to a closed business page, but searching in conjunction with “Kendall and Kylie” you’ll find ties to the brand. Some early press from 2015, and some 2018 legal filings from a lawsuit filed by a photographer against the sisters for using Tupac Shakur’s image—remember that? Never forget that they printed their own faces and logos over photos of deceased iconic musicians and tried to charge $125 for them lol, but anyways… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We’re awaiting comment from Mostafiz Uddin, a manufacturer for Global Brands who has been very vocal in the news the past week about his cancelled orders. Dieters, what are your thoughts? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • #kendallandkylie #kendallxkylie #kyliejenner #payup #kendalljenner #kylieskin #kyliecosmetics #highgloss #dietprada

A post shared by Diet Prada ™ (@diet_prada) on Jun 23, 2020 at 4:39pm PDT

The account added that it is ‘awaiting comment from Mostafiz Uddin, a manufacturer for Global Brands who has been very vocal in the news the past week about his cancelled orders’.

On June 24, the sisters’ company logo was removed from the CAA-GBG website, according to ReMake.

‘CAA-GBG is the Brand Management Division of Global Brands Group (GBG) and does not design or manufacture any product for Kendall + Kylie,’ a statement from GBG read at the time.

ELLE UK has reached out to Global Brands Group for comment.

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