Kendall and Kylie Jenner Respond to Allegations of Withholding Factory Workers' Pay

Last month, the Kendall + Kylie brand came under scrutiny from the likes of Diet Prada after their reported parent company, Global Brands Group (GBG), was accused of not paying their workers thanks to supply chain and production changes amid the pandemic.

Related | Kylie Jenner Could Reportedly Face Jail Time For Alleged Billionaire Exaggeration

After all, as garment worker advocacy group Remake explained, the current situation puts these women in "the most vulnerable situation," as they are "no longer receiving pay, despite having already done the work, [and] are quite literally at risk of starving to death" — something that many have pointed out is made all the more problematic given that the Jenner sisters are amongst some of the wealthiest women in the world.

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REPOSTING because we couldn’t edit the original any further and y’all seemed to get a kick out of Kylie juxtaposed with “Former ‘billionaire’” lol. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We’ve been contacted by reps from @kendallandkylie who’ve refuted the allegations that the brand is not paying its factories, as reported in multiple media outlets over the last week. They stated the following in an e-mail: “The brand is owned by 3072541 Canada Inc. not GBG and we are not currently producing in Bangladesh using Global Brands Group.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As of now, Global Brands Group still lists Kendall + Kylie under their “Brands” section on their website. It’s unclear at what point they may have changed licensees and manufacturers. A quick search of 3072541 Canada Inc. led to a closed business page, but searching in conjunction with “Kendall and Kylie” you’ll find ties to the brand. Some early press from 2015, and some 2018 legal filings from a lawsuit filed by a photographer against the sisters for using Tupac Shakur’s image—remember that? Never forget that they printed their own faces and logos over photos of deceased iconic musicians and tried to charge $125 for them lol, but anyways… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We’re awaiting comment from Mostafiz Uddin, a manufacturer for Global Brands who has been very vocal in the news the past week about his cancelled orders. Dieters, what are your thoughts? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • #kendallandkylie #kendallxkylie #kyliejenner #payup #kendalljenner #kylieskin #kyliecosmetics #highgloss #dietprada

A post shared by Diet Prada ™ (@diet_prada) on Jun 23, 2020 at 4:39pm PDT

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/ Celebrities have joined the #PayUp group chat. (cc @kyliejenner, @kendalljenner, @diddy, @iamcardib) ⠀ In this pandemic, we do not need feel-good philanthropy from Kendall and Kylie Jenner, P. Diddy, and Cardi B. What we need, instead, is good business practices !!! ⠀ Kendall + Kylie, is owned by Global Brands Group, who refused to pay its garment suppliers for orders produced in February and March following a drop in sales caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “Given the unpredictability of the situation, our retail partners have cancelled orders, and existing inventory and product in production may have no sell-through. Consequently, we have no choice but to make the difficult decision to cancel all S/S 2020 orders from all suppliers (without liability),” wrote Rick Darling, CEO of Global Brands Group in a letter dated March 21, 2020. ⠀ However, the fact of the matter is that Global Brands Group does have a choice — it’s just choosing not to implement it. ⠀ Kylie and Kendall aren’t the only celebrity culprits allowed to distance themselves from this devastating truth. Also owned by Global Brands Group? ⠀ P. Diddy’s Sean Jean line. The irony here is difficult to overlook. Recently, P.Diddy launched #OurFairShare, a platform to help minority entrepreneurs access funds in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is admirable. ⠀ But we talked to an entrepreneur in Bangladesh, Mostafiz Uddin, of Denim Experts, who runs a sustainable denim factory. Global Brands Group owes him hundreds of thousands of dollars for products his workers made + shipped in February. ⠀ In April, he pleaded w/ Global Brands Group, “Here my workers are hungry, they are being agitated, they are very angry. I have promised them to pay wages. So please please make my payment.” We would hope that P.Diddy, who cares about #COVID19’s disproportionate impact on Black + Brown people, would ensure that his line does the same. Seems only fair.

A post shared by 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 (@remakeourworld) on Jun 11, 2020 at 5:58am PDT

Amid all this, Remake stated that the Kendall + Kylie team have threatened legal action over their posts. However, the nonprofit is still demanding further transparency, asking, "Do KENDALL + KYLIE know who makes their label? And if the women have been paid during the crisis?"

"Until we receive clear answers from the team that KENDALL + KYLIE have proof they paid garment makers, we will not back down," Remake added. "If KENDALL + KYLIE really support women then why threaten legal action against a non-profit for women BY women and disable comments?"

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/ Remake has always believed in providing a platform to advocate for vulnerable garment makers, who most often are Black and Brown women. ⠀ We launched our #PayUp campaign to hold fashion brands accountable during COVID-19 and to make sure that they pay factories for produced orders -- without this payment, many of the women who make our clothes face homelessness and starvation. ⠀ On June 11, we shared with you that Global Brands Group (affiliated to KENDALL + KYLIE on their website up until TODAY), had refused to pay garment workers for orders produced in February + March following a drop in sales caused by the coronavirus pandemic. ⠀ ⠀ One day later, the KENDALL + KYLIE brand Instagram account shared their intent, to “better our industry and better each other” which was ironic given the lack of response or commitment to #PayUp. ⠀ Over the last week, others have amplified Kendall and Kylie’s lack of action (@diet_prada). As many look up to the sisters and brand, we expect for them to lead by example and stand behind their words that they support women. ⠀ Today, we received word from a KENDALL + KYLIE representative that they do not have “current” orders with Global Brands Group and will pursue legal action if we didn’t remove our posts and apologize. ⠀ 🤔 We ask: do KENDALL + KYLIE know who makes their label? And if the women have been paid during the crisis? ⠀ Until we receive clear answers from the team that KENDALL + KYLIE have proof they paid garment makers, we will not back down. ⠀ ⠀ If KENDALL + KYLIE really support women then why threaten legal action against a non-profit for women BY women and disable comments? ⠀ We invite them to dialogue w/ us to learn more about the women who bring their label to life. ⠀ — ⠀ Help us hold them accountable: ⠀ ‼️COMMENT on @kendallandkylie post + EMAIL 📧 info@kendall-kylie.com asking for answers ⠀ 📝 SIGN our @changedotorg petition (🔗 in bio) to demand brands #PayUP ⠀ ‼️ To KENDALL + KYLIE’s retail partners (@amazon, @amazonfashion, @ashleystewart, @asos, @bloomingdales, @lebscom, @macys, @neimanmarcus, @nordstrom, @revolve, @saks, @shopbop) why do you carry a brand that is not transparent + supportive of women?

A post shared by 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 (@remakeourworld) on Jun 23, 2020 at 9:25pm PDT

That said, in the wake of the accusations, Kendall + Kylie has refuted their affiliation with GBG, with a representative telling Teen Vogue that the brand is owned by Canada Inc. and isn't produced in Bangladesh. And while it's "unclear when they changed licensees and manufacturers," as Diet Prada pointed out, the line is still listed "under their 'Brands' section on the GBG website and that "a quick search of 3072541 Canada Inc. led to a closed business page."

Following continued backlash though, Kendall + Kylie have doubled down on this previous assertion with an Instagram post this past weekend, in which they continued to claim that they "do not currently have any relationship at all with GBG."

"We know that these are trying times for the fashion industry and garment workers as a whole, and we continue to support all of our partners working in the factories who produce our products," they continued. "We manufacture in countries all over the world and have not received any concerns from the factories who produce our goods."

See their latest statement, below.

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A post shared by Kendall + Kylie (@kendallandkylie) on Jul 2, 2020 at 6:18pm PDT

Photo via Getty