Despite receiving plaudits for her focus on empowering women - particularly women of colour - with her new material and evolving outlook, it seems Beyonce’s new clothing line might not hold the same ideals.
The new range of Ivy Park gym clothing is being sold in Topshop, and its release shortly preceded that of her already iconic Lemonade album. Sadly, reports suggest that shop labourers in Sri Lanka, who are making the clothes, are being paid as little as £4.30 a day.
Beyonce said she hopes the Ivy Park range will “support and inspire women”, so the reports by The Sun on Sunday are pretty disappointing. Around 70% of the employees at MAS Holdings, the factory in question, are women. Though it’s worth noting that she probably had little knowledge of the origins of her clothing, she perhaps should have investigated its beginnings more rigorously.
A 22-year-old seamstress told the publication that she earned 18,500 rupees a month - which is about £87.26, and about half the Sri Lankan average wage. It is, though, above the minimum wage.
Anti-Slavery International’s Jakub Sonik said, “This is a form of sweat shop slavery. There are a number of elements here that tick the boxes in terms of slavery, the low pay, restriction of women’s movement at night and locking them in.”
Beyonce’s team is yet to comment on the controversy.
