Students protest to demand socially responsible apparel policy from ASUCLA to support Alta Gracia
A group of about 22 students demonstrated Tuesday to demand ASUCLA adopt a more socially responsible apparel policy and increase support for Alta Gracia. (courtesy of Jessica Rutter)
Correction: The original version of this article contained an error. UAW Local 2865 was also involved in the delegation.
Associated Students UCLA committed to a more socially responsible apparel policy after a demonstration Tuesday.
A delegation of about 22 students met with Patrick Healey, the association’s director of clothing apparel and accessories, to demand that ASUCLA purchase more apparel from the Alta Gracia brand, which supports fair labor practices.
Members of the delegation included members from the National Lawyers Guild, the Student Worker Front, UAW Local 2865 and the Graduate Students Association.
The Dominican Republic town Villa Altagracia was home to a clothing company that ran sweatshops with unsafe work conditions and low wages before Knights Apparel, the nation’s leading college clothing supplier, came in.
They refurbished the company and titled it Alta Gracia, and began paying employees a living wage as well as allowing them to unionize, said Jessica Rutter, a law graduate student and spokesperson for the delegation.
Since Alta Gracia launched in April, colleges across the nation have put in large orders for their apparel. Duke University, for example, placed a $250,000 order. In comparison, UCLA ordered $16,000 worth of apparel despite its larger student population, Rutter said.
GSA President Lincoln Ellis called for increased ASUCLA support for Alta Gracia at an ASUCLA subcommittee meeting earlier this quarter.
Unsatisfied with the association’s response, however, Rutter said the delegation Tuesday was meant to push ASUCLA to make a decision.
“Right now is when ASUCLA is actually putting in orders for more apparel, so time is of the essence,” she said.
Healey told the delegation that ASUCLA is in the process of purchasing more apparel from Alta Gracia and has scheduled a meeting with the head of sales for Tuesday.
ASUCLA is supportive of Alta Gracia and will continue purchasing from the company, but it cannot give an exact number for how much it will purchase until after it meets with Alta Gracia, Healey said.
“(The next purchase) will be more than $16,000, but right now, I still cannot put out a dollar amount,” he said.
For Alta Gracia to succeed, UCLA and other universities need to commit to a socially responsible apparel policy, Rutter said.
“UCLA is such a huge university, and it has the power to almost make or break a factory based on the support they give,” she said.
The delegation will continue its communication with Healey and ASUCLA and will follow up with the association after their meeting with Alta Gracia next week.
“If UCLA does step up, we will congratulate them and work with them to help promote clothing on campus,” Rutter said. “If not, we’ll continue on making noise and show Alta Gracia support until they do step up.”
