You know how much Kanye West is linked to Victoria's Secret, he and Jay-Z performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion show last November, the agency models are featured in his videos and he is always dating one of them (but that’s not the point).
Around Christmas, as Kayne West was using Twitter to send a few patronizing preaching tweets about how we should count our blessings and should not forget about Haitians, Portishead’s Geoff Barrow sent him this great one:
@kanyewest maybe think about which corporate bed fellows you sleep with before you start preaching to us? dailyfinance.com/2011/12/21/vic…
The ink posted by Geoff is indeed interesting:
‘Its [Victoria’s Secret] undies that are purported to be made with "fair trade" organic cotton actually utilize some unseemly labor practices in the early stages of the supply chain. In other words, many of their unmentionables are already sullied before the first wearing — by child labor and forced working conditions.’
The underwear, which are ‘made with 20 percent organic fibers from Burkina Faso’, are labeled ‘fair trade’, a feature which supposedly implies a better quality of life for workers. However the system is failing and according to a recent Bloomberg report, 12-13-year-old children are forced to work and are beaten by cotton farmers.
Of course Victoria’s Secret has responded by declaring that this was ‘contrary to our company's values and the code of labor and sourcing standards we require of all our suppliers’, and that the company is ‘vigorously engaging with stakeholders to fully investigate this matter’.
But what will be done? Fair trade seems to be just a label the occident uses to buy a good conscience, despite alarming reports like this one:
You have to love Geoff Barrow for his straight talk, as he also sent this one:
‘I don't live a total ethical life style/ years ago our music was used on things That wernt / but fuk artist who preach one thing do another!’
Of course, Occupy-Wall-Street-supporter-World-Peace-tweeter Kayne West ignored him.