Rutgers University - The Daily Targum By Anastasia Millicker - January 23, 2011
While some students at the University took off for vacations abroad with friends and family earlier this month, the goal of School of Arts and Sciences junior Richard Garzon's trip to the Dominican Republic was reform, not relaxation.
Garzon's involvement in the University's chapter of United States Against Sweatshops led him to join seven other students from across the U.S. as they explored the factory of newly unionized Alta Gracia, a college apparel company whose mission is to give its workers a living wage, or enough money to provide for food, clothing, shelter and other necessities.
"What interested me most with [USAS] is things like sweatshops and the structural problems that occur within them, and having the ability to work with a charity system that keeps people and their situations in mind," Garzon said.
Through USAS, Garzon was able to explore his options in activism. He has worked heavily in the past few months with the Alta Gracia project in conjunction with Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), which ensured workers satisfactory work and wages.
Garzon said this factory in particular was significant because it came into the Dominican Republic and listened to the people's needs.
"Alta Gracia is important because it is the only factory in the world that supplies universities with ‘living wage,' [which is] more than triple the legal minimum wage and union-made apparel," said Gena Madow, an Alta Gracia representative. "Alta Gracia costs no more than other well-known brands."
Garzon wants the University community to understand that when they buy clothing from Alta Gracia, they are not just supporting a company — they are improving its workers' quality of life.
"The tenet of this campaign is to encourage bookstores to increase orders to Alta Gracia apparel," he said. "As of now, Duke University has the highest sales of Alta Gracia apparel, and is at the forefront of ethical consumers." Full Story Here
