New York - Mr Tommy Hilfiger, a US designer whose clothes have adorned rappers such as Snoop Doggy Dog and rockers like the Rolling Stones, was yesterday named in lawsuits alleging that thousands of Asian workers are being held in servitude on Saipan, in the Pacific Northern Marianas islands, technically American soil.
The first legal attempt to hold US retailers accountable for the abuse of workers by subcontractors alleges that Hilfiger and 17 others engaged in a racketeering conspiracy with factory owners on the island. The other firms named include Gap, Sears Roebuck, Wal-Mart and Oshkosh B'Gosh.