Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy (IBD)

Can you change a life by buying a Georgetown t-shirt?

New Progress Report Released

      A new Research Progress Report was released on December 5, 2011 that examines the first 18 months of operations at the Alta Gracia apparel factory in the Dominican Republic. Alta Gracia is the only factory supplying university apparel that pays its workers a “living wage” (more than triple the legal minimum wage), fully respects labor rights, provides a safe and healthy workplace, and has its practices verified by an independent monitoring organization.

     The new Report, “Alta Gracia: Work with a Salario Digno,” is co-authored by Dr. John Kline of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and Dr. Edward Soule of the McDonough School of Business. The authors document the factory’s impact on the lives of workers and their families, and provide an analysis of the finance and marketing elements of this business model. The Alta Gracia brand challenges traditional assumptions that international competition requires the payment of sub-poverty wages and the suppression of worker rights.

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For more information on the Alta Gracia factory, see the December 5, 2011 Research Progress Report:  "Alta Gracia: Work with a Salario Digno"

An initial Research Report issued in August 2010, traced the factory’s origins in the anti-sweatshop movement and its initial start-up period.  "Alta Gracia: Branding Decent Working Conditions" 

Working Paper: "The Alta Gracia Case:  A Social Labeling Challenge"  

Georgetown University Office of Communications Press Releases:

Alta Gracia: Continuing Georgetown's Leadership

Living Wage: Above and Beyond Anti-Sweatshop Codes