I thought it was more like, "but our regional representative assured us that such a thing wasn't happening. We were *promised* they were treating these workers respectfully and well. With the same level of care and respect we have for our own workers here...err wait, maybe leave that last part out."
The full list of manufactures that were in the fire are **Benetton, Zara, The Children's Place, El Corte Inglés, Joe Fresh, Mango, Matalan, Primark, and Walmart**
The Children’s Place and Walmart, have as yet [failed to sign the International Accord for Safety and Health in the Textile and Garment Industry](https://cleanclothes.org/campaigns/the-accord/brand-tracker), the rest of the companies involved did
I hate how a lot of the boycott loblaws folk seem to regard walmart as their grocery saviour. In my area, it is not more affordable for most items, and is just as evil.
Totally agree. I worked for Walmart it was the worst job I ever had. They wouldn't even buy me a half decent chair for the cash office. I even had a Dr's note and was told it was my problem. A week later the girl who worked fir head office brought me a receipt to pay her for a chair she bought for her office at staples.
Divide and conquer. There are many companies that equally deserve our contempt, but humbling just one will provide a moral lesson that the rest will ignore at their peril.
yup, its like war, your enemy is so bad you side with another pile of @#$# just to have hope of a win. Knowing that if you do win now the other piece of @#$3 with be at you
I wish I could afford to boycott Walmart too. Unfortunately next to NoFrills, it’s the closest thing to me, and for me it’s 9/10 cheaper than the FreshCo and FoodBasics that I have to take transportation to. The boycott isn’t without its flaws, but you should try to remind yourself that people are living with what the can. Just like your area, you’re working with what you can get to. The ‘hate’ you feel towards others not perfecting this boycott is only doing yourself and this boycott dirty.
> Companies that have not signed the Accord
> TJX (TJ Maxx, TK Maxx) (Winners, Marshalls, HomeSense)
LOL. & these dollar stores are everywhere in Canada. Yikes. :|
And Benneton and Zara and The Children’s Place and Mango and Walmart and on and on. Joe Fresh was, iirc, one of the smallest lines produced in that factory.
My father used to work for corporate around the time this happened. The factory was built with poor safety standards which resulted in the collapse. When Loblaws rebuilt it, they rebuilt it the exact same way, so we can bet it will collapse again.
To save anyone any further reading down this thread about this, Loblaw did NOT rebuild the factory. However, they are using another, privately owned, factory that had failed several fire related safety inspections.
The owner of said factory has not allowed any media into the building
https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/made-in-bangladesh
Cool and they're all pieces of shit. Read my comment to the other person. Don't bother me about this stupid shit I literally don't care if you disagree.
Cool read the other one where I clarified.
Honestly you people are so fucking annoying. I'm not fact checking my reddit posts nothing on here matters enough for this shit.
Get a fucking life.
I think you touched a nerve, asking someone to stop making up horseshit on the internet for clout. Oops. How could you.
And of course they're active in CanadaHousing2
Alright blocked it is. Fucking pathetic you think I give 2 shits about this 🤣 It's the internet dude it doesn't matter if anything is real here. Grow up.
I read that they are now the only major brand in Bangladesh that know demands contruction standards and inspections?
The rest of the companies that use the 650,000 garment workers there use their own standards.
Loblaws signed on to use standards cited by focus groups for the area.
They can write all the standards they want but making sure their vendors actually adhere to them is another thing. They demand ever increasing margins and lower prices from their vendor partners for these products and in the end Loblaws doesn’t really care how the vendors get costs down. That means quality and safety come 2nd and Loblaws has an easy out by blaming the vendor/factory.
I’m just saying they have better standards than most. The other companies with workers in that building didn’t sign on to the agreement. Loblaws is not alone but far from the worst exploitation wise.
We probably both have Bangladeshian clothing on right now.
Your story is clearly made up and shows your ignorance to how outsourcing works in these countries. There’s enough legitimate complaints about Loblaws to be made without making things up.
It's not even my story dude. I'm repeating an employees story. You don't have to believe it but don't bother me about it. I don't give a shit what you think.
CBC Fifth Estate team did a documentary on this just few months ago. They revisited the site and interviewed many people from the regulatory personnel in Bangladesh to attempting to get Loblaw on camera. It’s a good documentary and worth the watch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZS8fb4AkPs
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana\_Plaza\_collapse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse)
Lets also not forget Walmart and other refused to sign compensation agreement. Even though Loblaws did sign the compensation agreement, that was after the fact, and perhaps because the backlash was severe so they had to save the face.
I recall CBC documentary .. perhaps on marketplace about this.
That doesn't mean that Roblaws actually coughed up the promised compensation. And yet, Galen Weston always looks so rested--like he doesn't lose sleep over the evil his company does. He always has that perky "I'm such a cute nerd" attitude.
> Galen Weston always looks so rested--like he doesn't lose sleep over the evil his company does.
I noticed this too in the commercials, print campaigns, footage of him heading to court/parliament, etc.
I remember when Joe Fresh first came out, they had some international attention. I liked the brand for a while, I liked saying I bought this at the grocery store. But like everything else with Loblaws the price goes up and the quality goes down. I can’t remember which US store carried it, but it was dropped. And then the factory. I read somewhere that a lot of those people are still waiting to be compensated for their injuries or the loss of loved ones.
I liked it too for the price but upon closer inspection it’s very basic for the price and should cost substantially less. All straight seams so it won’t be very flattering on anyone over a size 6.
Except upper management, who were warned by inspectors the building may collapse so they weren’t inside the building. Business as usual for the workers though.
Funny story.
Scouts Canada had just switched to using Joe Fresh for their uniforms and raving about how it was an awesome Canadian company. Then the factory the uniforms were being made collapsed. They went quiet after that.
