Made in Misery: luxury brands and North Korean consultation camps
There is no way of denying that North Korea is one of the most repressive countries. And the Kim regime is arguably the most extreme totalitarian government at this point. And for that exact reason, there are enormous numbers of UN sanctions on it and almost every country has cut their ties with North Korea. Still Kim has one of the most powerful militaries in the world. But how do they get enough resources to afford and manage their military capability? How do they manage to make money?
North Korea has been internationally isolated. They can not use foreign currency for legitimate transactions, nor they can legitimately transport any goods. They had almost no legal source of income left, so they started to raise money illegally.
Textiles are the second most important North Korean export product after coal. They have admitted that they work with Chinese, Southeast Asian and European joint ventures to export their textile.
There is a silica factory named after Kim Jong-un’s grandmother, a factory where over 1600 workers are employed, most of them women. They seek, process and boil the cocoons of the silkworms to obtain the precious yarn the silkworms. About 200 tons of silica are produced there every year. Silica is a luxury and labor-intensive product. The factory’s entire production is intended for export worldwide. But they don’t disclose about their foreign customers.
Chinese factories sometimes hire North Korean workers due to their lower wages. Even some Chinese companies only produce 10% of their goods in their factories. The other 90% comes from North Korea.
Reports by Reuters have revealed that factories in North Korea are producing clothing that is labeled as ‘Made in China’. Between 2013 and 2016, a Chinese company called Vent d’Est sent fabrics and raw materials worth around $10M to North Korea, Vent d’Est received finished garments worth almost $25M during the same period. Vent d’Est works with European reputed companies like Armani, Zara, Liu Jo and others. Reuters reports have also shown that this was not an isolated incident.
According to a Chinese merchant, manufacturers can save up to 75 percent by making their clothes in North Korea.
For years, many North Korean defectors testified about concentration camps and forced production of textiles, for the export to many famous western brands.
And thus we get our favorite luxury items, which were made by North Korean slave workers. Those laborers sacrifice their lives for the luxury of Kim regime and ours.
