Factory Investigations

The WRC has conducted hundreds of factory investigations in more than two dozen countries, many in response to complaints from workers and worker organizations. You can browse case summaries, full public reports, and related documents and background information for many of these investigations below. Reports include detailed information on findings, the WRC’s recommendations for remedies (from reinstatement of illegally fired workers, to urgent safety improvements, to back pay) and whether or not brands and factories have implemented these remedies. Click on a factory name in the results to view the case summary and links to the full report and other documents.

Wing Star Shoes

Country: Cambodia
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Freedom of Association Violations

The WRC’s investigation uncovered severe retaliatory actions against workers who formed an independent union. After establishing the union to address grievances, factory management took the following unlawful actions: Mr. Chan was held in prison until August 19, 2024, the same day that the appeal of his conviction was heard in court—at which point, the prosecutor…

Hong Seng Knitting

Country: Thailand
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Wage Theft, Wrongful Termination

2024 WRC affiliate universities have continued to engage with Nike on this case. However, Nike’s position remains unchanged. It continues to ignore overwhelming evidence of worker coercion reported by the WRC, asserting that thousands of workers at Hong Seng voluntarily chose to forgo wages that they were legally owed. In support of its position, Nike…

Grupo Merlet

Country: El Salvador
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Freedom of Association Violations, Wrongful Termination

A WRC investigation found that Grupo Merlet, located in El Salvador, violated local law and university codes of conduct when it illegally fired a union leader who was protected from dismissal under Salvadoran law. Following the WRC’s investigation and recommended corrective actions, the company agreed to remedy the violations by providing back pay to the…

Style Avenue S.A.

Country: El Salvador
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Health & Safety Violations, Overtime Violations, Statutory Benefit Violations, Wage Theft, Wrongful Termination

Style Avenue was found to have multiple and repeated labor rights violations, including forced overtime, illegal terminations, verbal abuse by management, failure to respect freedom of association, locking workers in the factory, excessive heat, and unsanitary conditions.

Everest Apparel

Country: Ethiopia
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Abuse and Harassment, Freedom of Association Violations, Health & Safety Violations, Overtime Violations, Statutory Benefit Violations, Wage and hour violations, Wage Theft

The WRC documented several serious labor rights violations at Everest Apparel, a factory located in Ethiopia. These included: unlawful wage deductions, failure to provide a weekly rest day, mandatory overtime, verbal abuse, restrictions on paid statutory leave, suppression of workers’ right to freedom of association, and unsafe factory temperatures. The WRC shared our findings and…

Texpia II

Country: Guatemala
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Health & Safety Violations

In June 2024, Anastacio Tzib Caal, a union leader at Texpia II, was assassinated by an unidentified assailant. In the months prior, Tzib Caal and other union leaders were targets of death threats written on the factory walls. The WRC engaged with factory buyers to ensure that Texpia II’s parent company, the Korean multinational SAE-A,…

Özak/Kübrateks

Country: Türkiye
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Freedom of Association Violations, Violence Against Workers, Wrongful Termination

The WRC investigated reports of severe repression of workers’ freedom of association—including mass firings and arrests, threatened and actual violence, wage theft, and blacklisting against 400 workers at Levi’s supplier factory in Türkiye. The WRC found that Özak Global (in some instances in collaboration with both the local militarized forces and a company-favored union), committed,…

Quantum Apparel (Cambodia)

Country: Cambodia
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Freedom of Association Violations, Wrongful Termination

The WRC’s investigation found that, immediately after workers established an independent union at the factory to address complaints concerning the factory’s misuse of short-term contracts, factory management retaliated against the worker union leaders by taking the following unlawful actions: The collegiate licensee, Lululemon cooperated with the WRC’s investigation and engaged with factory management to ensure…

Sun Shui Shing Industrial (Cambodia)

Country: Cambodia
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Freedom of Association Violations, Gender-based Violence and Discrimination

The WRC’s investigation found that, immediately after workers established an independent union at the factory to address complaints of forced overtime and verbal abuse, the factory management launched an intense campaign of illegal retaliation that included: suspensions and firings of five worker leaders and activists; gender-based threats of violence against these workers; and threats of…

APS El Salvador

Country: El Salvador
Last Updated: 2024
Issues: Statutory Benefit Violations, Wage Theft

The WRC found violations of workers’ rights at the Salvadoran garment factory, APS El Salvador, which closed in August 2022 without paying its workers the approximately US$1.9 million they were owed in back wages, severance, and other legally mandated benefits. The WRC’s investigation resulted in $1.35 million secured from buyers to compensate the workers. Two…