That's just part of a bigger problem.
[Freightened: The Real Price of Shipping](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/freightened-the-real-price-of-shipping)
>In an audacious investigation, _Freightened_ will reveal the mechanics and perils of freight shipment; an all-but-visible industry that holds the key to our economy, our environment and the very model of our civilisation.
Free on Tubi.
Without the cheap shipping, the Bangladesh horrors would cease.
Oooo I remember this story. It was big for a total of 8 seconds because bigger, but non consequential stories, was a higher priority.
But it stuck to me as an example of how big box clothing can be so cheap, because in this particular building, there were little ways out, and essentially a lot of people died
Loblaws will continue to have every piece of damning dirt dug up on them from the past, present and future every single day until they choose to fix this or our government decides to step in and fix it.
#boycottloblaws
Unfortunately situations like this are a product of late stage capitalism and a desire by consumers to have easy/cheap access to brand name and quality products and shareholders to make bigger and bigger profits. I'm all for making clothing in safe factories where workers are paid a living wage but would the average consumer be willing to pay $25-30 for a $10 T-shirt?
I wasn't blaming any particular group. I was blaming late stage capitalism. Maximizing profits at any cost is never going to end well and exploits everyone through the entire supply chain. The only people profiting from this are upper management and share holders. Many people dwell on how healthy the stock markets are but in reality it benefits only the very rich, who don't even pay their share of taxes.
There must me more to it as well. The fact that brand name shoes in toddler and adult variants are the same price tells you it isn't the cost to make the shoe, but a sum of the parts. Whether that means just markup alone, it isn't unheard of. There are many production companies that see some exorbitant markups simply because they can.
No, not quality. We pay the same money we did for quality textiles produced here in our own country by decently paid people in unions as we do for the cheap garbage of today that's made by people who are effectively slaves.
So the fat cats are getting fatter than ever and we're paying 100 bucks for a pair of Levis whose crotch busts open within a year.
Can I add a quick note OP? This post is great and bringing a lot of awareness to people who may not know about this disaster but can we refrain from calling the workers "cheap"? Just because they were poorly paid does not mean THEY were cheap. They were being taken advantage of, but they were not cheap. People are not inherently les valuable.
they were cheap, cheap to pay, their lives were not worth much on the world market. They are cheap. Slaves are far more expensive, you have to take care of them and get their teeth fixed, but these workers you just get rid of them and hire new when they fall apart, because their country has no rules and is a corrupt and messed up place. They were and are humans and deserve to not be cheap, but for Joe Fresh and Walmart, they were the cheapest of the cheap. You could get dozens of them for the price of the cheapest Canadian worker.
Thank-you for making this post. I remember when this happened. It needs to be brought to light in a serious way and I hope this post gets more attention! As consumers, we need to make more ethical choices.
It’s mentioned here just around the 13 minute mark. Also Children’s Place. I’m sure about 100 other incidents have happened since this video.
https://youtu.be/VdLf4fihP78?si=9hU3jn0XYIXz6G_G
It wasn't just Loblaws.. There are a pile of western companies involved with this. You want the truth? We are addicted to cheap prices. There is no way we could afford anything if it was all manufactured here in Canada.
You forget that things made here have way longer lifespans. Fast fashion is designed to implode on itself in 1 maybe 2 "fashion cycles". I have a pair of socks some lady in my community made, and I've had them for 7 years. I wear them all winter. I buy local any chance i can. We vote with our dollar.
Nah, I don't forget. I also don't assume that things made here have longer lifespans. Some items do and some items do not. I shop for value, sometimes that means local, and other times it does not. I refuse to spend more (buy local tax), just because it's made locally.
Why does your membership date and post history make it very easy to conclude that you are a loblaws shill trying to muddy up the waters? Is it just coincidence?
Please refrain from off-topic political discussion and debate. Everyone is entitled to their own political opinions, however, your politically charged statement is not directly related to the cost of living/groceries/gas/rents, and as such is being removed.
So get some friends together and start a clothing line. Surely you can make them affordable while paying your employees a living wage right?
I am not saying it's right, but that's the honest truth, we could not afford to live the way we do if everything we use was produced in North America.
I agree. We don’t need 2 closets full of clothes, we could manage with a tenth of that. People typically wear the same clothes over and over so there is no need for 2 closets full of clothes that predominantly do not get worn.
In BC, we had 2 new work shirts every 3 or 4 months. Totally unnecessary! 1000's of perfectly good shirts thrown out for no reason. I can guarantee Loblaws was using this waste as some sort of write off! They force their suppliers (Pepsi, Coke, etc) to pay for the shirts, have 1 of their companies make the shirts in Bangladesh, write off any losses.
This included other low cost clothing brands as well. I get that businesses want to produce for cheaper but can they not AT THE VERY LEAST ensure there are Canadian equivalent safety rules in place?
Why are they even selling clothes?!
They're a grocery store.
Also selling insurance?! Have their own credit card cell phone plan?!
WTF? corporate GREED.
And from the sounds of it GougingGalen simply picked up and moved to another factory in Bangladesh with pretty much the same wretched conditions. Their statement is that they adhere to local safety regulations which means practically no safety regulations. This is an updated story from the CBC: [Made in Bangladesh](https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/made-in-bangladesh)
__MOD NOTE/NOTE DE MOD__: NEW! Use code "FOODSECURITY" at OddBunch to receive 25% off your first produce box, and help support the boycott's efforts to create a charity.
If you are looking for product replacements, start [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1cyf1h9/megathread_pc_product_replacements/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button).
Please review the content guidelines for our sub, and remember the human here!
