April 24th marks the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh—a tragedy that killed over 1,100 garment workers and injured thousands more. It exposed the human cost of unsustainable fashion cycles and sparked global conversations about corporate accountability, worker safety, and supply chain transparency. Over a decade later, workers across global supply chains still continue to fight for basic rights.
In this episode, Manpreet Kaur Kalra speaks with Anna Canning, Worker Rights Senior Program Director at Partners for Dignity and Rights. Anna recently published an article exposing Lucky Brand’s role in severance theft at Industrial Hana, a now-shuttered Guatemalan garment factory. The factory supplied apparel to companies including Lucky Brand, Puma, and American Eagle, yet only two of those brands have contributed to the $1.5 million in severance owed to workers. Lucky Brand continues to stall.
From unauthorized subcontracting to complex corporate structures, we take listeners behind the seams of global apparel production while unpacking the importance of legally binding agreements to protect garment workers in supply chains. We examine how systemic wage theft and labor abuses become “no one’s responsibility,” and what real accountability—rooted in worker-led models—could look like.
“The goal is to build a world where corporate impunity is out and worker-driven corporate accountability is the norm.” - Anna Canning, Partners for Dignity and Rights
Read the full show notes: https://www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/not-so-lucky-jeans
Read Anna’s article: https://dignityandrights.org/2025/02/not-so-lucky-how-lucky-brand-shein-and-private-equity-fleeced-guatemalan-garment-workers/
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For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes