Tell Harvard to Join the WRC

Sign the petition below to add your name to our petition asking Harvard to join the WRC, the only monitor capable of ensuring apparel with Harvard's name on it is not made in sweatshops. For more info about the WRC, see our info section.

Dear President Summers,

We, the undersigned, are troubled by the continued use of sweatshop labor in the production of Harvard's signature apparel. Harvard clothing is made under appalling conditions, where workers are denied their basic rights. Harvard's own investigation into factory conditions - the 1999-2000 Independent University Initiative (IUI) - confirmed that "sub-par working conditions exist in apparel factories" that make Harvard clothing, including violations of wage laws, discrimination against women, exposure to dangerous chemicals and unsafe machinery, and denial of freedom of association for workers. Yet despite knowing of these conditions for over two years, Harvard has yet to take any action to remedy the situation and ensure that its clothing is produced in safe factories that pay their workers fairly and respect their rights.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, ask that Harvard join the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), an independent, non-profit factory monitoring organization that can effectively work to combat these grave injustices. Over 100 schools nationwide, including Ivy League universities such as Brown, Cornell, and Columbia, have already become members of the WRC, and we believe it is time for Harvard to join them.

Though they do not work on campus, the workers who manufacture Harvard apparel constitute the lowest-paid sector of Harvard's workforce, and Harvard cannot relinquish responsibility for their welfare. We ask that Harvard demonstrate its commitment to responsible and ethical business practices by joining the Worker Rights Consortium immediately.

Signed,

Name: Email: