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Fair-trade apparel company finds success at University Book Store

October 27, 2011 By Gillian Losh

One year after Alta Gracia, the largest fair-trade apparel company on campus, began selling University of Wisconsin–Madison apparel at the University Book Store, consumers continue to show their support for the brand and its fair-trade practices.

Knights Apparel created the brand in April 2010, named for Villa Altagracia, the town in the Dominican Republic where the company’s factory is located, to pioneer a new business model that gives workers a pathway out of poverty.

The “fair labor” model pays 130 unionized workers a wage of $114 per week, three times the local minimum wage of $33. The increase enables workers to provide adequate food, clean water, clothing, shelter, health care, childcare and education for themselves and their families — in short, a living wage.

Alta Gracia is one of three fair-trade lines currently available at the bookstore.

In the year since the bookstore began selling Alta Gracia, sales of $34.99 hooded sweatshirts and $15.99 T-shirts have been on par with other comparable merchandise such as Champion and Jansport, says Patrick McGowan, president of the University Book Store.

“Given the attitude on UW–Madison’s campus, it makes all the sense in the world that students here would embrace Alta Gracia as much, if not more so, than on other campuses across the country,” McGowan says.

Alta Gracia adheres to the UW–Madison apparel licensing code of conduct mandating humane standards of production, which originated from work by students and faculty in 1999 who were concerned with how Badger apparel was being produced, says Jane Collins, a community and environmental sociology professor.

Investing more in fair trade can improve worker skill and productivity, while also improving a company’s reputation, Collins says.

“If people start to associate Knights Apparel and Alta Gracia as something they can feel good about, it can translate into more sales,” Collins says.

Alta Gracia’s success at UW–Madison is part of growing consumer awareness of labor conditions, says Lydia Zepeda, a professor in human ecology.

“Fair trade is relatively new for most consumers, but interest is growing particularly when people know about the low wages and poor working conditions that garment workers experience,” Zepeda says.

One way to improve fair trade sales is by showing consumers the story behind fair trade factories, including the workers themselves and how fair wages made a difference in their lives, Zepeda says.

The University Book Store is working to increase awareness of Alta Gracia and free trade apparel on campus, and has increased signage and doubled floor space for the brand, McGowan says.

However, Alta Gracia’s journey has not been without challenges. A report from Georgetown revealed the company has faced serious challenges obtaining financing and the factory is producing at an unprofitable level of 40 percent capacity.

To combat these challenges, the company is working to increase signage, tabling at student events and its social media presence at UW–Madison and other campuses, Collins says.

UW–Madison has been a leader among colleges and universities working to curb sweatshop abuses in licensed-apparel manufacturing. The university has been persistent in its leadership on the issue and developed innovative policies, modeled by other universities across the country.

The university has contracts allowing more than 500 companies to make products bearing the university’s name or logos. The products are made in approximately 3,300 factories in 47 countries worldwide.

UW–Madison was the first university to end its licensing agreement with Nike over treatment of Honduran factory workers in 2010. Alta Gracia could represent a new era in fair trade apparel, Collins says

Kayla Martin, an intern for Alta Gracia, has been working with the Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC) to raise awareness for the fair labor brand at the University Book Store and other apparel stores on State Street.

Martin is working is working to build a coalition on campus with SLAC and other student organizations to connect local labor union issues in Wisconsin with international labor initiatives such as Alta Gracia. 

“Alta Gracia has a bright future at UW–Madison,” Martin says. “UW–Madison has the potential to become one of Alta Gracia’s strongest allies with our history of fighting for labor rights here and in Madison in general.”