American models and reality TV stars Kendall and Kylie Jenner’s clothing brand, Kendall + Kylie, has responded to accusations of failing to pay factory workers in Bangladesh amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The claims originated in an article published in Remake on June 1, which reported that the company Global Brands Group (GBG) had refused to pay its garment suppliers in Bangladesh for orders manufactured in February and March following a drop in sales caused by the Covid-19 crisis, reports People Magazine.
GBG listed Kendall + Kylie on its portfolio of affiliated brands, though this listing has since been removed, said the article.
On Thursday, the brand issued a statement on its official Instagram account, where it said the claims were “untrue” and it is not owned by the GBG, the article noted.
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"We would like to address the unfortunate and incorrect rumor 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 on Instagram said.
"This is untrue," the statement continued. "The Kendall + Kylie brand is owned by 3072541 Canada Inc., not GBG. The brand has worked with CAA-GBG in the past in a sales and business development capacity only, but we do not currently have any relationship at all with GBG," the post also said on Friday.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Kendall + Kylie (@kendallandkylie) on Jul 2, 2020 at 6:18pm PDT
"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 the factories who produce our products. We manufacture in countries all over the world and have not received any concerns from the factories who produce our goods," the Instagram post concluded.
Kylie Cosmetics, in a separate Instagram, post also issued a response in the comments section addressing the claim against the Kendall + Kylie brand, the report added.
"There is a rumor that some people are perpetuating online, which is unfortunate. The Kendall and Kylie CLOTHING BRAND does NOT MANUFACTURE anything in Bangladesh and 'Kendall and Kylie' is NOT CURRENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH GLOBAL BRAND GROUP. We feel terrible that this problem exists, but this rumor regarding the Kendall and Kylie clothing brand is completely untrue," Kylie Cosmetics wrote, the report added.
The report further said about a week before, the clothing brand issued the statement, which Remake added as an update to the original article.
“Remake has been petitioning Global Brands Group (who listed KENDALL + KYLIE as an affiliated label on their website until yesterday, 6/23/20), for refusing to pay garment workers for cancelled orders produced in February and March,” the June 24 update read. “Yesterday, we received word from a KENDALL + KYLIE representative that the label does not have ‘current’ orders with Global Brands Group and will pursue legal action if we didn’t remove our posts and apologize.
“To this we must ask: Do KENDALL + KYLIE know who their suppliers are? And can they confirm that the women who sew their clothing line have been paid during the coronavirus crisis?” the statement continued.
“Until we receive clear answers from the KENDALL + KYLIE team and are given proof that they have paid garment makers, we will continue to investigate. We have also invited the KENDALL + KYLIE team to dialogue with us to learn more about the women who bring their label to life,” the report concluded.
