Florida State University in Tallahassee - FSView & Florida Flambeau By Anthony Murdoch - October 21, 2010
Florida State University recently joined other colleges and universities in a movement to help factory workers earn 3.4 times more than the legal minimum wage by selling Alta Garcia apparel at the FSU bookstore. Alta Garcia is the first apparel brand in the world that pays its workers based on the cost of living in their respective countries.
An American-owned factory in the town of Villa Altagracia in the Dominican Republic, Alta Gracia ignited an initiative to pay workers what is known as a living wage; it is a new apparel factory that produces T-shirts, sweatshirts, and hooded sweatshirts for several hundred U.S. university campuses.
President and COO Donnie Hodge and CEO Joseph Bozich, of Knights Apparel, the largest college-logo apparel company in the U.S. and parent company to Alta Gracia, both believe Alta Garcia can be a pathway out of poverty for their employees. According to Hodge, Alta Gracia is the first apparel company that compensates its employees based on calculations examining how much it costs to live, as opposed to the minimum wage laws.
In the Dominican Republic, the minimum wage is 80 cents per hour. Alta Gracia, however, pays its employees $3 per hour. The wage was set based on a study of local living costs by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), an organization that investigates working conditions around the globe.
Since Alta Gracia workers are receiving 3.4 times the minimum wage, Alta Gracia apparel prices are similar to those of top brands like Nike and Adidas. When consumers are faced with purchasing decisions between Alta Gracia and top brands, Bozich said he believes people will do the right thing.
“We believe doing good will translate into good business.” Read Full Story Here
