Australian surf and ski clothing company Rip Curl has been universally condemned recently, because a survey found that ‘some clothing is manufactured under the cruel situations prevailing in North Korean production.’ The popular brand launched in 2015, the winter ski suit, although the label is 'Made in China', but it is in fact a North Korean 'condition as slaves' factory product.

The differential treatment towards North Korean workers had notoriously low pay and long working hours are well known world-wide. For some time now, terms such as 'slaves', 'slave labour' and similar names are associated with Rip Curl, in the media.

On the contrary, Rip Curl argued that it is not their mistake and passed it on to the contractor engaged with them for sourcing. The brand was originally popular but it suffered a public relations crisis. Meanwhile, anti-poverty organization Oxfam Australia considers that the company must take responsibility.

Oxfam Australia's head of Sauk (Helen Szoke) said in a statement that companies must assume as it is their responsibility to ensure human rights issues are protected in their businesses. This is not just a moral issue, but also the United Nations guidelines for commercial requirements, he added.