Charles Kernaghan
is most known for uncovering the truth behind the sweatshops where Kathie Lee
Gifford’s clothing line was made two decades ago. He then proceeded to confront her about it on
national television nonetheless which opened up a big door for him and his
labor movement. He is the executive director of The Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights which is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting human labor rights globally.
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| "If labels can be protected by laws, backed up by sanctions, why is it that human beings making these garments cannot have similar legal protection?" |
He spearheaded the beginning
of the anti-sweatshop movement in the nineties although his biggest year was in
1996 when he accused Gifford. The case against her ultimately investigated a
lot of other different companies’ sweatshops and uncovered even more
information than originally intended to. Kernaghan has given countless testimonies to the
US Congress and the United Nations. He has brought many workers from sweatshops to America for them to tell their side of the story. He currently travels to developing
countries and talks to sweat shop workers to gain more information and try to
help them in any way he can.
| Kernaghan with a sweat shop worker fighting for her rights |
He has targeted many large corporations Wal-Mart, Nike and Disney to name a few. Kernaghan has made
waves in the way the garment industry operates but there is still a
long way to go until its problems are all solved.
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| Kernaghan showing pictures of the inner workings of a sweatshop |
I applaud Kernaghan for
having the courage to face massive corporations and confront them and their
ethical behaviors. I think it is important that he fights for better conditions
for workers; he does not want to demolish factories entirely because he knows
they are a major source of income for communities in developing countries.
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| He will never stop advocating for a change |