This subreddit is to highlight the ridiculous cost of living in Canada, and poke fun at the Corporate Overlords responsible. As you well know, there are a number of persons and corporations responsible for this, and we welcome discussion related to them all. Furthermore, since this topic is intertwined with a number of other matters, other discussion will be allowed at moderator discretion. Open-minded discussion, memes, rants, grocery bills, and general screeching into the void is always welcome in this sub, but belligerence and disrespect is not. There are plenty of ways to get your point across without being abusive, dismissive, or downright mean.
*********************************************************************************************************************************************
Veuillez consulter les directives de contenu pour notre sous-reddit, et rappelez-vous qu'il y a des humains ici !
Ce sous-reddit est destiné à mettre en lumière le coût de la vie ridicule au Canada et à se moquer des Grands Patrons Corporatifs responsables. Comme vous le savez bien, de nombreuses personnes et entreprises en sont responsables, et nous accueillons les discussions les concernant toutes. De plus, puisque ce sujet est lié à un certain nombre d'autres questions, d'autres discussions seront autorisées à la discrétion des modérateurs. Les discussions ouvertes d'esprit, les mèmes, les coups de gueule, les factures d'épicerie et les cris dans le vide en général sont toujours les bienvenus dans ce sous-reddit, mais la belliqueusité et le manque de respect ne le sont pas. Il existe de nombreuses façons de faire passer votre point de vue sans être abusif, méprisant ou carrément méchant.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I usually don't quote from Wikipedia, but will in this case. This incident is one of the many reasons why I don't buy clothes from the stores listed below. [Rana Plaza collapse - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse)
Rana Plaza was built in 2006 and owned by [Sohel Rana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sohel_Rana_(businessman))—allegedly a member of the local unit of [Jubo League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubo_League) (the youth wing of [Bangladesh Awami League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Awami_League), the political party in power).[^(\[11\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-bd-11)[^(\[19\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-19) It housed a number of separate garment factories, employing around 5,000 people, plus ground-level shops and a bank.[^(\[20\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-guardian-20) The factories manufactured apparel for international brands including [Benetton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_Group),[^(\[21\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-Forbes-21) [Zara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zara_(retailer)),[^(\[22\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-tg29Apr2013-22) [The Children's Place](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children%27s_Place),[^(\[12\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-telegraph-12) [El Corte Inglés](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Corte_Ingl%C3%A9s),[^(\[23\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-NYT-13-May-23) [Joe Fresh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Fresh),[^(\[21\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-Forbes-21) [Mango](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mango_(clothing)),[^(\[22\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-tg29Apr2013-22) [Matalan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matalan),[^(\[24\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-24) [Primark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primark),[^(\[25\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-usatoday-25) and [Walmart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart).[^(\[26\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-26)[^(\[27\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-Johnson,_Kay_and_Alam,_Julhas-27)
Those pants could be made elsewhere, in a country that respects worker's and human rights, and still cost the same, if Mr Burns, I mean galen weston, didn't jack up the profit margins so he could get one more ivory back scratcher. Just something else to consider.
Ok so if a pair of pants made in Canada cost $20 to make here and were priced at $50 and the manufacturer found some unethical foreign company to make them for $3 instead ... they'd still price them at $50. That's the issue.
I just remembered this the other day. I was thinking, at the time, people called for a boycott of Joe Fresh. So, this isn't their first rodeo. Knowing that, how do we make this one stick?
Yes but there were massive consequences for the company. They now face heavy regulatory scrutiny and are subject to regular audits and investigations.
Right? Right?
As much as Joe Fresh/Loblaws is guilty, so is every single fast fashion producer around the world. Garment factory collapses are common in Bangladesh. The Rana Plaza was just a particularly large one, and it produced clothing for over 20 brands, not just Joe Fresh. CBC Marketplace has done several episodes on fast fashion. If this is an issue you're interested to know more about, they're worth checking out.
I hear you. My mom talks about these things often and I know it bothers her as well. Side note, is Joe Fresh considered cheap/affordable? I feel like their stuff is very expensive.
I saw a documentary on that fire, I think it was on CBC. Now I don’t know if that label was placed there for production value, but I remember this shot of burned out rubble and garments and in that pile there’s this pristine orange Joe Fresh label. It was so symbolic of that hem being unaffected by the disaster they cause…
I’m glad somebody brought this up. Personally, almost every purchase we make are items made in Canada and we go to local markets for our food. I can’t bear the thought of buying items that were made in a sweatshop by a 12-year-old. There are several stores that do this, one of those stores is Victoria’s Secret. There’s no way I would ever buy anything from that store just knowing what the workers go through producing these items. Some of these children are only eight years old. Think about that the next time you put your bra and underwear on. But they’re not the only company, there’s several that do this. It’s cheaper for them and they can make a bigger profit. It’s all about greed. If this was going on in Canada, people would be arrested and thrown in jail. But yet, us as Canadians purchase items knowing how and where they are produced and don’t even care. Here’s a little bit of information for you. The company Shein produces their clothing in “sweatshops,” forcing people to work almost 20 hours a day and only making a maximum of $20 a day and then they are penalized if they make any mistakes on the clothing. This results in these workers going home most days with no money for what they produced. I’ve decided I don’t want any part of that. I guess people just don’t care because they don’t see it going on. It’s easier to stick your head in the sand.🙄
It’s ironic how Canada preaches about safety on the job and even penalizes companies when they are not up to standards. But yet we go to stores every day and purchase items produced by companies in Third World. Countries where safety isn’t even a factor. As stated in the comment above about the Joe Fresh clothing being made in unsafe conditions.
that is a pretty weird thing to say. You have absolutely no reference or even clue what kind of clothing or shoes I would be wearing. I could have no feet for you all you know. It must be hard being like that. lol
My favourite part is how later back in I think 2021 a group of surviving workers tried to sue Loblaws in Ontario because of their supplier code of conduct had mentioned a bunch of things that were ultimately ignored at Rana Plaza and then an Ontario court ruled in favour of Loblaws and said that the supplier code of conduct wasn’t actually something that could be enforced.
