THE BUCHAREST ACADEMY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS MASTER IN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Victorias Ethic Secrets

Moroianu Sorin

Bucuresti 30-14

Victorias Secret

Victorias Secret was founded in the 70s in San Francisco by the businessman Roy Raymond. The first store was opened in 1977 in the Stanford Shopping Center. The stores were as to make every gentleman confortable with buying lingerie for women. The origin of the company name was indeed a mystery. It turns out that there is no secret. The name Victoria makes reference (probably) to the Queen of Great Britain. By adding secret, an intelligent marketing strategy was developed making allusions that the Queen enjoyed wearing sexy lingerie similar to the Wonder Bra fabric. After 5 working years, in 1982, Roy Raymond sold Victorias Secret to Limited Brands for 4 million $. During the 80s Limited Brands kept Victorias Secret image intact but al so branched out by selling women shoes, perfumes and clothes.

Victorias other secret

In December 2011, a press release revealed Victorias little secret. Bloomberg Markets magazine revealed a report relating to the West Africa orphan children daily labor. Victorias Secret was manufacturing cotton in Sri Lanka using materials done in the fabrics from India. A part of the cotton used for textiles comes from Burkina Faso, a continental country that shouldve produced organic cotton for fair trade. Victorias Secret initially entered the production business in 2007 with the purpose of improving the life of women and poor children but it turned out to be child exploitation. Clarisse was a 13 year old girl who was pulled out of school in order to work the cotton fields. She did everything, from picking and carrying, to fighting cotton insects that were

controlled with inorganic pesticides, all this activities being done bare feet under 40 degrees C, during planting season. Clarisse was working for Victorien Kaboule, a man that imposed fear on the working ground, a man that forced Clarisse to do the work of a plow(because he couldnt afford an actual plow). Clarisse ended up digging 500 rows just with her hands and a hoe. If she slowed down her working rate, she would have been whipped repeatedly or beaten. Clarisses living conditions are narrowed down to a plastic on which she sleeps, a wooden bench next to the cottage wall and an iron door. She does not have photos or puppets or even a tooth brush. Her parents live in the next room and they sleep under a mosquito net. Forced labor and using children in agriculture is nothing new for the Africa farms. The cotton picked by Clarisse is supposedly organic and certified as being fair trade Victorias Secret partner, The National Federation of Cotton Producers from Burkina Faso, is responsible for all aspects related to the bio cotton program and fair trade on all the Burkina Faso surface. In 2008 UNPCB sponsored a study that targeted hundreds even thousands of kids just like Clarisse that were exploited in eco farms. The study was requested by the producers and Helvetas. Victorias Secret claims to have never seen the report. The companys desire for realizing fair trade with ecologic cotton was inspired by a labeling movement started in the 80s with little Mexican farmers, coffee producers and prides her with involving giants like Wal-Mart Inc. and Starbucks Corp in goods consumption. This movement raised the profits for farmers from poorer parts of the world. Myers, from Limited Brands claims that Victorias Secret was based on certification in order to achieve her objective: improving life of some of the poorest women and children in the world, through responsible supply with cotton, which was done through our efforts for the Burkinabe women The life of Clarisse and the experience she went through on Victorien Kaboules plantation represents a painting of a childhood lost due to an American company that claims to be ethical.

CNN reported that Victorias Secret claims to have started working with interior and exterior interested parties in order to get to the bottom of this issue. Furthermore, the people at Victorias Secret are prepared to act immediately to prevent further children exploitation from Burkina Fasos cotton fields.

Bibliography http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-15/victoria-s-secret-revealed-in-child-pickingburkina-faso-cotton.html http://www.limitedbrands.com/our_brands/victorias_secret/about.aspx; http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/15/world/africa/victorias-secret-child-labor/