Using data culled from U.S. customs logs and international shipping records, the Washington Post has managed to “trace [Ivanka] Trump-branded products from far-flung factories to ports around the United States,” while diving deep into the dealings, practices, and history of her company. And holy shit guys, the findings aren’t pretty.
The exhaustively researched piece notes that at the exact same moment Donald Trump was touting his America First agenda on Inauguration Day — with Ivanka in attendance — about a dozen ships were floating in international waters, importing Ivanka-branded goods from around the world.
“Those global journeys — along with millions of pounds of Ivanka Trump products imported into the United States in more than 2,000 shipments since 2010 — illustrate how her business practices collide with some of the key principles she and her father have championed in the White House.”
Between January 2016 and May 2017, the Post counted four container ships with jackets that left from Taiwan; 10 ships with pants, pullovers and tank tops that came from Indonesia and Singapore; 20 ships that arrived from Hong Kong with blouses, shoes and leather handbags; and more than 200 ships that came from China.
There were also instances of goods arriving from Ethiopia, where “manufacturers have boasted of paying workers a fifth of what they earn in Chinese factories,” and Bangladesh, where her company has yet to publicly address the almost universally condemned government crackdowns on protesting garment workers, or contribute to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, or the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. “Trump company’s relatively passive approach is notable — as is its lack of participation in industry efforts to improve conditions for workers, according to labor advocates.”
And, in the end, it’s the factory workers in her supply chain that are getting hurt the most. “We are the ultra-poor,” said Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi labor organizer and former garment worker who was first hired by a factory at the age of 12. “We are making you beautiful, but we are starving.”
You can read more about it at The Washington Post. (And, seriously, do. It’s a great feature.)