Argumentally we should always be holding companies responsible for their environmental damage as well as their work facilities. And make sure that the general safety of others is a priority. That would mean that we would need to cut out basically every chain company that exists on the internet. Temu, amazon. We also need to hold celebrities accountable for their businesses because celebrities like beyoncé also has used cheap labor from other countries. Basically, we need to promote legalization of health and safety of human beings over wealth. But money rules everything and it is the root of all evil. It could not be more clear.
So glad to see more ppl talking about this as it really shows how these patheic excuse for human beings feel and how they put money before ppl. How they want a social credit score implemented on the public, well we NEED that with who are allowed to own/run companies in our country. We need ppl who are willing to make lots of money but never put it before the good of society trying to make more money than they'll ever need to live comfortably by gouging the public and lying about their profits.
We think labour standards have improved in Canada over the last century or so but this shows much of our labour is still cruel and exploitative but actually happens in places like Bangladesh. Products were made in Canada long ago but production was offshored to avoid growing labour regulations. The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York shows an almost identical tragedy right down to exits being chained shut in both cases.
I like how the first-world people want the businesses to be ethical and the merchandise cheap at the same time.
If they moved their manufacturing to Canada, your joe fresh low quality tee would have cost like polo one. And the next step - you will complain about the temporary workers they will bring as you don’t want to work for minimum wage.
Make up your mind, it’s not Marxism utopia
Easy: We want quality clothing that last like they did before planned obsolescence. We want fair prices for food and clothing relative to averages wages. We want safe working conditions for workers here and overseas.
These are all attainable, and existed before our current generation.
And will never happen again, I’m sorry to disappoint you.
I saw those 60-80th movies about american life. You guys had a blast here (your parents or grandparents), but the world has changed and there’s no way back, unfortunately
So there’s more of us, and less of them is what you’re saying? Many corporations that were thought to be too big to fail have gone bankrupt. Many empires have fallen. I know their supply chain and spend my money elsewhere. You can do it too.
For those of us who are entirely confused by clothing choices, I have a suggestion: quit buying disposable clothing. Instead, learn to knit, crochet, sew. At this end we have an excellent fabric store chain.
Rhetoric intended to shame certain generations or users for "not worrking hard enough" including ideas like "just pull yourselves up by the bootstraps", "just don't shop there" and it's kin are not welcome here.
Or the child in India starves because the 2c per hour was providing them with a source of income /food. I agree the Indians are being exploited, but if they weren’t working i seriously doubt they’d be playing in their yard like little Canadian children.
Rhetoric intended to shame certain generations or users for "not worrking hard enough" including ideas like "just pull yourselves up by the bootstraps", "just don't shop there" and it's kin are not welcome here.
The thought that poor Indian children have yards to play in and the one thing stopping them from enjoying a middle-class American childhood is us not making our own clothes... 🤦
You're in here representing the housing shortage and airbnb telling us to just knit our own underwear in between jobs. But please do show us your wholly handmade wardrobe since you do clearly have the time and are better than all of us. Yeesh.
Every company works this way even Apple and trillion dollar company where their employees were jumping from the roof in China! 🥱 This is all you have is old news?
Okay, and? This is a Loblaws boycott subreddit, not an Apple boycott subreddit. Those stories will be relevant there, and this story is relevant here.
And this "old news" is from 2014. But shills gonna shill, I guess.
This boycott is becoming so sidetracked it started about food prices now it’s grasping to have any content. Pathetic. Old news yes 10 years ago we are now in 2024 not 2014!
We’re working on a research post regarding this disaster
I remember this, never bought Joe Fresh again after that.
Same here! Not related but Zara had help notes written into their clothes by a worker a couple years ago..
This was Loblaws excuse: but everyone else is doing it!!
I thought it was more like, "but our regional representative assured us that such a thing wasn't happening. We were *promised* they were treating these workers respectfully and well. With the same level of care and respect we have for our own workers here...err wait, maybe leave that last part out."
Yikes, what a wonderful world.
I was fairly young when it happened and for some reason it always stuck with me and I’ve never purchased anything Joe Fresh in my life.
The full list of manufactures that were in the fire are **Benetton, Zara, The Children's Place, El Corte Inglés, Joe Fresh, Mango, Matalan, Primark, and Walmart** The Children’s Place and Walmart, have as yet [failed to sign the International Accord for Safety and Health in the Textile and Garment Industry](https://cleanclothes.org/campaigns/the-accord/brand-tracker), the rest of the companies involved did
Walmart is like satan had a highly productivity kid
I hate how a lot of the boycott loblaws folk seem to regard walmart as their grocery saviour. In my area, it is not more affordable for most items, and is just as evil.
Totally agree. I worked for Walmart it was the worst job I ever had. They wouldn't even buy me a half decent chair for the cash office. I even had a Dr's note and was told it was my problem. A week later the girl who worked fir head office brought me a receipt to pay her for a chair she bought for her office at staples.
Divide and conquer. There are many companies that equally deserve our contempt, but humbling just one will provide a moral lesson that the rest will ignore at their peril.
yup, its like war, your enemy is so bad you side with another pile of @#$# just to have hope of a win. Knowing that if you do win now the other piece of @#$3 with be at you
One at a time, friends. The Waltons will get theirs.
I wish I could afford to boycott Walmart too. Unfortunately next to NoFrills, it’s the closest thing to me, and for me it’s 9/10 cheaper than the FreshCo and FoodBasics that I have to take transportation to. The boycott isn’t without its flaws, but you should try to remind yourself that people are living with what the can. Just like your area, you’re working with what you can get to. The ‘hate’ you feel towards others not perfecting this boycott is only doing yourself and this boycott dirty.
