Each spring, paraphernalia mania descends on campus as new fraternity and sorority members flaunt lettered T-shirts, hats and jackets on Locust Walk. However, the source of such apparel remains unknown to most students.
While patrons of the Penn Bookstore can rest assured that their T-shirts come from ethical sources due to the University’s partnership with the Workers’ Rights Consortium — a group that investigates the working conditions at factories that manufacture college and university gear — the same cannot be said for all who purchase Greek wear.
“I would like to think that we don’t support known entities that use sweatshop labor, but it’s hard to determine,” Multicultural Greek Council Advisor Larry Moses said.
Moses explained that chapters coordinate their clothing orders on an individual basis. Most paraphernalia is not pre-made. Students usually purchase blank clothing online and contact local vendors to sew chapter letters onto the garments.
Nationally, there has been a move among sororities and fraternities to ensure that lettered clothing comes from ethical sources. Last December, the National Multicultural Greek Council — an umbrella organization with 12 national fraternities and sororities, none of which have chapters at Penn — voted to adopt a “No Sweatshops” policy. This prohibits chapters from purchasing from “known sweatshop vendors and labor rights violators.”
According to WRC Executive Director Scott Nova, “it’s good to have a policy, but there also needs to be a mechanism to enforce [it].”
While the WRC has not been approached by national fraternity and sorority organizations, it is “open to conversation” on potential partnerships, he said.
“We think that everyone who buys apparel should be aware of workers’ rights,” Nova said. “It’s challenging work because the violations are so common and serious, but the process of documenting violations is simple. You have to talk to workers.”
College junior and UA presidential candidate Grant Dubler, last year’s UA representative for the Committee of Manufacturer Responsibility, said there may be potential for “a University-wide initiative” coordinated by the UA to ensure that no campus groups are buying clothing manufactured in sweatshops.
Dubler also suggested the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council organize to buy clothing in bulk once or twice per year. This would be a “significant” cost-saving measure, and help to ensure that clothes are ordered from an ethical manufacturer, he said.
Panhel President and College junior Darby Nelson acknowledged Dubler’s idea as something to “take into consideration.” Though Panhel coordinates orders for its annual powder puff football game and Greek Week, each sorority chapter prefers to place an individual order to acquire “more unique things, like zip-up hoodies,” she said.
Nelson added that the popularity of brands like American Apparel on campus demonstrates that students “feel strongly” about not supporting sweatshop labor. In addition to having “cute fashionable clothes,” Nelson said students take comfort in the fact that American Apparel clothing is manufactured in Los Angeles, where workers receive fair wages.
College senior and Psi Upsilon member Jeff Fronek disagreed, saying that students are more concerned with price. Fronek is the East Coast Regional Sales Manager for “Duds By Dudes” — a San Diego-based print shop that has completed orders for Alpha Chi Omega and Greek leadership organization Order of Omega.
“Eighty percent of our orders are American Apparel,” he said. “That is more of a reflection of the quality than the sweatshop-free message.”
Duds By Dudes was founded in 2006 by two of Fronek’s high school friends who attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Missouri. Fronek joined in 2009.
Though “the vast majority” of Fronek’s orders have involved the Greek community, the company serves various other student groups, as well as elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to the company’s following at Penn, Colorado and Mizzou, Duds By Dudes is “well-established” in the West, particularly in Southern California, he said.
The company strives to produce “ethically-sound, high quality products” — although most students “probably wouldn’t care,” Fronek said.
