WASHINGTON -Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is the latest celebrity to feel the heat of the anti-sweatshop movement, as charges that his “Sean John” T-shirts were being manufactured under inhumane conditions burst onto to the TV news. Combs, whose “Shake Ya Tail Feather” has been shaking up the pop charts, denied any knowledge that workers at the Choloma, Honduras, factory that makes his company’s clothing were mistreated.
“I want to make sure that any merchandise that has my name on it is made by workers who are treated well,” he told the press.
We can take him at his word, but what to do? According to workers at the factory and the U.S.-based National Labor Committee, the 380 employees lack basic rights. Fourteen were fired for trying to organize a union, they say, and women are dismissed if they are pregnant. They also complain of forced overtime and being limited to only two bathroom breaks a day. Wages are between 65 and 98 cents an hour, which activists say comes to about 15 cents of labor costs for a shirt that sells for $40 in New York.
This problem of ruthlessly exploited sweatshop labor is worldwide and has spawned an international movement. Market research indicates that most Americans would be willing to pay considerably more for clothing -28 percent more on a $10 item, according to one survey – that is manufactured under good conditions. But their opportunity to do so has so far been limited.
Combs, who ran the New York City Marathon on Sunday, now faces another challenge that would allow him to lead by example. He could require that his supplier recognize the union, reinstate the workers fired for organizing and concede to the worker’s’ very modest demands on wages and working conditions. And he could announce that other clothing manufacturers should do the same. Now that would really shake some tail feathers.

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