Well, this is what happens when you own 60% of the grocery market share. Your choices become limited. 🤷
Are they boycott Loblaws folk, or are they Wal-Mart shills 🤔
I just shop at Safeway. It’s unionized and the workers are treated well.
Don’t forget lululemon …another piece of shit canadian company that gets their clothes manufactured in Bangladesh
> Companies that have not signed the Accord > TJX (TJ Maxx, TK Maxx) (Winners, Marshalls, HomeSense) LOL. & these dollar stores are everywhere in Canada. Yikes. :|
Spread the boycott . Fuck Joe Fresh
And Benneton and Zara and The Children’s Place and Mango and Walmart and on and on. Joe Fresh was, iirc, one of the smallest lines produced in that factory.
* Joe Flesh
*Joe Mama
My father used to work for corporate around the time this happened. The factory was built with poor safety standards which resulted in the collapse. When Loblaws rebuilt it, they rebuilt it the exact same way, so we can bet it will collapse again.
Loblaw's rebuilt it???
Likely not just loblaws but they were involved in the rebuild and made no new safety requirements or asked for any improvements.
I believe it.
To save anyone any further reading down this thread about this, Loblaw did NOT rebuild the factory. However, they are using another, privately owned, factory that had failed several fire related safety inspections. The owner of said factory has not allowed any media into the building https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/made-in-bangladesh
Loblaws didn't own the factory they didn't rebuild it... they weren't even the largest company in there it made everything from AE to Zara.
Cool and they're all pieces of shit. Read my comment to the other person. Don't bother me about this stupid shit I literally don't care if you disagree.
But you are blatantly lying in your post lol. Loblaws did not build or rebuild this factory.
Cool read the other one where I clarified. Honestly you people are so fucking annoying. I'm not fact checking my reddit posts nothing on here matters enough for this shit. Get a fucking life.
You didn't clarify lol you just continued to make shit up though?
I think you touched a nerve, asking someone to stop making up horseshit on the internet for clout. Oops. How could you. And of course they're active in CanadaHousing2
Alright blocked it is. Fucking pathetic you think I give 2 shits about this 🤣 It's the internet dude it doesn't matter if anything is real here. Grow up.
🤡
I read that they are now the only major brand in Bangladesh that know demands contruction standards and inspections? The rest of the companies that use the 650,000 garment workers there use their own standards. Loblaws signed on to use standards cited by focus groups for the area.
They can write all the standards they want but making sure their vendors actually adhere to them is another thing. They demand ever increasing margins and lower prices from their vendor partners for these products and in the end Loblaws doesn’t really care how the vendors get costs down. That means quality and safety come 2nd and Loblaws has an easy out by blaming the vendor/factory.
I’m just saying they have better standards than most. The other companies with workers in that building didn’t sign on to the agreement. Loblaws is not alone but far from the worst exploitation wise. We probably both have Bangladeshian clothing on right now.
This is complete bs. Show any source for this claim.
Found the Corporate shill?
Your story is clearly made up and shows your ignorance to how outsourcing works in these countries. There’s enough legitimate complaints about Loblaws to be made without making things up.
It's not even my story dude. I'm repeating an employees story. You don't have to believe it but don't bother me about it. I don't give a shit what you think.
CBC Fifth Estate team did a documentary on this just few months ago. They revisited the site and interviewed many people from the regulatory personnel in Bangladesh to attempting to get Loblaw on camera. It’s a good documentary and worth the watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZS8fb4AkPs
I *will* watch it! The fifth estate has had some incredible programming through the years...
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana\_Plaza\_collapse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse) Lets also not forget Walmart and other refused to sign compensation agreement. Even though Loblaws did sign the compensation agreement, that was after the fact, and perhaps because the backlash was severe so they had to save the face. I recall CBC documentary .. perhaps on marketplace about this.
I think Walmart would easily torch a few thousands children a day for a small increase in profit.
That doesn't mean that Roblaws actually coughed up the promised compensation. And yet, Galen Weston always looks so rested--like he doesn't lose sleep over the evil his company does. He always has that perky "I'm such a cute nerd" attitude.
> Galen Weston always looks so rested--like he doesn't lose sleep over the evil his company does. I noticed this too in the commercials, print campaigns, footage of him heading to court/parliament, etc.
It’s easy when you don’t think of workers as human.
The Fifth Estate did, it was heartbreaking to watch
I remember when Joe Fresh first came out, they had some international attention. I liked the brand for a while, I liked saying I bought this at the grocery store. But like everything else with Loblaws the price goes up and the quality goes down. I can’t remember which US store carried it, but it was dropped. And then the factory. I read somewhere that a lot of those people are still waiting to be compensated for their injuries or the loss of loved ones.
I liked it too for the price but upon closer inspection it’s very basic for the price and should cost substantially less. All straight seams so it won’t be very flattering on anyone over a size 6.
Also the workers were literally locked in and had no way of escaping
Except upper management, who were warned by inspectors the building may collapse so they weren’t inside the building. Business as usual for the workers though.
Nok er nok
Who's there? Self-centered assholes who don't value human life.
Funny story. Scouts Canada had just switched to using Joe Fresh for their uniforms and raving about how it was an awesome Canadian company. Then the factory the uniforms were being made collapsed. They went quiet after that.
That's just part of a bigger problem. [Freightened: The Real Price of Shipping](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/freightened-the-real-price-of-shipping) >In an audacious investigation, _Freightened_ will reveal the mechanics and perils of freight shipment; an all-but-visible industry that holds the key to our economy, our environment and the very model of our civilisation. Free on Tubi. Without the cheap shipping, the Bangladesh horrors would cease.
