Rip Curl clothing has been made at the North Korean factory near the capital of Pyongyang since at least July 2014. The company has admitted that one of its winter collections was manufactured in North Korea, but passed off as made in China. Apparently, the supplier shifted the manufacturing of the garments to a North Korean facility without the approval of Rip Curl, but were aware of the swap before media had reported it.

According to travel writer Anjaly Thomas, she saw Rip Curl clothing being made at the Pyongsong Taedonggang Factory. Apparently, slave-like conditions prevailed at the factory.

Rip Curl’s Chief Financial Officer Tony Roberts said in a statement the company does not authorize production in North Korea.

We were aware of this issue, which related to our Winter 2015 Mountain-wear range, but only became aware of it after the production was complete and had been shipped to our retail customers.

This was a case of a supplier diverting part of their production order to an unauthorised subcontractor, with the production done from an unauthorised factory, in an unauthorised country, without our knowledge or consent, in clear breach of our supplier terms and policies.

We do not approve or authorise any production of Rip Curl products out of North Korea.

Anjaly Thomas detailed her visit on her blog:

The three floors of a large factory building was working full swing, with women in uniforms, bent over the machines under slow rotating fans, reducing yards of material into jackets and pants, expertly sowing, stitching together what would later sell for quite a sum in the western market.

The workers are paid very little and often as food coupons to be en-cashed at [government] run stores for rice and corn and very little cash comes to them.

While there are many clothing brands that make the use of child labour to produce garments and no one can be sure how who thy are, we should definitely buy local.

[source: mashable]