S*n’s claims re ‘Corbyn’ t-shirts – and the reality

The S*n has published a story claiming workers producing ‘Corbyn’ t-shirts are being paid only 55p an hour for their labour – in fact, once you get beyond the headline, the t-shirts in question are made for Momentum, not for Jeremy Corbyn.

Of course, you should never assume anything in a S*n article is true, but predictably, right-wingers are using the claim as fact and trying to smear the Labour leader with it, even though he has nothing to do with where Momentum sources its t-shirts:

The right, of course, is in chaos and desperate enough to use anything to smear Corbyn. But even though it’s nothing to do with him, it would be troubling were Momentum to be knowingly selling t-shirts produced by underpaid workers.

However, there’s no indication at all that Momentum had any idea. The t-shirt manufacturer, Rapanui, advertises its products as ethically sourced, so if the S*n’s claims were true Momentum would be victims of false advertising.

The SKWAWKBOX contacted Rapanui and received the following comment:

It’s not correct. In the article, they admit that actually the factory is certified to SA8000 and does indeed pay more than the minimum wage.

You can read about that standard here http://www.sa-intl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=168

We also have some more info here: https://teemill.com/teemill-values/

The linked site contains information about the company’s ethical sourcing and then addresses the S*n smear directly:

According to Social Accountability International, the organisation that administers the auditable SA8000 certification,

The SA8000® Standard is the leading social certification standard for factories and organizations across the globe.

SA8000 includes working conditions and pay in its certification:

GOTS is the ‘Global Organic Textile Standard’, which is primarily concerned with ensuring the status of materials and products that claim to be organic. However, it also has a long list social criteria that certified producers must meet, including:

So, we have Momentum buying from an ethical supplier, who in turn buys from a certified ethical producer – and none of it involving Jeremy Corbyn anyway.

Or you’ve got the S*n’s click-bait – and a bunch of right-wingers desperate enough to grasp at even the most faeces-covered straw if they think they can use it to smear Labour and its leader.

Which to believe? Tough one…

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