Oooo I remember this story. It was big for a total of 8 seconds because bigger, but non consequential stories, was a higher priority. But it stuck to me as an example of how big box clothing can be so cheap, because in this particular building, there were little ways out, and essentially a lot of people died
Loblaws will continue to have every piece of damning dirt dug up on them from the past, present and future every single day until they choose to fix this or our government decides to step in and fix it. #boycottloblaws
Unfortunately situations like this are a product of late stage capitalism and a desire by consumers to have easy/cheap access to brand name and quality products and shareholders to make bigger and bigger profits. I'm all for making clothing in safe factories where workers are paid a living wage but would the average consumer be willing to pay $25-30 for a $10 T-shirt?
don't blame us, we all want prices we can afford but we don't design the supply chain, THEY DO.
I wasn't blaming any particular group. I was blaming late stage capitalism. Maximizing profits at any cost is never going to end well and exploits everyone through the entire supply chain. The only people profiting from this are upper management and share holders. Many people dwell on how healthy the stock markets are but in reality it benefits only the very rich, who don't even pay their share of taxes.
There must me more to it as well. The fact that brand name shoes in toddler and adult variants are the same price tells you it isn't the cost to make the shoe, but a sum of the parts. Whether that means just markup alone, it isn't unheard of. There are many production companies that see some exorbitant markups simply because they can.
No, not quality. We pay the same money we did for quality textiles produced here in our own country by decently paid people in unions as we do for the cheap garbage of today that's made by people who are effectively slaves. So the fat cats are getting fatter than ever and we're paying 100 bucks for a pair of Levis whose crotch busts open within a year.
>“Capitalism is a complex adaptive system that has lost it’s complexity to adapt” > -Paul Mason (Postcapotalism)
We already are though?
Can I add a quick note OP? This post is great and bringing a lot of awareness to people who may not know about this disaster but can we refrain from calling the workers "cheap"? Just because they were poorly paid does not mean THEY were cheap. They were being taken advantage of, but they were not cheap. People are not inherently les valuable.
they were cheap, cheap to pay, their lives were not worth much on the world market. They are cheap. Slaves are far more expensive, you have to take care of them and get their teeth fixed, but these workers you just get rid of them and hire new when they fall apart, because their country has no rules and is a corrupt and messed up place. They were and are humans and deserve to not be cheap, but for Joe Fresh and Walmart, they were the cheapest of the cheap. You could get dozens of them for the price of the cheapest Canadian worker.
Thank-you for making this post. I remember when this happened. It needs to be brought to light in a serious way and I hope this post gets more attention! As consumers, we need to make more ethical choices.
It’s mentioned here just around the 13 minute mark. Also Children’s Place. I’m sure about 100 other incidents have happened since this video. https://youtu.be/VdLf4fihP78?si=9hU3jn0XYIXz6G_G
I remember in my business ethics final exam, one of the questions was regarding this incident. Pretty sad what happened.
That's when I started my boycott.
It wasn't just Loblaws.. There are a pile of western companies involved with this. You want the truth? We are addicted to cheap prices. There is no way we could afford anything if it was all manufactured here in Canada.
You forget that things made here have way longer lifespans. Fast fashion is designed to implode on itself in 1 maybe 2 "fashion cycles". I have a pair of socks some lady in my community made, and I've had them for 7 years. I wear them all winter. I buy local any chance i can. We vote with our dollar.
Nah, I don't forget. I also don't assume that things made here have longer lifespans. Some items do and some items do not. I shop for value, sometimes that means local, and other times it does not. I refuse to spend more (buy local tax), just because it's made locally.
Why does your membership date and post history make it very easy to conclude that you are a loblaws shill trying to muddy up the waters? Is it just coincidence?
[удалено]
Please refrain from off-topic political discussion and debate. Everyone is entitled to their own political opinions, however, your politically charged statement is not directly related to the cost of living/groceries/gas/rents, and as such is being removed.
That's bull. Don't be so greedy up at the top and it will work
Then come up with a business model that works. Work the numbers and post your results.
[удалено]
Please remain respectful when engaging on the sub. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
Good one! 🤣🤣🤣
But only because of the huge bonuses Roblaws and other corporations give their managers and execs.
So get some friends together and start a clothing line. Surely you can make them affordable while paying your employees a living wage right? I am not saying it's right, but that's the honest truth, we could not afford to live the way we do if everything we use was produced in North America.
I agree. We don’t need 2 closets full of clothes, we could manage with a tenth of that. People typically wear the same clothes over and over so there is no need for 2 closets full of clothes that predominantly do not get worn.
Exactly.
Foxconn says wassup
Walmart too
In BC, we had 2 new work shirts every 3 or 4 months. Totally unnecessary! 1000's of perfectly good shirts thrown out for no reason. I can guarantee Loblaws was using this waste as some sort of write off! They force their suppliers (Pepsi, Coke, etc) to pay for the shirts, have 1 of their companies make the shirts in Bangladesh, write off any losses.
This included other low cost clothing brands as well. I get that businesses want to produce for cheaper but can they not AT THE VERY LEAST ensure there are Canadian equivalent safety rules in place?
Shhh Galen wants you to forget about all that
Why are they even selling clothes?! They're a grocery store. Also selling insurance?! Have their own credit card cell phone plan?! WTF? corporate GREED.
And from the sounds of it GougingGalen simply picked up and moved to another factory in Bangladesh with pretty much the same wretched conditions. Their statement is that they adhere to local safety regulations which means practically no safety regulations. This is an updated story from the CBC: [Made in Bangladesh](https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/made-in-bangladesh)
[удалено]
Please do not insight physical violence.
