Take a second to look at the tag on the shirt you're wearing right now … do you know where it was made? Probably. But, do you know what the working conditions were like for the person that stitched the shirt you're wearing and how their family is impacted? Before this trip today, I wouldn't have been able to answer that last question. Even after this trip, it will still be very difficult to know.
The vast majority of the factories across the world producing clothing are a mix of minimal wages, poor working conditions, prevalent abuse, and non-existent benefits. Alta Gracia, located in Villa Altagracia in central Dominican Republic, is the only factory in the world that operates as it does that makes it almost incomparable to its peers.
Alta Gracia offers its employees commendable wages over three times that of other factories, health insurance that covers practically all medical bills, medication, and paid recovery time for accidents on and off the company grounds, good working hours that give families Friday afternoons and the entire weekend together, nice working conditions with fans at every station, safety equipment in place, and music sounding throughout the building, breaks to use the bathroom and eat lunch, and a good environment where everyone proudly wears the Alta Gracia uniform and each employee can speak directly with the manager at the top level.
Furthermore, Alta Gracia works to better their working environment continuously and has a completely transparent record. That means that the WRC can access any employee's record, the company's budget, accident report - you name it - without any friction. This allows the WRC to give notices to Alta Gracia on areas where they need to improve or can improve. Currently, Alta Gracia is only able to provide the pay, conditions and benefits it does for its employees because its business model is not profitable - they only break even. For a model like Alta Gracia's to work elsewhere, they will need to work on providing the same, if not better, work opportunity in a model that brings in profit to the business.
When I didn't think the day could be more inspiring, I had the chance to meet several employees working there to hear their stories of how Alta Gracia has changed their life and the lives of their families. In every story, they said that Alta Gracia had completely changed their lives - they were now able to study in school while working, provide better nutrition for their children and family, move into a safe neighborhood, sometimes with a bigger house, and purchase luxuries they would never have been able to afford. It makes me appreciate, more than ever, the situation I have been brought into and the fortune I have to be able to study at a world-class institution with the luxuries I am able to enjoy that are setting me up with the ability to provide a high quality of life for my future family.
The vast majority of the factories across the world producing clothing are a mix of minimal wages, poor working conditions, prevalent abuse, and non-existent benefits. Alta Gracia, located in Villa Altagracia in central Dominican Republic, is the only factory in the world that operates as it does that makes it almost incomparable to its peers.
Alta Gracia offers its employees commendable wages over three times that of other factories, health insurance that covers practically all medical bills, medication, and paid recovery time for accidents on and off the company grounds, good working hours that give families Friday afternoons and the entire weekend together, nice working conditions with fans at every station, safety equipment in place, and music sounding throughout the building, breaks to use the bathroom and eat lunch, and a good environment where everyone proudly wears the Alta Gracia uniform and each employee can speak directly with the manager at the top level.
Furthermore, Alta Gracia works to better their working environment continuously and has a completely transparent record. That means that the WRC can access any employee's record, the company's budget, accident report - you name it - without any friction. This allows the WRC to give notices to Alta Gracia on areas where they need to improve or can improve. Currently, Alta Gracia is only able to provide the pay, conditions and benefits it does for its employees because its business model is not profitable - they only break even. For a model like Alta Gracia's to work elsewhere, they will need to work on providing the same, if not better, work opportunity in a model that brings in profit to the business.
When I didn't think the day could be more inspiring, I had the chance to meet several employees working there to hear their stories of how Alta Gracia has changed their life and the lives of their families. In every story, they said that Alta Gracia had completely changed their lives - they were now able to study in school while working, provide better nutrition for their children and family, move into a safe neighborhood, sometimes with a bigger house, and purchase luxuries they would never have been able to afford. It makes me appreciate, more than ever, the situation I have been brought into and the fortune I have to be able to study at a world-class institution with the luxuries I am able to enjoy that are setting me up with the ability to provide a high quality of life for my future family.