Email to Victoria's Secret (Owned by Limited Brands)

Well, friends, I think it has been quite long enough for Victoria's Secret/Limited Brands to have responded. Time for a blog post. I sent this email to Limited Brands customer service on February 7:

Dear Limited Brands:

My name is Karie Stephens and I write a blog for the nonprofit organization Looking For Starfish, which is dedicated to fighting modern-day slavery by raising financial support for existing organizations, increasing awareness of the issue, and providing ethical alternatives to everyday purchases which may be produced by slaves. I have been to the Victoria's Secret and Limited Brands websites, but did not find the information I am looking for. I have also called Victoria's Secret and Limited Brands, and received this email contact.

I saw on the Limited Brands website that the company recognizes its responsibility to ensure its partners comply with the Limited Brands' labor standards, and that the company has implemented an internal audit process. How often do you visit your overseas suppliers? Are your visits unannounced? Who is it that visits? Are your findings subject to third-party verifiers? When do you plan to respond to the organization Chain Store Reaction, which to date has sent over 1800 emails, including mine?

What are the standards and protocols to which you hold your suppliers? What do you do if a supplier or factory is found to be out of compliance? Do you reimburse workers for abuses suffered? How, specifically, do you ensure that the Jordanian sweatshop situation which came to light in 2007 does not happen again? I also found that the company educates your overseas associates. How are they educated, and who trains them?

Thank you for taking the time to respond, and thank you for the measures you have already taken. Thank you for the philanthropic work you have been participating in, and thank you for avoiding cotton from Uzbekistan. I have stopped shopping at Victoria's Secret until I have more confidence that I am not participating in the exploitation of workers, but I look forward to shopping at your company again once I have more information and feel I can do so in good conscience.

Sincerely,

Karie Stephens
I have had no response.