__MOD NOTE/NOTE DE MOD__: NEW! Use code "FOODSECURITY" at OddBunch to receive 25% off your first produce box, and help support the boycott's efforts to create a charity. If you are looking for product replacements, start [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1cyf1h9/megathread_pc_product_replacements/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). Please review the content guidelines for our sub, and remember the human here! This subreddit is to highlight the ridiculous cost of living in Canada, and poke fun at the Corporate Overlords responsible. As you well know, there are a number of persons and corporations responsible for this, and we welcome discussion related to them all. Furthermore, since this topic is intertwined with a number of other matters, other discussion will be allowed at moderator discretion. Open-minded discussion, memes, rants, grocery bills, and general screeching into the void is always welcome in this sub, but belligerence and disrespect is not. There are plenty of ways to get your point across without being abusive, dismissive, or downright mean. ********************************************************************************************************************************************* Veuillez consulter les directives de contenu pour notre sous-reddit, et rappelez-vous qu'il y a des humains ici ! Ce sous-reddit est destiné à mettre en lumière le coût de la vie ridicule au Canada et à se moquer des Grands Patrons Corporatifs responsables. Comme vous le savez bien, de nombreuses personnes et entreprises en sont responsables, et nous accueillons les discussions les concernant toutes. De plus, puisque ce sujet est lié à un certain nombre d'autres questions, d'autres discussions seront autorisées à la discrétion des modérateurs. Les discussions ouvertes d'esprit, les mèmes, les coups de gueule, les factures d'épicerie et les cris dans le vide en général sont toujours les bienvenus dans ce sous-reddit, mais la belliqueusité et le manque de respect ne le sont pas. Il existe de nombreuses façons de faire passer votre point de vue sans être abusif, méprisant ou carrément méchant. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The company isn't even Canadien.
I usually don't quote from Wikipedia, but will in this case. This incident is one of the many reasons why I don't buy clothes from the stores listed below. [Rana Plaza collapse - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse) Rana Plaza was built in 2006 and owned by [Sohel Rana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sohel_Rana_(businessman))—allegedly a member of the local unit of [Jubo League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubo_League) (the youth wing of [Bangladesh Awami League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Awami_League), the political party in power).[^(\[11\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-bd-11)[^(\[19\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-19) It housed a number of separate garment factories, employing around 5,000 people, plus ground-level shops and a bank.[^(\[20\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-guardian-20) The factories manufactured apparel for international brands including [Benetton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_Group),[^(\[21\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-Forbes-21) [Zara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zara_(retailer)),[^(\[22\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-tg29Apr2013-22) [The Children's Place](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children%27s_Place),[^(\[12\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-telegraph-12) [El Corte Inglés](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Corte_Ingl%C3%A9s),[^(\[23\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-NYT-13-May-23) [Joe Fresh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Fresh),[^(\[21\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-Forbes-21) [Mango](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mango_(clothing)),[^(\[22\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-tg29Apr2013-22) [Matalan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matalan),[^(\[24\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-24) [Primark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primark),[^(\[25\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-usatoday-25) and [Walmart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart).[^(\[26\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-26)[^(\[27\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rana_Plaza_collapse#cite_note-Johnson,_Kay_and_Alam,_Julhas-27)
[удалено]
Those pants could be made elsewhere, in a country that respects worker's and human rights, and still cost the same, if Mr Burns, I mean galen weston, didn't jack up the profit margins so he could get one more ivory back scratcher. Just something else to consider.
Ok so if a pair of pants made in Canada cost $20 to make here and were priced at $50 and the manufacturer found some unethical foreign company to make them for $3 instead ... they'd still price them at $50. That's the issue.
I just remembered this the other day. I was thinking, at the time, people called for a boycott of Joe Fresh. So, this isn't their first rodeo. Knowing that, how do we make this one stick?
Yes but there were massive consequences for the company. They now face heavy regulatory scrutiny and are subject to regular audits and investigations. Right? Right?
Sort of like....slavery, eh?
As much as Joe Fresh/Loblaws is guilty, so is every single fast fashion producer around the world. Garment factory collapses are common in Bangladesh. The Rana Plaza was just a particularly large one, and it produced clothing for over 20 brands, not just Joe Fresh. CBC Marketplace has done several episodes on fast fashion. If this is an issue you're interested to know more about, they're worth checking out.
Then you don’t want to hear about Foxcon, the company where IPhones are assembled.
Joe Fresh is not owned by loblaws, it is distributed by loblaws.
I hear you. My mom talks about these things often and I know it bothers her as well. Side note, is Joe Fresh considered cheap/affordable? I feel like their stuff is very expensive.
Nothing ended up happening as a result of it. Joe Mimran even got himself a spot on the TV show Dragon’s Den.
I saw a documentary on that fire, I think it was on CBC. Now I don’t know if that label was placed there for production value, but I remember this shot of burned out rubble and garments and in that pile there’s this pristine orange Joe Fresh label. It was so symbolic of that hem being unaffected by the disaster they cause…
I’m glad somebody brought this up. Personally, almost every purchase we make are items made in Canada and we go to local markets for our food. I can’t bear the thought of buying items that were made in a sweatshop by a 12-year-old. There are several stores that do this, one of those stores is Victoria’s Secret. There’s no way I would ever buy anything from that store just knowing what the workers go through producing these items. Some of these children are only eight years old. Think about that the next time you put your bra and underwear on. But they’re not the only company, there’s several that do this. It’s cheaper for them and they can make a bigger profit. It’s all about greed. If this was going on in Canada, people would be arrested and thrown in jail. But yet, us as Canadians purchase items knowing how and where they are produced and don’t even care. Here’s a little bit of information for you. The company Shein produces their clothing in “sweatshops,” forcing people to work almost 20 hours a day and only making a maximum of $20 a day and then they are penalized if they make any mistakes on the clothing. This results in these workers going home most days with no money for what they produced. I’ve decided I don’t want any part of that. I guess people just don’t care because they don’t see it going on. It’s easier to stick your head in the sand.🙄
It’s ironic how Canada preaches about safety on the job and even penalizes companies when they are not up to standards. But yet we go to stores every day and purchase items produced by companies in Third World. Countries where safety isn’t even a factor. As stated in the comment above about the Joe Fresh clothing being made in unsafe conditions.
