Saipan

Saipan is one of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US protectorate in the western Pacific. Following the revelations of sweatshop conditions tantamount to slavery by US clothing corporations (see ALU 30), several TNCs have been taken to court.

In contrast to habitual denials about the use of sweatshop labour by US garment companies, nine TNCs had agreed to settle class action (collective) lawsuits by October 1999.
In November, a US court denied appeals by companies, including The Gap, Wal-Mart and JC Penney, to dismiss lawsuits charging them with false ‘Made In the USA’ labelling.

From Global Exchange Saipan Update Web site, 23 February 2000