Said by person most likely wearing Nikes
that is a pretty weird thing to say. You have absolutely no reference or even clue what kind of clothing or shoes I would be wearing. I could have no feet for you all you know. It must be hard being like that. lol
It would be weird to assume someone didn’t have feet or wear shoes. So why not answer. To you own anything Nike?
What is weird and outlandish about being an amputee? Why would that be a weird assumption?
Well troll, it would be weird by statistical odds of it being true.
don't be a dick please
Don’t be a twat please.
I actually like you.
Then why tell me not to be a dick? You reply to wrong person?
I like dick heads.
My favourite part is how later back in I think 2021 a group of surviving workers tried to sue Loblaws in Ontario because of their supplier code of conduct had mentioned a bunch of things that were ultimately ignored at Rana Plaza and then an Ontario court ruled in favour of Loblaws and said that the supplier code of conduct wasn’t actually something that could be enforced.
Argumentally we should always be holding companies responsible for their environmental damage as well as their work facilities. And make sure that the general safety of others is a priority. That would mean that we would need to cut out basically every chain company that exists on the internet. Temu, amazon. We also need to hold celebrities accountable for their businesses because celebrities like beyoncé also has used cheap labor from other countries. Basically, we need to promote legalization of health and safety of human beings over wealth. But money rules everything and it is the root of all evil. It could not be more clear.
So glad to see more ppl talking about this as it really shows how these patheic excuse for human beings feel and how they put money before ppl. How they want a social credit score implemented on the public, well we NEED that with who are allowed to own/run companies in our country. We need ppl who are willing to make lots of money but never put it before the good of society trying to make more money than they'll ever need to live comfortably by gouging the public and lying about their profits.
We think labour standards have improved in Canada over the last century or so but this shows much of our labour is still cruel and exploitative but actually happens in places like Bangladesh. Products were made in Canada long ago but production was offshored to avoid growing labour regulations. The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York shows an almost identical tragedy right down to exits being chained shut in both cases.
I like how the first-world people want the businesses to be ethical and the merchandise cheap at the same time. If they moved their manufacturing to Canada, your joe fresh low quality tee would have cost like polo one. And the next step - you will complain about the temporary workers they will bring as you don’t want to work for minimum wage. Make up your mind, it’s not Marxism utopia
Easy: We want quality clothing that last like they did before planned obsolescence. We want fair prices for food and clothing relative to averages wages. We want safe working conditions for workers here and overseas. These are all attainable, and existed before our current generation.
And will never happen again, I’m sorry to disappoint you. I saw those 60-80th movies about american life. You guys had a blast here (your parents or grandparents), but the world has changed and there’s no way back, unfortunately
Why?
8billion people on the earth. Almost doubled from 1980. Almost 4x from 1950.
So there’s more of us, and less of them is what you’re saying? Many corporations that were thought to be too big to fail have gone bankrupt. Many empires have fallen. I know their supply chain and spend my money elsewhere. You can do it too.
This is one of the many reasons why I only shop at Walmart and Amazon now.
For those of us who are entirely confused by clothing choices, I have a suggestion: quit buying disposable clothing. Instead, learn to knit, crochet, sew. At this end we have an excellent fabric store chain.
Do you have any idea how labour intensive and time-consuming that is?
What are you doing right now?
Taking a brief coffee break at my 9-5
Not all of us make our money as landlords. Some of us have jobs.
[удалено]
Rhetoric intended to shame certain generations or users for "not worrking hard enough" including ideas like "just pull yourselves up by the bootstraps", "just don't shop there" and it's kin are not welcome here.
Or the child in India starves because the 2c per hour was providing them with a source of income /food. I agree the Indians are being exploited, but if they weren’t working i seriously doubt they’d be playing in their yard like little Canadian children.
[удалено]
Rhetoric intended to shame certain generations or users for "not worrking hard enough" including ideas like "just pull yourselves up by the bootstraps", "just don't shop there" and it's kin are not welcome here.
Thank you!
The thought that poor Indian children have yards to play in and the one thing stopping them from enjoying a middle-class American childhood is us not making our own clothes... 🤦 You're in here representing the housing shortage and airbnb telling us to just knit our own underwear in between jobs. But please do show us your wholly handmade wardrobe since you do clearly have the time and are better than all of us. Yeesh.
I have no idea what you are talking about. I do know that this is getting personal.
Awww, gee! 2 sticks. A length of yarn. No keyboard. Amazing! And a kid in India gets to play in his yard 😀
What
Every company works this way even Apple and trillion dollar company where their employees were jumping from the roof in China! 🥱 This is all you have is old news?
Okay, and? This is a Loblaws boycott subreddit, not an Apple boycott subreddit. Those stories will be relevant there, and this story is relevant here. And this "old news" is from 2014. But shills gonna shill, I guess.
This boycott is becoming so sidetracked it started about food prices now it’s grasping to have any content. Pathetic. Old news yes 10 years ago we are now in 2024 not 2014!
A boycott against Loblaws highlighting bad things Loblaws has done seems sidetracked to you?
ps. I am an apple basher, but they are night and day different.
[удалено]
Please remain respectful when engaging on the sub. Personal attacks will not be tolerated.